Litigation funder Therium Capital Management has linked up with disputes data analytics company Solomonic to support its litigation investment activities.

Solomonic, a start-up which combines legal, analytics and behavioural sciences expertise, uses detailed court data to enhance predictions, optimise case research and potentially improve outcomes. 

Therium’s chief investment officer, Neil Purslow, said: “We are always looking at ways to innovate our approach to investments and thanks to Solomonic, strong historic case data is now available to underpin our investment decisions when assessing claims that require funding.” 

Solomonic’s managing director, Edward Bird, welcomed the collaboration, saying “our team are looking forward to working with Therium to create significant added value for their business.”

Purslow added: “We look forward to exploring how big data and AI can add value to how we undertake due diligence and value our claims,” in what he called an “exciting new field.”

Solomonic agreed a similar collaboration with HFW in July last year. Speaking at the time, HFW’s head of litigation, Noel Campbell, said: “Combining Solomonic's data with our experience and expertise as litigators will allow us to be more efficient and effective as lawyers, and ultimately enable our clients to make more informed, commercial decisions about resolving their disputes.”

HFW and Solomonic have tracked developments in London’s commercial courts. Their research has shown both a temporary hiatus in court business due to the pandemic and a subsequent, much stronger uplift, as England & Wales’ commercial courts have adjusted to the ‘new normal’.  

Now Therium seeks to gain a competitive edge by adding the same skill-sets and expertise to its own work, alongside such bread-and-butter services such as client case portfolio management, after-the-event insurance and investor-assessed risk management of claims.

The use of analytics will help the funder to assess potential outcomes, and thus inform key strategic decisions such as potential settlement offers based on previous precedents, alongside their own investment management nous.

The announcement follows US firm Ropes & Grey’s recent investment in behavioural analytics, while Wolters Kluwer backed technology-driven legal research company Arbitrator Intelligence has sought to apply similar insights to arbitration, as have US-based companies like Lex Machina, which is active in assessing current court trends.  

Adoption of artificial intelligence-based (AI) technology among lawyers arguably still remains low, according to a survey in March jointly conducted by the University of Oxford and the Law Society. Just 16% of respondents said they apply AI technology to due diligence and 12% for e-disclosure or technology assisted review.

However, with Solomonic’s use of internal data, such analytics may deliver a more comprehensive view of the risks and rewards of disputes, for both funders and litigators—giving the use of AI a boost. 

That may encourage greater take-up, as they gain greater insights leading to more informed—and potentially better—decisions, with corporate clients then placing increased emphasis on analytics alongside smarter knowledge management and legal project management skills from lawyers.