Influence and Impact: FRT’s Ongoing Initiatives Shaping the Global Recovery Landscape
The global recovery landscape is not static. It’s constantly evolving, creating challenges for fiduciaries trying to stay on top of trends and developments. But with change comes opportunity, including the potential to shape legal environments in ways favorable to institutional investors. FRT has been at the forefront of such efforts.
- Court Submissions: In both the UK and Australia, FRT submitted affidavits to courts in ongoing cases to share its views on how institutional investors will likely respond to proposed orders that affect the risks and burdens of claimant participation. Submissions included empirical analyses of FRT client registration rates by country over time to show how changes to the risk profile of a jurisdiction impact the number of registrations, as well as input from our clients on case-specific issues to impart the views of institutional investors directly to the courts.
- Public Comments: In Australia, FRT submitted a position paper to a government inquiry on reforms to laws governing class actions to explain how they would impact investors’ involvement in such cases. More recently, we submitted comment letters in the US regarding our opinions on eligibility and participation limitation issues for proposed SEC Fair Funds.
- Registration Agreements: FRT regularly negotiates registration terms with case organizers (lawyers and funders) in opt-in litigation outside of the US to reduce commission rates for FRT clients, provide greater protection for client identities, and ease registration processes and burdens. Having registered many hundreds of clients in actions around the world, we understand investors’ needs and concerns about joining such cases and proactively communicate them to the organizers, who have responded in positive ways.
- Ongoing Support: Once registered, as cases progress, we continue to advocate for our clients’ interests and work with organizers to ease the burdens of participation. For example, we recently advocated for a law firm to seek court orders, securing the protection of client identities in response to a risk of broader disclosure. In all opt-in cases outside of the US, we undertake responsibility for obtaining custodial confirmations, assisting in obtaining letters from custodians and pushing both organizers and custodians to be reasonable with their requests and what documents may be submitted. If there are difficulties in providing confirms in the requested formats, we offer alternatives and work with custodians to provide documents that will satisfy court requirements.
- Thought Leadership: FRT is at the forefront of client education, writing articles and blogs and hosting webinars and client events that analyze trends in class and group recovery actions and focus on the issues that are important to investors. Recognized globally as a leader in the field, FRT’s internal legal team regularly speaks on recovery issues at conferences worldwide and recently co-authored a chapter on US litigation financing for a forthcoming treatise. The team also works with organizers to disseminate useful information to investors.
As the direct participants in global recovery matters, FRT’s clients play a critical role in these efforts. We listen to their needs and solicit their views. This feedback is the bedrock of our efforts. With their help, we continue to advocate for issues important to our clients and influence the global recovery landscape.
Recent Thought Leadership
- FRT’s Webinar on Global Investment Recovery Landscape – 2023 Review and 2024 Outlook
- January 17, 2024: ‘But-For’ Modeling in the Stock Lending Class Action Settlements
- December 20, 2023: Further Thoughts on the Stock Lending Settlement