NEW YORK , Jan. 10, 2012 /PRNewswire-iReach/ — An industry-leading legal finance group from investment bank Credit Suisse has been spun off into a standalone firm focused on investing in the business of law. The new entity, Parabellum Capital LLC, will provide a variety of legal finance products and services to business, including funding affirmative commercial litigation claims and hedging risk in such situations.
Parabellum will be run by former members of the Credit Suisse Legal Risk Strategies Finance team, led by Aaron Katz . The spinoff from Credit Suisse will allow Parabellum to grow and broaden its product lineup without operating under the constraints of bank capital requirements and new bank principal-investing restrictions. Credit Suisse will have no ownership stake in Parabellum.
“Where corporate law department or law firm capital needs call for traditional corporate or private banking services, Parabellum will refer such opportunities to Credit Suisse,” said Aaron Katz , Parabellum’s principal. “Conversely, where clients request litigation finance products, Parabellum will service such needs.”
Litigation finance is a relatively new and fast-growing field of investment products that brings the financing power of the capital markets into the field of commercial litigation. Traditionally, the costs of corporate legal actions have fallen on the disputing parties or on their legal teams through contingencies, creating significant budget hurdles even for large and well-resourced litigants for bringing meritorious claims to court. More recently, however, investors have become interested in taking on the risk of financing litigation costs in exchange for a portion of potential proceeds, offering a new asset class that is uniquely uncorrelated with traditional stock and bond markets.
The increase in investor interest in litigation finance comes amid the growth of corporate litigation as a capital-intensive business in recent decades, with corporate law departments having become substantial users of capital in their own right. Parabellum will cater to the capital needs of large corporate law departments, among other client segments. “Corporate law firm clients are demanding alternatives to the traditional billable hour model, which is driving a shift toward more risk-sharing between clients and counsel, as well as opening the litigation market to third party investors,” said Katz. “Given our depth of experience in structuring and closing deals, we expect to be the partner of choice for both large corporations and smaller businesses, as well as law firms.”
Parabellum will provide a range of capital solutions for both institutional litigants and their law firms, including the funding of legal fees and costs for large affirmative commercial cases. The firm will also offer bespoke funding for more programmatic corporate recovery initiatives, such as corporate IP enforcement, as well as monetization of claim value and risk-based funding for certain expenses in large defense matters.
Parabellum’s team are recognized leaders in the US commercial litigation investment business. Katz was instrumental in starting and leading the business at Credit Suisse. He will be joined by Credit Suisse colleagues Heather Grossman Braun and Eliot Kirshnitz , as well as by outside counsel Aron Weber , and finance professional Nicole Caldeira , who will serve as CFO of Parabellum.
Parabellum was launched Jan. 1, 2012 and is headquartered in New York City . The firm will have immediate access to substantial investment capital and is now actively soliciting opportunities to make significant investments with clients for litigation-related financing needs.
About Parabellum Capital LLC
Parabellum Capital LLC provides a variety of legal finance products and services to business, including funding affirmative commercial litigation claims and hedging risk in such situations. Its managers have been pioneers in the business of financing large-ticket commercial litigation in the U.S. market, building proprietary relationships and alliances with elite lawyers, developing sophisticated underwriting and deal structuring, and employing strategies that ensure utmost attention to ethical and legal considerations.
Parabellum Capital LLC
880 Third Avenue, 11th Floor
New York, NY 10022
T: 212 726 2640
E: info@parabellumcap.com
www.parabellumcap.com
Media Contact: Aaron Katz Parabellum Capital LLC, 212 726 2640, info@parabellumcap.com
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Article source: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/top-legal-finance-group-spins-032700544.html