Lawyers Weekly - legal news for Australian lawyers

Powered by MOMENTUM MEDIA
lawyers weekly logo

Powered by MOMENTUM MEDIA

Goodbye job applications, hello dream career
Seize control of your career and design the future you deserve with LW career

‘No win-no fee’: Maurice Blackburn slashes AMP class action commission

Maurice Blackburn has announced it will carry the bulk of the cost burden for aggrieved shareholders in a class action against AMP.

user iconEmma Musgrave 16 May 2018 Big Law
expand image

Maurice Blackburn has revealed it has joined the list of law firms to file a class action against AMP, following damning revelations at the banking royal commission which saw the financial giant accused of potential crimes, including providing false and misleading statements to the regulator and charging customers for services that were not provided.

However unlike its competitors Maurice Blackburn noted it will conduct the class action on a “no win-no fee” basis, whereby it will rely on litigation funder International Litigation Funding Partners for the adverse costs coverage only.

“Ultimately this means participants in the Maurice Blackburn action will pay a very low 12.5 per cent commission upon any successful recovery, giving institutional investors and retail shareholders alike the same access to extraordinarily good commission rates and a potentially greater return,” the national firm said in a statement.

Maurice Blackburn national head of class actions, Andrew Watson, said that his firm’s “superdeal” provides AMP investors with a “very clear choice” on who to turn to in the pursuit of their recoveries.

“Investors have every right to be disappointed with AMP’s conduct as revealed in the Banking Royal Commission but they can now choose Australia’s leading class action law firm which has secured the nation’s largest shareholder recoveries, backed by a tried, tested and trusted funder offering exceptionally low commission rates,” Mr Watson said.

“In a world where institutional investors and retail shareholders alike are grappling with how to choose between competing actions, we’re taking the guesswork out of it and making the choice crystal clear with these extraordinarily low funding commission rates.

“In addition, we know that recovering larger amounts is one of the single biggest determinants affecting shareholders’ ultimate recoveries, and no firm other than Maurice Blackburn has resolved Australian shareholder class actions for more than $100million. I’m proud to say that, including the recent settlement of QBE for $132.5million, we’ve done it on seven separate occasions.”

The latest on the AMP debacle comes after the embattled financial giant confirmed that a claim had been filed against it by global litigation firm Quinn Emanuel and by Phi Finney McDonald — with funding from litigation funder IMF Bentham.

Slater and Gordon has also been circling AMP for a class action, telling Lawyers Weekly last week that other filings against AMP will not deter from its own shareholder litigation.

Emma Musgrave

Emma Musgrave

Emma Musgrave (née Ryan) is the managing editor, professional services at Momentum Media.

Emma has worked for Momentum Media since 2015, including five years spent as the editor of the company's legal brand - Lawyers Weekly. Throughout her time at Momentum, she has been responsible for breaking some of the biggest stories in corporate Australia. In addition, she has produced exclusive multimedia and event content related to the company's respective brands and audiences. 

Prior to joining Momentum Media, Emma worked in breakfast radio, delivering news to the Central West region of NSW, before taking on a radio journalist role at Southern Cross Austereo, based in Townsville, North Queensland.

She holds a Bachelor of Communications (Journalism) degree from Charles Sturt University. 

Email Emma on: Emma.Musgrave@momentummedia.com.au 

Comments (2)
  • Avatar
    Time for MB to throw a whole team to drink at this case at $900/per hour + GST + uplift. Punters will wish they had the choice of a contingency fee by the time they are done.

    And a funder receiving 12.5% for nothing other than paying for ATE insurance? Tell them they’re dreamining . . .
    0
  • Avatar
    Lower commission out of the settlement to the litigation funder - sounds great - what's the catch? Oh, that's right, no win no fee will mean MB will charge a 25% uplift on their fees they otherwise wouldn't have been entitled to. Is this a news piece, or really an example of misleading advertising?
    0
Avatar
Attach images by dragging & dropping or by selecting them.
The maximum file size for uploads is MB. Only files are allowed.
 
The maximum number of 3 allowed files to upload has been reached. If you want to upload more files you have to delete one of the existing uploaded files first.
The maximum number of 3 allowed files to upload has been reached. If you want to upload more files you have to delete one of the existing uploaded files first.
Posting as
You need to be a member to post comments. Become a member for free today!