Law
schools
spend
a
lot
of
time
teaching
students
how
to
argue
cases.
Or,
maybe
more
accurately,
how
to
read
opinions
about
past
litigations
that
offer
dubious
value
to
their
eventual
careers
marking
up
term
sheets.
But
in
any
event,
what
schools
haven’t
spent
much
time
on
is
teaching
them
how
these
cases
get
funded.
Which
isn’t
entirely
the
fault
of
the
schools.
Litigation
finance
is
a
relatively
new
industry
and
schools
have
only
started
to
come
to
grips
with
that
reality.
Harvard
Law
School
now
offers
a
course
on
litigation
funding
and
the
future
of
the
legal
profession
and
other
schools
are
too
—
turns
out
that
when
an
industry
hits
$16
billion
and
starts
fundamentally
reshaping
how
litigation
gets
financed,
law
schools
eventually
notice.
But
courses
and
symposia
can
only
get
students
so
far.
At
some
point,
the
way
to
learn
how
the
money
side
of
litigation
works
is
to
actually
be
in
the
room
when
funding
decisions
get
made.
And
there’s
an
opportunity
for
that
now,
with
the
Certum
Group’s
Litigation
Finance
Fellowship.
Now
in
its
third
year,
the
fellowship
gives
law
students
and
business
students
a
four-week,
hands-on
immersion
in
what
it
actually
looks
like
when
capital
meets
complex
litigation.
Fellows
work
closely
with
Certum’s
legal,
insurance,
and
finance
professionals
—
analyzing
case
funding
requests,
modeling
case
resolution
scenarios,
participating
in
client
development
meetings,
and
preparing
marketing
collateral.
It’s
not
a
coffee-fetching
internship.
Past
fellows
have
come
from
Penn
Carey
Law
and
Columbia
Business
School,
and
the
program
is
designed
—
much
like
the
MoloLamken
Advocacy
Academy
for
the
trial
advocacy
inclined
—
to
run
after
students
have
already
completed
a
summer
associateship
or
other
internship,
making
it
a
second-summer
add-on
rather
than
a
scheduling
conflict.
The
fellowship
is
led
by
William
Marra,
who
heads
Certum’s
litigation
finance
strategy
and
serves
on
the
board
of
the
International
Legal
Finance
Association.
Marra
is
also
a
lecturer
in
law
at
Penn
Carey
Law,
where
he’s
in
his
fourth
year
teaching
litigation
finance.
He’s
also
co-hosting
an
academic
symposium
on
litigation
finance
with
the
NYU
Law
Review
on
April
17.
In
other
words,
the
guy
running
this
program
is
the
same
guy
law
schools
call
when
they
want
someone
to
talk
to
students
about
litigation
finance.
The
fellowship
is
just
getting
that
education
wholesale.
Certum
Group
provides
litigation
finance,
litigation
insurance,
and
managed
services
organization
capabilities
under
one
roof,
meaning
fellows
aren’t
just
learning
one
corner
of
the
business,
but
gaining
exposure
to
the
full
sausage-making
process
of
how
litigation
risk
gets
assessed,
priced,
and
transferred.
“Litigation
finance
and
insurance
are
rapidly
changing
the
legal
landscape,”
Marra
said.
“To
succeed,
lawyers
need
to
understand
not
only
doctrine
but
also
finance.
Law
schools
are
beginning
to
reflect
that
shift,
and
students
want
to
understand
it.
Our
Summer
Fellowship
is
about
opening
that
door
for
both
law
and
business
students,
and
giving
them
meaningful
exposure
to
the
capital
side
of
litigation.”
Nothing
against
legal
academia,
but
there’s
just
no
substitute
for
the
practical
training
that
can
only
be
gained
directly
from
those
working
in
the
field.
With
litigation
financing
becoming
a
larger
and
larger
industry
every
year,
the
Certum
fellowship
attacks
the
gap
between
doctrinal
education
and
figuring
out
how
to
finance
justice
in
a
world
where
resources
have
traditionally
been
stacked
against
victims.
The
fellowship
is
based
in
New
York
City,
though
remote
participation
is
available.
Any
law
student
or
business
student
is
eligible.
Fellows
receive
a
$3,000
cash
award
and
Certum
expects
to
employ
one
to
three
fellows
depending
on
the
applicant
pool.
Applications
are
due
March
31,
2026,
and
should
include
a
resume,
law
school
transcript,
and
a
brief
250-word
statement
of
interest.
Send
applications
to
[email protected].
If
you’re
a
law
student
who
wants
to
get
in
on
the
still
comparatively
early
days
of
the
financing
industry,
this
is
worth
a
look.
Joe
Patrice is
a
senior
editor
at
Above
the
Law
and
co-host
of
Thinking
Like
A
Lawyer.
Feel
free
to email
any
tips,
questions,
or
comments.
Follow
him
on Twitter or
Bluesky
if
you’re
interested
in
law,
politics,
and
a
healthy
dose
of
college
sports
news.
Joe
also
serves
as
a
Managing
Director
at
RPN
Executive
Search.