SAN FRANCISCO — Litigation funding firm Bentham IMF opened a San Francisco office on May 1, hiring securities litigation partner Matthew Harrison from Latham & Watkins.
Bentham, which is based in Australia, is in expansion mode, said its U.S.-based investment officer, Ralph Sutton. The Bay Area’s busy intellectual property litigation docket was a substantial draw, as about one-third of the firm’s cases are patent disputes, Sutton said. He noted that the patent reform climate has made such cases riskier for plaintiffs, though he said Bentham has never funded nonpracticing entities.
