London, UK-based TheJudge Group Holdings Limited has just opened its litigation finance and litigation risk-sharing insurance businesses in Canada.

The broker acquired a team of litigation insurance specialists from Canadian boutique broker Justice Risk Solutions, which specialises in arranging adverse costs, disbursement financing and after-the-event insurance in the personal injury and medical malpractice space.

The Canadian arm, operating under TheJudge Canada Limited, will offer attorney fee insurance and contingency fee insurance.

“A large portion of medium- to large-sized commercial enterprises still elect to self-finance their legal disputes, notwithstanding the potential for external funding,” commented Nick Robson, TheJudge vice-president and general counsel. “However, that doesn’t mean they need to carry the litigation risk exposure. It’s now possible for the client to insure the fees and expenses claimants pay their external counsel against the risk of losing a case.”

According to the company, TheJudge “brokers policies with large specialist international insurers who can insure 40-70% of a law firm’s budgeted legal fees if the case is lost. This insurance is available to law firms for matters taken on either a full or partial contingency basis. The premium is only paid if the law firm is successful in collecting the contingency fee.”


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