Alternative Litigation Strategies

In the latest episode of the Alternative Litigation Strategy Podcast, I had a fascinating discussion with Professor Tom Baker and Lecturer in Law, Will Marra, about their litigation finance course at the Penn Carey Law School.   We explored the history, economics, business practice, law, and social implications of this burgeoning field.  We discussed this new asset-class of investor backed litigation finance offered on a non-recourse basis which is transforming law firm behavior and client relationships.  Tom and Will stressed the importance of how the course weaves in lessons and experiences of the financial pressures of practicing law and how lawyers must work to not only meet the legal objectives of their clients, but their business and financial objectives as well.  Lastly, we discussed the importance of considering liability, damages and collectability when taking on a case and the critical importance of merging ones understanding of the business of law with the practice of law.   

You don’t want to miss the 27th episode of the Alternative Litigation Strategies podcast where we discuss one of the most innovative and transformative legal technology platforms to hit the litigation marketplace in the last several years – Optimal Legal Audio (OLA).  In this episode Certum Group Director, Kevin Skrzysowski, interviews Adam Feldman, a lawyer, political scientist, professor, Supreme Court scholar, and creator of the Empirical SCOTUS Blog, and Badri Narasimhan, an engineer, serial technology entrepreneur, and all-around analytics wizard.  Adam and Badri discuss their latest invention - Optimal Legal Audio (OLA) – an artificial intelligent (AI) platform that performs audio and textual analysis of oral arguments to predict judicial decisions.  OLA analyzes elements such as word choice, word volume, tonal analysis, and interactions with the bench, to successfully predict votes in State courts, single judge trial courts, the U.S. Supreme Court and more.  OLA helps counsel by steering them in the right direction on specific interactions with judges or Justices allowing them to better inform their clients of potential case outcomes.  OLA is truly a game changer in Appellate Law.  

On this 26th episode of Alternative Litigation Strategies, Kevin speaks with one of Certum’s Legal Directors, W. Tyler Perry, about leveraging litigation to advance your career – Here’s a summary: back when law was a profession and not a business, landing a job at an established firm reasonably set you up for a long and fruitful career.  Firms had institutional clients.  Lateral moves among stable firms were rare.  And partners cared about mentoring the next generation because the next generation would pay for their retirement.  Those halcyon days are long gone.  Today, even the most profitable and prestigious firms suffer defections as partners search for the highest guaranteed dollar.  The corollary effects of this reality are legion, but one of the more interesting ones is that it has substantively increased the need for associates to take ownership of their careers at an increasingly early stage.  In this changing ecosystem, if you want to succeed, you need to be an entrepreneur.  And litigation finance can help. 

In the latest episode of Certum Group’s podcast, Alternative Litigation Strategies, Kevin sits down with Jennifer Riley, a Partner and Vice Chair of Duane Morris’ Class Action Group and General Editor of their annual Class Action Review.  The Duane Morris Review is a one-of-a-kind 650 page comprehensive analysis of class action litigation trends and significant rulings and settlements from 2023 designed to help corporate counsel and business leaders make informed decisions when facing complex litigation risks in the coming year.  Kevin and Jennifer discuss several of the overarching trends in class action litigation from last year, including: the continuing increase in number of case filings, record setting settlement amounts, the surge in data breach and privacy matters, and how generative AI will transform class action litigation.  You don’t want to miss this episode!

If you handle advertising litigation you don’t want to miss this episode of Alternative Litigation Strategies!  In the latest show Kevin interviews litigation Partner, Tyler Young from Faegre Drinker.  Tyler defends food, beverage, and consumer packaged goods companies in consumer fraud class actions and complex litigation across the country.  Kevin and Tyler discuss some of the mostly hotly anticipated litigation in this arena for 2024, including; the new version of “all natural” lawsuits, heavy metal and PFAS cases, geographic origin claims, and recycling and recyclability litigation.  It’s sure to be a busy year in food, beverage, and consumer packaged goods class action litigation!

In this episode of Alternative Litigation Strategies, Certum Group’s Kevin Skrzysowski speaks with Dorsey & Whitney litigation partner, podcast host, and author, Kent Schmidt, about his recently released book, Avoiding and Managing U.S. Litigation Risks: A Comprehensive Guide for Business Owners and the Attorneys Who Advise Them.  Kevin and Kent discuss his system, “The Five-C’s”, to help companies better understand the sources of commercial litigation, implement preventative measures to avoid it, and the most effective techniques for managing litigation when it strikes.  These include: Corporate governance, Contract disputes, Customer Claims, Competitors, and Crewmembers.  Get your copy from Amazon today!

Listen to the latest episode of Alternative Litigation Strategies for practical step-by-step guidance on how in-house legal departments and large law firms can increase profitability through litigation risk transfer solutions. In this episode, Kevin interviews DLA Piper Partner, Vincent Montalto. Kevin and Vinny discuss how in-house legal departments can create and leverage litigation funding and claim monetization programs to transform their departments from cost centers to profit centers. They discuss how to build out these programs, identify potential claims, vet commercial concerns against economic gains, and build a coalition and culture of support among the C-suite and the rest of the business. They also discuss how law firms can increase profitability by building affirmative claims programs and maximizing financial arrangements with clients by looking to the markets for capital to fund cases and third-party carriers for contingent litigation risk insurance and judgment preservation insurance. 

Class action claims administration is currently threatened by unprecedented fraud. Over the past year digital fraud from foreign agents, chat bots, GPT software, and other sources have wreaked havoc on settlement administration. Listen to the latest episode of the Alternative Litigation Strategies podcast where Kevin Skrzysowski interviews Jim Prutsman, a Senior Director at Kroll Settlement Administration, on ways to identify and combat these pervasive threats. 

Don’t miss the latest episode of the Alternative Litigation Strategies podcast featuring Rebecca Berrebi, the Founder and CEO of the litigation finance consulting firm, Avenue 33, and Kirstine Rogers and Kevin Skrzysowski from Certum Group. In this program, Rebecca shares keen insights on how all parties to a financing transaction can become better dealmakers.  Listen now to learn about the importance of understanding what motivates all parties to a transaction and how you can actually achieve better deal economics by putting yourself in the shoes of the party on the other side of the table.

In Episode #19 of Alternative Litigation Strategies, Kevin speaks with Ken Suh from Locke Lord on the surge in BIPA litigation since the Black Horse Carriers and White Castle IL Supreme Court decisions, potential ramifications given the statutory penalties, whether these penalties are mandatory or discretionary, the impact on future individual and class-wide settlements, and guidance to remain BIPA compliant and avoid potential litigation.