Litigation funding in Italy: still confined to class actions and arbitration

Litigation funding is becoming more familiar in Italy, although progress remains slow. The financing of legal costs by third parties is increasingly recognised, and Italian lawyers show growing interest in its practical applications; however, the establishment of litigation funding as a real industry has not yet taken off. The spread of the instrument requires time, both because of its specific features and because the cases eligible for funding are often highly complex.

According to Giacomo Serra Zanetti, Investment Manager and Senior Legal Counsel at Omni Bridgeway—an Australia-listed company that entered the Italian market last year—there is still a considerable gap between disseminating information about the tool and applying it in concrete cases, and the Italian market still needs to be developed, particularly in relation to collective actions.

 

Omni Bridgeway is working on antitrust disputes, defective product claims, and cases involving technological companies engaged in non-competitive practices. The company is even more active in disputes with a cross-border dimension, including cases originating in Italy but involving complexities outside national borders. Serra Zanetti points out that the firm also considers purely domestic disputes, but its main activity is associated with international matters due to the costs of arbitral tribunals, international law firms, and the firm’s expertise in multiple jurisdictions.

 

Deminor is also expanding its presence in Italy. The company collaborates with leading Italian and international law firms, as well as boutique litigation practices. Giacomo Lorenzo, Head of Italy and Senior Legal Counsel at Deminor, explains that in recent years the firm has focused on several sectors, including private enforcement antitrust actions. Many Italian companies damaged by the European trucks cartel and the national corrugated cardboard cartel have turned to Deminor to pursue damages claims, which are particularly complex and require the involvement of both lawyers and economists.

 

Class actions represent another area of significant growth for Deminor. In these proceedings, the firm can act as a catalyst, working with law firms to handle actions involving a large number of participants. Managing claimants is often the most complex aspect, and for this reason Deminor has a dedicated department that focuses exclusively on this activity.

Other sectors of strong interest for Deminor include arbitration, commercial litigation, intellectual property disputes, and corporate disputes with a value exceeding seven million euros.

 

Roberto Fabio Lipari, Partner and Europe Head of Litigation and Dispute Resolution at Dentons Italy, notes that arbitration and class actions are the natural fields for litigation funding, although the phenomenon is gradually expanding into the enforcement of antitrust judgments, assignments of litigious claims, and tort-related disputes. Lipari adds that funders are particularly interested in high-value arbitrations, which typically have an international dimension. It is increasingly common for a party or its external counsel to identify a funder to cover the costs of the proceeding when the amount at stake or the expected duration makes the case financially burdensome. Even parties with adequate financial resources may choose to transfer part of the economic risk to a funder.

 

According to Lipari, the growing interest in arbitration as a dispute-resolution mechanism, combined with increased attention from legislators and the European Union, suggests a progressive consolidation of the Italian litigation funding market, which may become increasingly attractive to international capital.

 

A study published by the European Commission in March 2025 observes that litigation funding is not regulated in any of the 27 EU Member States, with the sole exception of Ireland, where it is prohibited. Ethical rules, including those applicable to lawyers, generally apply.

Litigation funding refers to the financing of legal proceedings by third parties—typically investment funds or banks—which assume the legal costs in exchange for an agreed percentage of the amount recovered, and only in the event of a successful outcome.