Litigation funding is a fast-growing industry sector. More and more investors are placing their funds into the market and new funding providers are emerging all the time. Whilst the Courts are acknowledging the value provided by the funders, it is still a relatively new and untested service to many people and businesses. This means that there can be some confusion around litigation funding, what it is and who can benefit from it.

One of the most common misconceptions around litigation funding is that if the litigant can afford to pay their own legal costs, then the need for litigation funding doesn’t apply to them. However, this isn’t entirely the case, and that is why we wanted to tackle this misconception in this blog post.

If you can afford to pay for your own legal costs and disbursements, does that mean that you will not receive any benefit from accessing litigation funding?

It is true that if you can afford your own legal costs then funding may not immediately apply to you. However, many litigants will look to use litigation funding to reduce their exposure to financial risk. It is worth remembering that should you lose the case, not only do you have to fund your own costs, but you are likely to be ordered to pay your opponent’s costs as well.

Whilst you may have the finances readily available for your legal costs, litigation can be a time-consuming affair, meaning these finances could be tied up in an extremely lengthy legal process. However, if you were to access litigation funding, your finances are safe where they are and can be used by you, regardless of the length of the legal process.

But that’s not the only benefit of applying for litigation funding if you can afford the legal costs yourself. Another benefit of using a litigation funder is that the funder will only make an offer of funding if they are convinced the case is likely to win. Therefore, having a funder invested in your litigation sends a clear message to your opponent about the strength of your case.

It is also worth remembering that the funding is provided as a non-recourse investment in your litigation, meaning that should you lose then there is nothing to pay back. So, by utilising the services of the funder, you have effectively de-risked your financial position.

If you would like to know more about how our litigation funding can help you, or how to access funding; contact our team now at enquiries@apexlitigationfinance.com. We would be happy to discuss our litigation funding options with you.