New Product Removes Financial Risk And Uncertainty When Pursuing Insolvency Litigation

Leading national law firm Irwin Mitchell has launched a bespoke funding solution including a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA) and After The Event (ATE) insurance to support Insolvency Practitioners (IPs) manage the costs and risks associated with insolvency litigation.
 
The innovative solution, which is called Support4Dispute, has been developed by Irwin Mitchell together with leading ATE insurer Allianz Legal Protection, part of Allianz Insurance plc, and will enable insolvency practitioners to pursue litigation following an Administration, liquidation or bankruptcy more easily.

Irwin Mitchell’s own legal costs and success fee is only payable by IPs once a cash recovery is made from the opponent.

The ATE insurance policy which is underwritten by Allianz Legal Protection and is included as part of the Support4Dispute service provided by Irwin Mitchell, provides cover for IP’s having to pay the opponent’s costs and any disbursements incurred as a result of the legal action being unsuccessful.

A unique feature of the ATE insurance policy, developed with Allianz Legal Protection specifically for IPs, is a staged premium facility linked to the amount of damages recovered, and capped to enable IPs to retain a greater share of any recovery made. In addition, the ATE insurance premium is deferred until the case is settled, and only payable on successful cases. 
 
John Vickery, Restructuring and Insolvency Partner at the Manchester office of law firm Irwin Mitchell, said:

Expert Opinion

This product has been developed specifically for the IP sector and addresses all of the financial issues relating to why they may be reluctant to pursue litigation claims.

“Quite simply, the Support4Dispute service that we provide takes the gamble out of insolvency litigation and enables IPs to launch legal actions far more easily following an insolvency, without having the risk of having to pay their own legal fees or a hefty ATE insurance premium where no actual recovery is made or the opponent’s legal fees if the litigation is unsuccessful.”
John Vickery - Partner

Steve Rowley, Business Development Manager at Allianz Legal Protection, said:

“We worked with Irwin Mitchell over several months to jointly develop a product specifically aimed at addressing the risks and issues faced by insolvency practitioners. Using our combined knowledge and expertise we have created a solution that meets the needs of insolvency practitioners, and takes away the cost uncertainty faced when bringing legal action against creditors”.