What is litigation finance?

Litigation finance is a specialized form of business or law firm investment in which an investor provides capital to a party or a law firm in exchange for part of the proceeds from a lawsuit. Although litigation finance has reached a critical mass in recent years, it has existed in various forms for more than two decades. Businesses, in-house lawyers, and law firms increasingly are turning to litigation finance to help manage the financial challenges of litigation.

What are the advantages of accepting financing from Curiam?

For a party in litigation, an investment from Curiam can:

  • Free up capital to pay operating expenses or invest in its business;
  • Allow it to hire the best possible lawyers for each case, including law firms that otherwise would have been unwilling or unable to accept a fully contingent fee;
  • Alleviate the burdens of the negative accounting treatment associated with ongoing litigation expenses; and
  • Reduce the overall cost of litigation.

For a law firm, an investment from Curiam can:

  • Allow the firm to pursue individual cases, or portfolios of cases, that would be too costly for the firm to handle without an ongoing stream of revenue;
  • Reduce the risk of traditional contingent-fee arrangements;
  • Allow the firm to invest in expansion, acquisition of talent, and marketing;
  • Make cash flow more predictable; and
  • Accelerate the collection of receivables.
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What types of cases does Curiam invest in?

Curiam invests in most types of high-value litigation. Here are some examples of the kinds of lawsuits that are good candidates for financing:

  • Antitrust/unfair competition
  • Securities
  • Bankruptcy
  • Financial services
  • Patent

  • Trademark/IP
  • Arbitration
  • Class actions
  • Business-to-business commercial disputes
  • Asset tracing/judgment enforcement
  • Whistleblower/qui tam/False Claims Act

Curiam does not invest in matrimonial, medical malpractice, or individual personal injury cases.

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What are Curiam’s investment criteria?

Curiam does not have rigid investment criteria, but here are some basic guidelines:

  • Curiam invests in both individual lawsuits and portfolios or baskets of cases.
  • The case or portfolio must have a strong chance of success.
  • The defendant must have the ability to pay.
  • Curiam will invest at any time – before a complaint is filed, after a judgment is entered and a case is on appeal, or any point in between.

  • The investment must be large enough to justify the effort required to evaluate the claim. Curiam targets investments of $1 million or more. There is no upper limit on the size of an investment that Curiam will consider.
  • Potential damages must be significant enough to make the investment sensible and profitable for both Curiam and the litigant. Curiam does not want to invest in a case unless the litigant stands to benefit even after the cost of financing is taken into account.
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What is Curiam's investment process?

Curiam’s streamlined investment process is designed to allow careful, informed investment decisions within two or three weeks and deployment of capital immediately after a contract is signed.

Step 1: Protect confidentiality

To protect confidentiality during the evaluation phase, Curiam and the party seeking financing sign a non-disclosure agreement.

Step 2: Evaluate the investment

Curiam then begins legal and financial due diligence on the potential investment. As part of that due diligence, Curiam typically asks prospective recipients of financing to provide information such as key court filings, factual background about the claim, a projected timeline to trial, and a budget for the litigation with the attorneys’ best estimates of projected fees and expenses over the life of the case. This is the most time-consuming part of the process because, in our experience, strong relationships require an investment of time, and on our side, a lot of listening.

Step 3: Investment documents

After the parties agree on the basic terms of an investment, Curiam prepares the necessary agreements and finalizes the terms with the party seeking financing.

Step 4: Track the investment

Curiam monitors every investment to assess progress and to understand any adjustments to the timeline or budget.

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Will Curiam control litigation strategy or settlement?

Our team has decades of experience working on some of the largest and most complex litigations in U.S. history, and we can be a valuable resource for parties and their lawyers. But Curiam does not control litigation strategy or settlement.

How do I begin the process?

Please contact us at:

Curiam Capital LLC
767 Fifth Avenue
9th Floor
New York, New York 10153
Phone: (646) 446-2990
General Email: info@curiam.com