Building—and financing—an affirmative recovery program

For several years, a Fortune 500 company had devoted resources and an internal team to recovering damages through litigation, ultimately working with Burford to offset the costs for a group of claims in its portfolio. The deal was positively regarded not only inside the legal department but also won praise in the broader C-suite, especially from the company CFO. 

When in 2023 the company faced a new capital need, the CFO contacted the legal department to see if the company’s high value litigation assets could be used to help craft a financing solution. The GC then approached Burford for financing through a monetization portfolio, using existing high value claims as collateral.

Burford provided a $325 million monetization facility to boost liquidity and augment the company's affirmative recovery efforts.

The deal, structured with more than $225 million upfront financing and a $100 million option, provided the company with financial flexibility and liquidity. Burford would only earn its return if there were successful resolutions within the portfolio, significantly de-risking the claims for the company.

With this deal, the legal department not only helped solve a liquidity need but also changed the dynamics between the GC and the CFO. What would typically be the CFO's problem became an opportunity for the GC to proactively deliver value to the business. This case highlights how legal departments can become value generators by implementing affirmative recovery programs and working with Burford to use affirmative claims from that program to enhance the company’s liquidity, improving the GCs standing with CFOs and benefiting their businesses.