January 2018
Global legal industry revenues from litigation are estimated to be around $150bn per year and are growing at an annual rate of 4%.[1] These figures do not take into account the growing in-house costs and psychological costs of litigation.[2]
If it is so costly, then why do we resolve conflicts through litigation? Surely there are circumstances in which litigation is the best available option, but how exactly do we make that assessment? Reviewing law suits on a daily basis at Redbreast, it striked us that even professional parties often lack an analytical framework for assessing a potential law suit as the risky investment it is. As a consequence people and businesses get caught up in irrational and destructive litigation that could have been avoided, or settle too quickly.
Legal technology can be a great help and, in the near future, is likely to become indispensable in making litigation decisions and avoiding costly mistakes. At Redbreast we have developed software and analytical tools that enable us to make our investment decisions as objectively as possible. Our software allows us to compare our case evaluations to actual outcomes, improving the quality of our investment decisions over time.
With a view to potentially making our software available for wider use in the future, we have launched a pilot in which we make our litigation funding expertise and software available on a consultancy basis: Redbreast Analysis. Redbreast Analysis enables you to make better litigation decisions and, crucially, to identify early-stage settlements that are preferable to litigation and thus avoid the costs of litigation completely. If you wish to learn more about this project and our software pilot reach out to Rein Philips at rein.philips@redbreast.com and check out:
- www. redbreastanalysis.com,
- ‘Litigate or Settle? The War Puzzle’, an article by R.J. Philips, managing director of Redbreast for the Dutch Monthly Journal for Corporate Law (Maandblad voor Ondernemingsrecht) in Dutch or English (updated and amended).
[1] Market Line Global Legal Services Report (2016).
[2] Regarding growing in-house costs see: Norton Rose Fulbright, 2016 Litigation Trends Annual Survey. Perspectives from corporate counsel, retrieved from: www.nortonrosefulbright.com/files/20160915-2016-litigation-trends-annual-survey-142485.pdf.