Understanding and Evaluating Complex Litigation Portfolios

Understanding Complex Litigation Investments

We work to public company standards on independent valuation and assessment of complex investments and portfolios of litigation funding. We enjoy assessing and evaluating cases, the structure and assumptions of the original decisions to invest, and comparing those assumptions across time as the investment(s) have matured. We are also comfortable, and have experience of, unpacking the probabilities of investments using sophisticated statistical modelling of overall portfolio performance to ensure the micro analysis of cases is reasonable.

Valuation & Secondary Market Placement

Understanding and valuing investments creates opportunities for secondary market portfolio investment. Crescient is constantly engaged with the specialist funders of litigation portfolios and is actively seeking to use sophisticated analysis of cases to lower the overall cost of capital of secondary market transactions, including through insurance where available.

Recent Thinking

Insights
Opening Welcome Speech to LF Dealmakers Europe 2025
Opening Welcome Speech to LF Dealmakers Europe 2025

The funding industry needs to put the interests of society front and centre of its business: as gatekeepers of what gets to proceed, we need to be responsible about what we fund; we have to be honest about our mistakes; but we also need a clear framework from the judiciary that allows the dealmakers in this room to predict the financial impact of their successful decisions as well as their mistakes.

The Tillis Bill: the Wrong Way to Control Litigation Funding
The Tillis Bill: the Wrong Way to Control Litigation Funding

In the US, Senator Tillis has proposed a bill that would tax litigation funding into submission. Our view is that this is the wrong way to go about the debate on whether litigation funding is good or not. The courts are shaping litigation funding, and government should choose to regulate if it wants to - not subscribe to the interests of large corporations that realise the liability they created can now come back to haunt them.

Part I: What is a fair and reasonable return for a funder?
Part I: What is a fair and reasonable return for a funder?

When assessing litigation funding returns, time to return is the most difficult factor to assess. There is a wide range of returns; and returns can go long, but it is reasonable to expect that it will take an average of 3.7 years for cash to do a round trip - but that may mean it takes 7 years from start to finish.