Therium founder and CIO Neil Purslow has contributed to an article in The Lawyer on the biggest cases of 2023. Alongside leading City litigators, Neil shared his insights into the cases and decisions that he is following closely this year.

Firstly, Neil highlights the cases that are set to provide some clarity on the meaning of sections 90 and 90A of the Financial Services and Markets Act for securities litigation.

Secondly, Neil draws attention to the Supreme Court appeal in the Trucks legal action that will decide whether litigation funding constitutes a damages-based agreement. Read the full article from The Lawyer

Therium Access is the litigation funding industry’s first not-for-profit vehicle, which provides funding by way of grants for claims, organisations and projects that promote access to justice for the most vulnerable and marginalised in society. These organisations cannot be funded on a commercial basis, so without Therium Access, many of these organisations would not be able to access the crucial funding they need in order to continue to provide free legal advice or support to pursue justice.

Read the full article from The Lawyer here.

Therium’s not for profit initiative Therium Access has been shortlisted as a finalist for the Halsbury Rule of Law Award at the Lexis Nexis Legal Awards 2023. This award recognises organisations that demonstrate a sustained contribution to upholding the rule of law and celebrates a commitment to the spread of fair and ordered government, law and justice.

Therium Access is the litigation funding industry’s first not-for-profit vehicle, which provides funding by way of grants for claims, organisations and projects that promote access to justice for the most vulnerable and marginalised in society. These organisations cannot be funded on a commercial basis, so without Therium Access, many of these organisations would not be able to access the crucial funding they need in order to continue to provide free legal advice or support to pursue justice.

Litigation funder Therium also tapped up elite law firms for four new investment managers as it prepares to raise its largest-ever fund, the firm’s chief investment officer told Financial News.

The fund added associates Chris Wilkins from Slaughter and May and Charlie Temperley from Michelmores to its London office. It also hired Corey Banks from Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz and Joshua Card from Sidley Austin in New York.

Therium Founder and CIO, Neil Purslow has been quoted by the International Financial Law Review (IFLR) in an article on how the expected rise in ESG litigation will provide an extra enforcement tool to increase accountability for environmental crimes.

IFLR highlights increased regulatory scrutiny and an expected increase in biodiversity legislation and. Whilst litigation being brought enforcement action against corporates and governments whose actions have resulted in a biodiversity loss has historically been low across Europe, a rise in class actions is expected.

In the article, Neil Purslow explains the importance of litigation and litigation funding as “the pointy end of the enforcement spear.” For example, Therium funds securities fraud litigation based on legislation that aims to protect investors against firms that engage in poor corporate governance resulting in a stock drop.

With regulatory scrutiny surrounding greenwashing on the rise, Neil explains that specific environmental litigation is likely to mirror other forms of securities litigation. In this case, environmental crimes as opposed to financial crimes become the focus of a compliance breach that has caused investors to suffer losses.

Therium Capital Management has added four investment managers to its transatlantic investment team, Chris Wilkins and Charlie Temperley in London and Corey Banks and Joshua Card in New York.

Neil Purslow, Founder and Chief Investment Officer at Therium said: “We are delighted to welcome these four investment managers to our transatlantic investment team. Their strong legal know-how and experience of high-value litigation and arbitration across jurisdictions will add to our high-calibre investment team, as we continue to invest in a broad range of cases across the legal sector.

Alongside our investment team, they will work on cases right through from origination to completion. This unique approach allows our investment managers to build strong and enduring relationships with clients, get under the skin of the complex matters, be incredibly responsive and deliver top quality execution.”

Therium has now added five investment managers to date this year, including Fred Bowman who joined in January. The new investment managers will provide legal finance to meritorious cases, law firms and corporates through a range of innovative financing structures. Corey Banks who will be based in New York has over five years’ experience as a commercial disputes associate at prominent New York law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, where he worked on a broad range of funded commercial disputes, including corporate and financial matters, breach of contract, antitrust/ competition and bankruptcy litigation. Previous roles include clerking at a US District Court and the Second Circuit US Court of Appeals. Corey also worked as an Associate at Clearly Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton. He graduated magna cum laude from Harvard Law School and holds a BA in International Relations and Japanese from Tufts University, Massachusetts.

Joshua Card, also based in New York joins from Sidley Austin’s where he was a senior managing associate in the Commercial Litigation and Disputes and Securities and Shareholder Litigation practices. Prior to this, Josh worked at Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz. He has experience of M&A cases, corporate governance litigation, white collar criminal matters and other corporate and securities matters, including commercial arbitration. Josh has also been a law clerk at a US District Court and the Second Circuit US Court of Appeals. He holds a BA in Political Science from Amherst College and obtained a Juris Doctor, magna cum laude from Brooklyn Law School.

Charlie Temperley, based in London, previously worked at Michelmores and Womble Bond Dickinson, where his practice encompassed a broad range of commercial litigation including high value, multi-jurisdictional disputes and enforcement actions. He has experience working on commercial contract claims, group actions, civil fraud and asset tracing, trusts and probate disputes, shareholder disputes, professional negligence, property litigation and joint venture breakdowns. Charlie holds a First-Class Joint Honours degree in Mathematics and Philosophy from the University of Nottingham and an MPhil in Philosophy from the University of Cambridge. He completed a Graduate Diploma in Law and Legal Practice Course at the University of Law, Guildford.

Chris Wilkins, also based in London, joins after nine years as a solicitor at Slaughter and May. In the Disputes and Investigations Group, his practice focused on resolving large-scale, complex and often multi-jurisdictional disputes for large corporates, including FTSE 100 companies, across a wide range of industry sectors. He has advised on cases in the High Court and Competition Appeal Tribunal, as well as international arbitrations. Chris holds a First Class Honours degree in History from King’s College London and a Master’s degree with Distinction in International Relations from the London School of Economics. Chris completed a Graduate LLB at the University of London and a Legal Practice Course at BPP Law School.

Neil Purslow, Founder and Chief Investment Officer at Therium said: “We are delighted to welcome these four investment managers to our transatlantic investment team. Their strong legal know-how and experience of high-value litigation and arbitration across jurisdictions will add to our high-calibre investment team, as we continue to invest in a broad range of cases across the legal sector.

Alongside our investment team, they will work on cases right through from origination to completion. This unique approach allows our investment managers to build strong and enduring relationships with clients,get under the skin of the complex matters, be incredibly responsive and deliver top quality execution.”

Therium has now added five investment managers to date this year, including Fred Bowman who joined in January. The new investment managers will provide legal finance to meritorious cases, law firms and corporates through a range of innovative financing structures.

Corey Banks who will be based in New York has over five years’ experience as a commercial disputes associate at prominent New York law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, where he worked on a broad range of funded commercial disputes, including corporate and financial matters, breach of contract, antitrust/ competition and bankruptcy litigation. Previous roles include clerking at a US District Court and the Second Circuit US Court of Appeals. Corey also worked as an Associate at Clearly Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton. He graduated magna cum laude from Harvard Law School and holds a BA in International Relations and Japanese from Tufts University, Massachusetts.

Joshua Card, also based in New York joins from Sidley Austin’s where he was a senior managing associate in the Commercial Litigation and Disputes and Securities and Shareholder Litigation practices. Prior to this, Josh worked at Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz. He has experience of M&A cases, corporate governance litigation, white collar criminal matters and other corporate and securities matters, including commercial arbitration. Josh has also been a law clerk at a US District Court and the Second Circuit US Court of Appeals. He holds a BA in Political Science from Amherst College and obtained a Juris Doctor, magna cum laude from Brooklyn Law School.

Chris Wilkins, also based in London, joins after nine years as a solicitor at Slaughter and May. In the Disputes and Investigations Group, his practice focused on resolving large-scale, complex and often multi-jurisdictional disputes for large corporates, including FTSE 100 companies, across a wide range of industry sectors. He has advised on cases in the High Court and Competition Appeal Tribunal, as well as international arbitrations. Chris holds a First Class Honours degree in History from King’s College London and a Master’s degree with Distinction in International Relations from the London School of Economics. Chris completed a Graduate LLB at the University of London and a Legal Practice Course at BPP Law School.

Charlie Temperley, based in London, previously worked at Michelmores and Womble Bond Dickinson, where his practice encompassed a broad range of commercial litigation including high value, multi-jurisdictional disputes and enforcement actions. He has experience working on commercial contract claims, group actions, civil fraud and asset tracing, trusts and probate disputes, shareholder disputes, professional negligence, property litigation and joint venture breakdowns. Charlie holds a First-Class Joint Honours degree in Mathematics and Philosophy from the University of Nottingham and an MPhil in Philosophy from the University of Cambridge. He completed a Graduate Diploma in Law and Legal Practice Course at the University of Law, Guildford.

About Therium Capital Management:

Therium is a leading provider of investment capital to the legal industry and one of the largest, having raised over $1bn since 2009. With investment teams in the UK, USA, Australia, Germany and Norway, Therium has funded litigation and arbitration claims exceeding $40 billion, including many of the largest and most high profile funded cases in the UK and internationally and arbitrations under rules of the LCIA, ICC, UNCITRAL, LMAA, AAA, CIETAC, ICSID, Stockholm Chamber of Commerce and the Energy Charter Treaty. Therium has been Top Ranked by Chambers and Partners and Leaders League with investment officers across the UK, Europe, USA and Asia Pacific recognised as leading individuals in litigation finance.

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