June 23, 2021
New York, NY (June 23, 2021) --- Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP today announced that it has entered into a $50 million funding agreement with litigation finance company Longford Capital Management, LP. Longford intends to provide equity capital to fund attorneys’ fees and litigation costs, and to monetize the value of meritorious legal claims for Willkie’s clients involved in commercial litigation cases handled by lawyers based in Willkie’s Chicago office.
Willkie’s Chicago based trial team is led by Craig C. Martin, Chairman, Midwest. Concurrently, Mr. Martin will join Longford’s board of Independent Advisors.
The agreement provides Willkie’s clients with an alternative method of funding litigation and enables them to treat meritorious legal claims as corporate assets capable of being monetized. It applies to contingency cases and matters involving a statutory fee, with specific arrangements remaining subject to consent of Willkie clients. Longford provides funding for disputes in several areas of law including, antitrust, patent, trade secrets, subrogation, health care reimbursement, and a variety of contract and fraud claims. Willkie does not intend to represent plaintiffs in class actions or other claims that are not business-to-business types of disputes.
Willkie’s Chicago based trial team focuses on and has been successful in litigating, trying, and reaching favorable outcomes for clients in cases involving antitrust, patent, trade secrets, subrogation claims, health care reimbursement, ERISA, and contract claims, as well as successfully parachuting into late-stage and post-discovery cases heading to trial and at trial.
Craig C. Martin, Chairman, Midwest at Willkie, commented: “Our new agreement with Longford will provide our clients with an alternative funding model for high-stakes commercial disputes, especially those with outcome determinative trials, for businesses as plaintiff or as defendant. We have a talented group of trial lawyers with diverse skill sets and believe this is a tremendous opportunity for the Firm to offer corporate and private equity clients a new level of service.”
William P. Farrell, Jr., co-founder and managing director of Longford, explained: “We have known Craig Martin and his Chicago based trial team for many years; they are successful litigators and trial lawyers representing sophisticated clients. We look forward to assisting Willkie by providing its clients with attractive financial options in connection with commercial disputes.”
In addition to Mr. Martin, the Willkie Chicago team includes partners Amanda S. Amert, Michael Babbitt, Matt Basil, Sara T. Horton, Brienne Letourneau, LaRue Robinson, and Matt Thomas, and talented litigation counsel and associates, all of whom are part of Willkie’s international litigation practice comprised of more than 200 lawyers.
Willkie’s Chicago office has an active legal practice focused on trials and appeals, major investigations, and board governance counseling, as well as a leading Private Clients practice. Fully integrated with the Firm’s 11 other offices, our Chicago team enhances Willkie’s service to Midwest and national clients through offering first-chair trial representation. Led by Craig C. Martin and comprised of more than 40 lawyers, the Chicago team is deeply engaged in a number of civic organizations and maintains an active pro bono practice.
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Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP is an international law firm of approximately 850 attorneys with offices in New York, Washington, Houston, Palo Alto, San Francisco, Chicago, Paris, London, Frankfurt, Brussels, Milan and Rome. The Firm is headquartered in New York City at 787 Seventh Avenue.
Tel: 212.728.8000.
