Longford Capital Management

Firm Details

Co-Founders: Timothy S. Farrell, William P. Farrell, Jr., Michael A. Nicolas

Assets Under Management: More than $1.2 billion

Number of employees: 17 in Chicago and Dallas

Firm Overview

Among the first investment managers in the U.S. dedicated to providing litigation finance, Longford Capital remains at the leading edge of commercial litigation finance and is among the largest managers in the asset class, with more than $1.2 billion in assets under management.

Longford funds cases involving commercial disputes, including breach of contract, fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, partnership/joint venture disputes, and qui tam actions; antitrust and trade regulation claims; intellectual property actions, such as patent, trademark, and copyright infringement and theft of trade secrets; domestic and international arbitrations, mass actions and class actions, and a variety of others.

Longford is leading the evolution of litigation finance from single-case investments and post-judgment awards to law firm and corporate portfolios, claim monetization, and insurance recovery matters, and is pioneering the use of insurance in collaboration with equity capital to best serve investors and litigants.

For example, Longford identified a particular ability to assist private equity managers and their portfolio companies involved in commercial disputes, and in April 2024 Longford and Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLP announced a litigation financing offering for private equity firms and their portfolio companies. Under the terms of the deal, Longford has committed up to $40M in equity capital to Quinn Emanuel’s private equity clients involved in litigation, funding attorneys’ fees and litigation costs and monetizing the value of meritorious legal claims.

Longford offers these and other capital solutions to other Am Law 100 and 200 firms and litigation boutiques, private businesses and Fortune 500 corporations, universities, government agencies, and other entities that are involved in disputes ranging from $25 million to more than $2 billion in controversy.

Longford is among only a few firms that have sufficient capital and experience to construct a law firm portfolio investment. Portfolios enable law firms to spread risk and satisfy client demands. Leading law firms are increasingly approaching Longford to achieve these benefits.

Each of Longford’s investments concern what it believes to be highly meritorious claims, which may be pursued in state and federal courts throughout the United States and around the world. The firm is an SEC-registered investment advisor and a founding member of the International Legal Finance Association (ILFA).

The Team

Longford Capital’s greatest strength is the diverse and complementary skills of its team. Before launching the firm with Tim Farrell, Bill Farrell and Mike Nicolas were litigation partners at Neal, Gerber & Eisenberg. They are joined by former partners of other major law firms – John Garda from K&L Gates; Cindy Ahn from Kirkland & Ellis; Russ Genet from Nixon Peabody; Marc Cavan from Baker McKenzie; and Andrew Stulce from McGuireWoods. Lawdragon recognizes members of the underwriting team among the top consultants to the legal industry, and IAM Strategy 300 ranks the team with the world’s leading IP strategists. Longford’s leadership team also includes former C-level executives from global business, private equity, and banking institutions.

Everyone on Longford’s team loved practicing law and working in the courtroom. Every team member takes complete responsibility for his or her investments from beginning to end. This sense of ownership and pride ensures that no case, claim owner, or litigation counsel is merely another brick in the wall. Longford always conducts itself pursuant to the highest ethical standards. The team is well prepared, responsive, and delivers value beyond its capital.

Investing in Relationships

As the litigation finance industry continues to gain traction among leading law firms and their clients and grows rapidly across all sectors, Longford selects its investments very carefully. The team’s due diligence process is intense, but rigor and selectivity add value to the claim owner and its legal team alike. Over the long term, law firms grow to understand the types of cases that fit Longford’s criteria, and those firms return frequently with cases that align with the firm’s investment model. Longford values and invests in these long-term relationships. As a result, it enjoys significant deal flow and manages a diversified portfolio.

Longford is a passive investor; it is not involved in setting litigation strategy or making settlement decisions. Its team doesn’t look over the litigator’s shoulders. If corporate claim owners or their law firms seek input, everyone on the underwriting team has litigated cases like those for which they now provide capital, and their input is always appreciated.

When defense counsel becomes aware that Longford is involved in a case, it can have a material impact on defense strategy. There is a growing acknowledgement among defense counsel that when a rational, sophisticated third-party funder has conducted a rigorous due diligence examination of a company’s case and is willing to put capital at risk on a non-recourse basis, the case must be taken seriously. The tried and true “outspend and outlast” strategy that corporate defendants often deploy against smaller, less-established companies is not as likely to work.

Longford is proud to be playing an integral part in moving the industry forward. It hopes to do so for years to come.