Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Litigation funding in England and Wales: allocating adverse costs risk, ATE policyholder options, and security for costs via deeds of indemnity or anti-avoidance endorsements, with pricing implications

Published by a LexisNexis Restructuring & Insolvency expert

Practice notes

Although every litigation funding agreement (LFA) and its related papers differ by the funder and the nuances of the claim being financed, certain core matters must be dealt with through distinct stages of negotiation. This Practice Note forms part of a concise series from Tanya Lansky and Tets Ishikawa, Managing Directors at LionFish Group Ltd, designed to equip participants negotiating or evaluating LFAs and their ancillary documents with a clearer grasp of key dynamics. It highlights the considerations at play for practitioners across negotiation phases. Emphasis rests on identifying issues common to most LFAs despite case-specific features and differing funder approaches.

Adverse costs risks for funders

Solicitors invariably warn clients about potential exposure to adverse costs should litigation ultimately fail. The emergence of the after-the-event insurance (ATE) market offered claimants a means to hedge these hazards where an insurer considered the prospects sufficiently robust to extend cover. While ATE insurance can shield against an adverse costs order, protection is confined to the agreed limit of indemnity (LOI)...

To view the latest version of this document and thousands of others like it, sign-in with LexisNexis or register for a free trial.

Tets Ishikawa

LionFish Group Ltd

Tets started his career as a derivatives structurer and securitisation banker at ABN AMRO, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley. He was subsequently a founding partner of Amias Berman, a fixed income agency brokerage, and has invested in, advised and ran a wide range of businesses across technology, aviation, commercial agriculture, sports and chemicals. He is currently a NED and Adviser to Brickflow, a real estate loan sourcing software company. Tets was first involved in litigation funding in 2011, raising capital for an impecunious client in a high value claim against a bank. He also advised an ATE insurer (latterly known as Acasta) on litigation funding, culminating in the founding of Sparkle Capital in 2014. Having helped found and establish the business, Tets was hired full-time in 2018 by Acasta to join its senior management team, with day to day...

Tanya Lansky

LionFish Group Ltd

Tanya has been working in the disputes financing and insurance industries for close to a decade. Having started her career at TheJudge Global, the then independent specialist broker of litigation insurance and funding, Tanya became immersed in this specialist market in its relative infancy. Beyond her role of negotiating and structuring insurance and financing agreements, Tanya also dedicated time to educating lawyers and counsel on the nuances of the industry. Following her time as specialist broker, Tanya joined boutique advisory firm Emissary Partners to leverage her relationships in the litigation funding market as well as her economic understanding of disputes as an asset. In 2022 she joined London-based litigation funder LionFish, and, given her extensive experience, became part of the firm’s management team in short order. ...

Web page updated on 21/05/2026

Popular documents

Using the Judicial College Guidelines to assess general damages in personal injury claims

When evaluating a general damages claim, the practitioner ought initially to refer to the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG)...

Tomlin orders in England and Wales: CPR guidance on drafting, confidentiality, approval, variation, enforcement, limitation, CCA issues, court-specific requirements, sample wording and precedents

This Practice Note This Practice Note reviews mechanisms used in settling litigation. A Tomlin order consists of a consent order paired with a schedule. It operates to stay proceedings on terms that have been agreed. The provisions contained in the schedule may remain confidential. This Practice Note describes the scope of confidentiality attaching to the schedule and sets out how it differs from a standard consent order. Sample wording for a Tomlin order is included, alongside links to precedents, as well as guidance on court approval. It also addresses varying, setting aside and enforcing a Tomlin order, including the considerations the court will take into account when handling applications for each. Further guidance is provided on interpreting and applying the relevant provisions of the CPR; however, some courts and divisions impose very specific requirements for both drafting and approval, and for approaching the schedule and confidentiality issues. Accordingly, you must consider the particular rules and court guide provisions in the forum where your claim is proceeding when drawing up the Tomlin order...

Precedent: Deed of Surrender of Lease with Optional Premium, Settlement and Release, Landlord, Mortgagee and Guarantor Consents, Reimbursement and HM Land Registry Provisions (England and Wales)

Date [ date ] Parties [ name of Landlord ] [ of OR incorporated in England and Wales (company registration number [ number ]) with its registered office at ] [ address ] (Landlord) [ name of Tenant ] [ of OR incorporated in England and Wales (company registration number [ number ]) with its registered office at ] [ address ] (Tenant) [ [ name of Guarantor ] [ of OR incorporated in England and Wales (company registration number [ number ]) with its registered office at ] [ address ] (Guarantor) ] [ [ name of Mortgagee ] [ of OR incorporated in England and Wales (company registration number [ number ]) with its registered office at ] [ address ] (Mortgagee) ] Definitions Within this Deed, the terms below shall be interpreted as follows: [ Annual Rent • the annual sum reserved under the Lease; ] [ Insurance Rent • the Tenant’s share of the Landlord’s costs of insuring the Property (as set out in the Lease); ] Lease • the lease of the Property dated [ date ], entered into between (1) [ the Landlord OR [ name ...

Precedent Statutory Declaration: Standard Wording under the Statutory Declarations Act 1835

I, [ name ], of [ address ], solemnly and sincerely state that: [ Matters to be verified, set out in numbered paragraphs ] I make this solemn statement in good conscience, believing it to be true, and pursuant to the provisions of the Statutory Declarations Act 1835. DECLARED at [ details ] this [ day ] day of [ month and year ] Before me ................................................................................ [ signature of the person before whom the declaration is made ] A [ commissioner for oaths OR [ solicitor OR [ insert other qualification ] ] authorised to administer oaths ]...