For plaintiffs firms managing through a lull in litigation thanks to the pandemic, litigation funding has become an increasingly viable option, but also potentially more costly.

Litigation funding in the last two to three years "just blew up," becoming a multibillion-dollar industry, according to Rebecca Berrebi, a corporate lawyer turned litigation finance broker at Avenue 33. Willkie Farr & Gallagher Midwest chair Craig C. Martin, whose firm has a $50 million funding partnership with Longford Capital, said many firms may not openly discuss funding arrangements, but those deals are becoming increasingly prevalent in order to "fill a natural void in terms of how you might finance litigation on either side of the 'v.'"