Taurus Heights




The Taurus Heights Group Difference 
 



Financial Solutions for Complex Litigation

Leveling the Playing Field 

One of the strongest cases for litigation finance is a situation in which a claim holder is otherwise unable to pursue a meritorious claim or hire the counsel of its choosing because of a lack of access to capital. Another scenario in which litigation finance is particularly useful is a claim holder in litigation that feels pressure to settle for pennies on the dollar because of mounting litigation expenses. When these situations arise, which is too often, litigation finance can help.

Litigation funding provides law firms and commercial plaintiffs with access to money to pursue litigation or operate their business without the risk of repayment if the case is lost. With court cases and arbitrations frequently taking years to conclude, litigants can find themselves in tough financial situations as their case is pending. This non-recourse financing increases options and limits the risk and cost of litigation to the plaintiff.

Taurus Heights Group provides litigants and law firms with the capital they need to pursue their cases or to manage risk, so they can focus on what is important: growing their business, cultivating relationships, and keeping the lights on. Taurus Heights Group takes a distinctive approach. We rely on our expertise and our streamlined process to provide the best possible experience.

Taurus Heights Group does more than just provide capital—we add value.

Taurus Heights Group Is Experienced, Transparent, and Quick

Taurus Heights Group is one of the world’s largest private investment firms focused on legal and regulatory risk. Taurus was founded by industry veterans who have been recognized by Chambers & Partners, Intellectual Asset Management (IAM), Law Dragon, and others.

Together the Taurus team brings a wealth of legal and financing experience. The Taurus founders have previously led teams at other litigation funders, including Gerchen Keller Capital and Burford Capital. The Taurus team includes former partners at large law firms (Kirkland & Ellis and Mayer Brown) and former in-house counsels (Gilead Sciences, Abbott Laboratories, and Teva Pharmaceuticals).

The Taurus team has led and managed hundreds of millions of dollars in litigation funding investments at the world’s largest litigation finance firms even prior to founding Taurus Heights Group and raising the firm’s current $345 million fund.

Our Experience Means Better, Faster Decisions

Our broad experience means that Taurus Heights Group can often provide insight into the latest strategies, defenses, and litigation theories. We bring our experience to the table with counsel, experts, and strategy. We have connections with top-tier lawyers, consultants, testifying experts, and jury consultants.

What does our experience mean for a litigant or law firm interested in financing?

  • A simpler and more straightforward process
  • Quicker decision-making
  • Access to decision makers
  • More transparency
  • Greater versatility
  • A shorter underwriting period

We have a winning record of supporting our clients and counterparties through dozens of trials and more than one hundred cases.

Expert, In-House Litigation Underwriters 

Taurus Heights Group comprises a team of professional and expert litigation underwriters who were partners at large law firms or senior in-house employees before joining Taurus Heights Group.

Some litigation finance firms hire external law firms to do all of their legal diligence. This makes for a slow, disjointed, and expensive process. In contrast, Taurus Heights Group prides itself on handling most of its legal diligence in-house. The Taurus litigation underwriters have decades of experience.

What does this mean for you? We can examine and analyze your case in both a thorough and efficient manner. Also, because we handle the underwriting internally, we can adjust to unique cases that require flexible solutions.

We Are Invested In Your Case 

When Taurus Heights Group finances a case, we want the litigant and law firm to win or to settle on favorable terms. After we put our money on the line, we work with our counterparties and their counsel where appropriate to add value and ensure the best possible result. Time that we spend increasing the value of your case also increases the value of our investment—which is time well spent. We have line edited briefs, discussed pre-filing and litigation strategies, attended mock arguments, accompanied our counterparties in mediations, observed trials, conferred with lead counsel about trial strategy, connected our counterparty to best-in-class experts and trial counsel, and more.

Our view of economic alignment means that we take our due diligence and case management process seriously.

Speed, Transparency, and Integrity

Whether a counterparty is a Fortune 500 enterprise or a small business, the litigation process can be a taxing experience. That is why we believe our counterparties deserve attention and timely answers to their questions. We also believe our counterparties should completely comprehend and appreciate matters that affect or have the potential to affect them.

For this reason, Taurus Heights Group focuses on three principles that serve our firm and our counterparties at each stage of the process.

Responsiveness & Speed 

We give our counterparties focused attention and timely answers. We understand that your time is valuable. Our experience allows us to make decisions quickly and move decisively. This speed is important even when a case is not a good fit, because a quick evaluation provides the litigant more time to consider other options.

Transparency 

We are open with our counterparties about our process and the status of their case. We help our counterparties understand and appreciate issues that affect them. We affirmatively highlight issues that we have found are important.

Integrity 

The touchstone of integrity is meeting your commitments. We will only invest in matters in which our interests are aligned with those of our counterparty. We build long-term relationships with counterparties and their counsel through trust.

The Taurus Heights Group LLC Approach to the Litigation Underwriting Process

We understand that litigants and lawyers have many questions about the litigation funding process, how finance can be utilized, Taurus Heights Group LLC’s areas of specialization, and how cases are evaluated. This section will provide an overview of these answers. If you have additional questions, please message or call us directly.

The Funding Process

  1. Initial Inquiry: We will have an initial discussion to determine if the matter is a good fit for Taurus Heights Group LLC and the counterparty. If so, we will enter into a non-disclosure agreement and collect background information about the case.
  2. Underwriting & Analysis: Underwriting is an iterative process involving the litigant and its attorneys. We will discuss and evaluate the legal analysis, available evidence, and case strategy. We will also evaluate the potential damages and whether the defendant is capable of paying a large award.
  3. Term Sheet & Final Documents: After underwriting the substance of the claim, Taurus Heights Group LLC will provide a term sheet that lays out the anticipated pricing and other key terms. After the term sheet is executed, Taurus Heights Group LLC will finalize its diligence and then provide its counterparty with a set of transactional documents. Upon execution, these will be the legally binding documents for the agreement.
  4. Fund & Monitor: After execution of the investment documents, the real work of the case begins. Taurus Heights Group LLC will begin financing the litigation consistent with the agreement. At the same time, we monitor each case and offer strategic input as requested. Our counterparties routinely express appreciation for our insight in their cases.
  5. Monetize: When the case concludes, the proceeds will be received and distributed as specified in the investment agreement.

How Is the Capital Used?

Taurus Heights Group LLC provides capital for a variety of uses. The most common use is to pay legal fees and out-of-pocket expenses (experts, discovery costs, etc.) associated with complex litigation. Some litigants and law firms also use the capital for operational expenses separate and apart from the financed litigation. Law firms often want the capital to manage the risk of their contingency cases. Some parties use the capital to acquire and monetize patent portfolios. In certain situations, counterparties may just want to monetize a portion of the litigation (for example, when a favorable verdict is on appeal) to de-risk their position.

The Taurus Heights Group LLC team is continually expanding on and developing new approaches to assist our clients in managing and minimizing the risks associated with complex litigations and other legal processes. We are able to create customized and adaptable solutions to meet our counterparty’s specific needs.

Funding Criteria

While the facts of each case are unique, Taurus Heights Group LLC typically invests in litigation opportunities having the following characteristics:

  • Commercial Claims

We invest in business, organization, and commercial plaintiffs with business and IP-related claims.

  • Merit

We back claims that, after a rigorous analysis of the law and evidence, we believe will and should win.

  • Funding Amount

We invest in matters requiring around $1 million and up.

  • Jurisdiction

Our investments range from U.S. to international jurisdictions.

  • Damages

Expected damages should provide sufficient coverage for the investment return without distorting the claim holder’s incentives.

  • Recoverability

Defendants must be able to pay a settlement or judgment.