Appealing Returns

豐厚誘人的回報

Contingent fees, in which clients pay lawyers only if a case is won, have long been a feature of America’s legal system. Many other countries used to bar them, wary of importing America’s ambulance-chasing culture. But a belated acceptance of their benefits means they are now widely allowed. “No-win, no-fee” arrangements help shift risks from parties to a suit to their lawyers, and make it less likely that a would-be plaintiff decides not to press a strong case for fear of a big financial loss.

只有在勝訴后才需要向律師付費的“風險代理收費制”一直是美國法律體系的一個特色。其他許多國家曾禁止這種操作，擔心將美國的訟棍文化“引狼入室”。但這種收費制的好處終于得到遲來的認可，如今已被廣泛采用。有了“不贏不收錢”的協定，風險就從訴訟各方轉移到了他們的律師身上，也就不大會發生原本頗有些勝算，卻因為害怕白白燒錢而放棄打官司的情況。

They accepted money from third parties to fund cases in exchange for some of the winnings. Litigation finance has since taken off. Fortune 500 companies and New York’s elite law firms increasingly tap outside capital when pursuing multi-million-dollar suits.

他們接受第三方的資金來支付訴訟開支，作為交換，向對方支付部分訴訟賠償所得。自那之后，訴訟融資業務蓬勃發展起來。《財富》世界500強公司和紐約的精英律師事務所在打數百萬美元的官司時，越來越多地利用外部資本。

Funds that invest in litigation are on the rise. In the past 18 months some 30 have launched; over $2bn has been raised. Last year Burford Capital, an industry heavyweight, put $1.3bn into cases – more than triple the amount it deployed in 2016. Lee Drucker of Lake Whillans, a firm that funds lawsuits, says he gets calls weekly from institutional investors seeking an asset uncorrelated with the rest of the market – payouts from lawsuits bear no relation to interest-rate rises or stock market swings.

投資于訴訟案件的基金逐步增多。過去18個月里成立了約30支這樣的基金，融資超過20億美元。去年，業界“大腕”伯福德資本(Burford Capital)為資助訴訟案件投入了13億美元，是2016年投入金額的三倍多。訴訟資助公司Lake Whillans的李·德魯克(Lee Drucker)說他每周都會接到機構投資者的電話，他們想尋覓一種與市場其余部分不相關的資產——訴訟賠償金與利率上漲或股市起伏沒有任何關聯。

Such outside funding does not just enable plaintiffs to pursue potentially lucrative cases. It also allows law firms to hedge risk. Some clients, worried about the misaligned incentives caused by law firms’ sky-high hourly rates, insist on partial or full contingency-payment schemes. Outside funding lets firms recoup some revenue even if they do not win a case. “Firms that lose are still going to take a bath,” says Nicholas Kajon of Stevens & Lee. “But the write-off won’t be quite as bad.”

這樣的外部資金不僅能讓原告方發起有可能會帶來大筆賠償金的訴訟，還能讓律師事務所對沖風險。一些委托人擔心律師事務所按小時收取的天價費用會造成不當激勵，因而堅持部分或全部采用風險代理付費方案。有了外部資金，律師事務所就算沒能贏得訴訟也能挽回部分收入。“輸了官司，律所還是會虧一大筆錢，”Stevens & Lee律師事務所的尼古拉斯·卡永(Nicholas Kajon)說，“但會少虧一些。”

Returns are usually a multiple of the investment or a percentage of the settlement, or some combination of the two. Funders of a winning suit can expect to double, triple or quadruple their money. Cases that are up for appeal, where the timespan is short – usually 18-24 months – and the chance of a loss slimmer, offer lower returns. New cases that are expected to take years offer higher potential payouts.

訴訟投資的收益通常為投資額的一個倍數或賠償金的一定比例，或者兩者兼有。勝訴案件的資助者所獲收益可能會是其出資金額的二到四倍。準備上訴的案子審理時間短——通常在18到24個月之間，敗訴的可能性相對較低，投資回報也較低。那些預計將耗時多年的新案子可能會帶來更高的回報。

A maturing market means more sophisticated offerings. To spread risk, funders are bundling cases into portfolios and taking a share of the proceeds. Last year Burford ploughed $726m into portfolio deals, compared with $72m into stand-alone suits.

市場日漸成熟，出現了更復雜的投資方式。為了分散風險，訴訟融資機構將案件打包成投資組合，從中抽取一部分收益。伯福德去年投入了7.26億美元用于組合投資各類案件，而在單個案件上的投入為7200萬美元。

As funders compete for high-quality investments, opportunities in new markets arise. Bentham IMF, a litigation funder based in New York, has joined Kobre & Kim, a law firm, to set up a $30m fund for Israeli startups to pursue claims against multinationals – for example, over trade-secret violations. A burgeoning secondary market is likely to develop further, allowing investors to cash out before long-running suits are closed. Burford recently sold its stake in an arbitration case concerning two Argentine airlines for a return of 736%. Such mouth-watering profits should keep luring capital into the courtroom.

隨著訴訟融資公司爭相搶奪高質量的投資項目，在新市場中也出現了機會。總部設在紐約的訴訟融資公司Bentham IMF與高博金律師事務所(Kobre & Kim)共同設立了一個規模達3000萬美元的基金專門支持以色列的創業公司向跨國公司索賠——例如在侵害商業機密方面。一個新興的二級市場看來會進一步發展，讓投資者得以先一步套現離場，而不用等待一宗曠日持久的訴訟案塵埃落定。伯福德近期出售了自己在一個涉及兩家阿根廷航空公司的仲裁案中的股份，回報率達736%。如此令人垂涎的利潤水平應該會吸引資本源源不斷地流向法庭。

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