Can a claimant receive cash before a lawsuit is resolved?

Yes, through monetization. Instead of the funder paying lawyers, the claimant receives cash it can use for any business purpose, and the funder takes a share of the recovery if the claim succeeds. GAO describes 'corporate claim monetization, which allows companies to get funding based on the value of pending commercial claims.' If the claim fails, the claimant keeps the cash and owes nothing on it.

How is monetization different from paying legal costs?

The money goes to the claimant, not to the case. Fees-and-costs funding pays the lawyers and experts as the case proceeds. A monetization pays the claimant up front, often for a claim whose legal costs are already covered, for example by a contingency fee. Burford's guide lists both: 'Fees & expenses' funds the costs of commercial claims, and 'Monetization' advances 'some of the expected entitlement of claims, judgments and awards.'

Why would a company monetize a claim?

To turn an asset its accounts barely show into cash. Burford's 10-K says legal finance can 'boost liquidity by obtaining cash through upfront monetization of legal assets that otherwise would not be reflected in their financial statements,' and lets companies avoid booking legal fees as operating expenses. It also transfers the risk of losing: the company keeps the advance whatever happens.

How much of the market is monetization?

It is a significant part of large funders' new business. Burford's 2025 10-K attributes the increase in its Principal Finance deployments in 2025 to 'more than $130.0 million of monetizations across six different assets.' Funders do not publish a market-wide total; GAO found no comprehensive estimate of the market's size.

What does the claimant give up?

Part of the upside, priced for the risk and the wait. In the worked example below, a company takes $20 million now and gives up $45 million of a $150 million settlement three years later. That is an expensive source of cash if the case wins, and a cheap one if it loses, which is the trade both sides are pricing.

What is the risk for the funder and the investor?

All of the claim's risk with none of the control. The funder has paid out cash that is recovered only if the claim succeeds and is collected, often years later. It is usually a larger, earlier deployment than fees-and-costs funding on the same claim, so the funder's whole outlay is at risk from the first day rather than built up stage by stage.

Claim Monetization

Litigation Finance & Legal Claims

Definition

Claim monetization is a non-recourse advance of part of a pending claim's expected value, paid to the claimant as cash before the case resolves, in exchange for a share of the eventual recovery. Burford's 2025 Form 10-K defines monetization as 'the acceleration of a portion of the expected value of a litigation or arbitration matter prior to resolution of such matter, which permits a client to convert an intangible claim or award into tangible cash on a non-recourse basis.'

Why it matters

Monetization is where litigation finance looks most like buying an asset: the funder pays cash today for a share of an uncertain future recovery. For the claimant it converts a contingent claim into liquidity and shifts the risk of losing to the funder. For an investor it is a larger, earlier commitment than funding legal costs, with the whole outlay at risk from day one. The price is the share of recovery given up, so read it against the claim's likely value after appeals, collection and time, not against the amount claimed. And confirm whether the funder or the claimant still pays the lawyers.

Common misconceptions

•A monetization is not a loan, because nothing is owed if the claim fails, and the claimant keeps the advance.
•The advance is not the claim's value, because funders size it against expected recovery after risk and time, not against the damages claimed.
•Monetization does not pay the legal costs by itself, because the cash goes to the claimant, and the lawyers must still be paid under a separate arrangement.
•A high funder share is not necessarily overpriced, because the funder bears the full risk of losing and waits years for any return.
•Monetization is not only for pending cases, because judgments and awards can be monetized too, with a different mix of risks.

Technical details

Worked example (illustrative)

Company has a pending $200 million claim; its counsel works on contingency.

Funder advances $20.0 million now for 30% of gross proceeds.

Settles in 3 years for $150 million: funder receives $45.0 million, 2.25x, about 31% a year.

Company receives $105 million at settlement (before its counsel's fee) plus the $20.0 million it took up front.

Claim fails: funder receives $0; company keeps the $20.0 million.

Monetization vs fees-and-costs funding

Who receives the cash: the claimant vs the lawyers and experts.

When it is deployed: mostly up front vs in stages as the case proceeds.

What it buys: liquidity and transfer of loss risk vs the ability to bring the case.

Funder's exposure: full amount at risk from day one vs exposure that grows with the case.

Typical counterparty: a company with a valuable claim vs a company or firm that needs the case funded.

What AltStreet's reviews and filings show

Burford 2025 10-K: monetization defined as accelerating 'a portion of the expected value' of a matter on a non-recourse basis; more than $130.0 million of monetizations across six assets drove its 2025 deployment increase.

GAO-23-105210 (footnote 21): corporate claim monetization and judgment enforcement listed among commercial funders' other arrangements.

Burford's Form 10-Q for September 30, 2026 reports an 81% ROIC and a 25% IRR on its concluded and partially concluded balance-sheet assets since inception, on $4.01 billion of cumulative realizations across 303 concluded assets, with a weighted average life of 2.7 years weighted by realizations.

Burford's introductory guide: businesses use legal finance to 'accelerate expected entitlements to unlock cash flows from pending claims and awards.'

Questions for an investor

What share of the recovery does the advance buy, and is it capped or does it step up with time?

Who pays the legal costs, and are they budgeted to the end of the case, including appeal?

What has the claimant represented about the claim, and what happens if a representation is wrong?

How is the position valued while pending, and on what milestones does the value change?

Who is the defendant, and can it pay the expected amount?

How investors apply the term

Investors usually apply this term by tying the definition back to the controlling documents and then asking which cash flows, rights, restrictions, or valuation assumptions it changes. A useful review looks at the term alongside fees, leverage, liquidity, reporting frequency, and manager discretion rather than treating it as a standalone concept.

The practical diligence test is simple: identify who benefits if the assumption is wrong, who has control when conditions change, and what evidence the investor receives after closing. Terms that cannot be reconciled to documents, cash movements, and monitoring data should be treated as marketing shorthand until proven otherwise.

Frequently asked questions

Can a claimant receive cash before a lawsuit is resolved?: Yes, through monetization. Instead of the funder paying lawyers, the claimant receives cash it can use for any business purpose, and the funder takes a share of the recovery if the claim succeeds. GAO describes 'corporate claim monetization, which allows companies to get funding based on the value of pending commercial claims.' If the claim fails, the claimant keeps the cash and owes nothing on it.
How is monetization different from paying legal costs?: The money goes to the claimant, not to the case. Fees-and-costs funding pays the lawyers and experts as the case proceeds. A monetization pays the claimant up front, often for a claim whose legal costs are already covered, for example by a contingency fee. Burford's guide lists both: 'Fees & expenses' funds the costs of commercial claims, and 'Monetization' advances 'some of the expected entitlement of claims, judgments and awards.'
Why would a company monetize a claim?: To turn an asset its accounts barely show into cash. Burford's 10-K says legal finance can 'boost liquidity by obtaining cash through upfront monetization of legal assets that otherwise would not be reflected in their financial statements,' and lets companies avoid booking legal fees as operating expenses. It also transfers the risk of losing: the company keeps the advance whatever happens.
How much of the market is monetization?: It is a significant part of large funders' new business. Burford's 2025 10-K attributes the increase in its Principal Finance deployments in 2025 to 'more than $130.0 million of monetizations across six different assets.' Funders do not publish a market-wide total; GAO found no comprehensive estimate of the market's size.
What does the claimant give up?: Part of the upside, priced for the risk and the wait. In the worked example below, a company takes $20 million now and gives up $45 million of a $150 million settlement three years later. That is an expensive source of cash if the case wins, and a cheap one if it loses, which is the trade both sides are pricing.
What is the risk for the funder and the investor?: All of the claim's risk with none of the control. The funder has paid out cash that is recovered only if the claim succeeds and is collected, often years later. It is usually a larger, earlier deployment than fees-and-costs funding on the same claim, so the funder's whole outlay is at risk from the first day rather than built up stage by stage.