Burford Capital

It is a commonly held view that once a litigant wins a case, they automatically receive payment for damages. While this can and should be the case, it is not always true. On many occasions, defendants will hide assets, leaving claimants with a conundrum – spend yet more thousands pursuing hidden wealth across multiple jurisdictions, or simply give up.

Educating the media, law firms and claimants on an alternative solution was part of PHA’s brief with litigation funding giant Burford Capital.

Burford – listed on the NYSE – acquired an asset recovery business to create a market-first offering which enabled claimants to obtain funded judgment enforcement expertise, giving them financial clout and access to corporate investigators to turn won cases into real pounds and pence.

PHA first worked with Burford to publicise the acquisition. Our team organised a series of briefings with key journalists to educate writers on not only the new initiative from the firm, but also the depth of the issue it was dealing with.

We commenced thought leadership outreach, targeting tier one financial publications for not only written output but also video interviews, including one with World Finance.

One highlight of the campaign was securing a front-page Wall Street Journal article promoting the firm’s key messages. Other publications, including the Guardian, highlighted the techniques the company’s corporate investigators deployed – including social media – to trace people and their wealth.

PHA’s Public Affairs specialists also supported the team by providing insight to a sub-committee of the European Parliament investigating the issue of hidden assets following the release of the Panama Papers.