Jesús Rodrigo (PLA Litigation Funding) speaks at CUNEF Universidad
Litigation funding is increasingly becoming one of the developments most profoundly reshaping how judicial systems operate and how both companies and individuals approach legal risk. This was one of the central themes discussed on 5 March at CUNEF Universidad, as part of the “Jueves Derecho” lecture series, in a session titled “The Litigation Industry in Spain: Financial Transformation, Judicial Backlog and Corporate Resilience”, organised, introduced and moderated by Professor Andrés Betancor Rodríguez, Director of the Department of Law at CUNEF Universidad.
The roundtable brought together Jesús Rodrigo, CEO of PLA Litigation Funding, alongside Raquel Blázquez Martín, Justice of the Spanish Supreme Court, and Diego Vicente Pérez, partner at Garrigues. The discussion focused on the economic, institutional and regulatory implications of the growing sophistication of the litigation market.
During his remarks, Rodrigo explained how litigation funding has introduced a new economic perspective into the field of dispute resolution. Certain disputes can now be analysed from an investment standpoint, where institutional investors assume the financial risk of the proceedings in exchange for a share in the outcome of the case. This approach allows capital to be mobilised towards complex disputes that might otherwise be difficult to pursue for purely economic reasons. The investment structures through which this is done may vary considerably.
Rodrigo also noted that this financial approach to litigation is not limited to specialised litigation funds. Other actors within the legal ecosystem — such as law firms operating entirely on contingency fee arrangements, or insurers offering coverage for litigation risk — also participate, to different degrees, in this broader framework of economic risk management in legal proceedings.
In addition, the CEO of PLA outlined the strategic positioning of the fund, which focuses on complex corporate litigation with links to the Iberian market.
When addressing the relationship between funders, clients and legal counsel, Rodrigo emphasised the importance of professional ethics and the careful management of conflicts of interest. These transactions, he noted, are structured around a triangular relationship in which each participant must preserve its independence and fulfil its respective role.
He also referred to the regulatory challenges raised by the forthcoming framework governing collective actions in Spain, pointing out that the way this regime is ultimately designed will play a significant role in shaping the development of litigation funding in the country and in determining its ability to attract institutional investment.
In closing, Rodrigo highlighted both the international and domestic growth of the litigation funding industry, which in the coming years is likely to continue evolving towards more sophisticated and professionalised models. In his view, this process will increasingly differentiate specialised operators with institutional structures from other, less formal funding arrangements present in the market.
The discussion at CUNEF made clear that litigation funding has already become a structural element of the contemporary legal landscape, and that its evolution will continue to influence the relationship between justice, business and financial markets in the years ahead.
