Unmasking Litigation Loans: Rosie Heys Exposes the Dark Side of Legal Funding
DWD co-founder Rosie Heys Rosie Heys, in a podcast on the predatory practices of litigation loan companies targeting vulnerable individuals. Rosie reveals how these companies exploit divorcing individuals by offering high-interest loans, often resulting in severe financial and emotional distress. Through real-life stories and statistics, Rosie exposes the impact on victims, including homelessness and mental […]
Exclusive: Solicitors probed over client loans to fund divorce cases
The Law Gazette’s landmark investigation revealed that more than a dozen clients claimed they were pressured into taking out high-interest Novitas loans by their solicitors, often with minimal affordability checks and inadequate independent advice. The SRA confirmed it was investigating multiple complaints.
Litigation funder stymied as divorcing couple drop proceedings
A case highlighting the structural tension between funders’ financial interests and clients’ ability to settle: when both parties chose to end proceedings, the funder’s prospects of recovering the loan and accumulated interest were left in doubt — raising questions about exit clause enforceability.
‘Irresponsible’ and ‘unfair’: Litigation funder Novitas Loans penalised after lending money to both parties in couple’s dispute
The Financial Ombudsman Service found that Novitas Loans had funded both sides of a property dispute simultaneously — creating a direct conflict of interest the company failed to manage or disclose. The FOS ruled the lending irresponsible and the arrangements unfair, ordering redress to the borrower.
Divorce is not a “blank cheque” for litigation, judge warns
A family court judge cautioned that the availability of litigation funding must not be allowed to transform divorce proceedings into open-ended, costs-insensitive disputes — directly challenging the commercial incentives that drive extended litigation for funders.
Level receives £20m venture capital backing to help finance family law disputes
UK litigation funder Level secured £20m from Guernsey-based 1818 Venture Capital to expand its family law lending portfolio — a deal that highlights the commercial appetite for this market and the scale of capital now flowing into divorce funding products.
FT: The litigation funding business model under scrutiny
The Financial Times examines the growth of the litigation funding market in family proceedings and the regulatory questions it raises — including the structural conflicts of interest that arise when solicitors have established referral relationships with funders.
‘I took out a loan to fund my divorce – I was left homeless and £300k in debt’
A first-person account documenting how a litigation loan taken out to fund divorce proceedings left a woman homeless and facing a debt exceeding £300,000 — illustrating the human cost of inadequate consumer protections in this sector.