As a litigation associate at Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz, Charles Griffin wasn’t aware of third-party case funding. At least, not until his firm found itself defending client Match Group in a case where the plaintiffs were backed by a litigation funder, said Griffin, now a vice president on the U.S. investment team of Burford Capital.

The founders of dating app Tinder had sued parent company Match Group in 2018 over allegations that it cheated them out of $2 billion by manipulating financial information to undermine the company’s valuation. The case, which settled in 2021 for $441 million, made Griffin realize the growing role litigation finance occupies in the litigation ecosystem, he said.