SWEDEN Law and Practice Contributed by: Simon Arvmyren, Christopher Stridh and Mikaela Tysk, Delphi
2.4 Minimum and Maximum Amounts of Third-Party Funding There is no maximum or minimum amount for third-party funding. 2.5 Types of Costs Considered Under Third-Party Funding A third-party funder will normally fund the legal costs of the funded party (fees for counsel, experts and other costs, for example the fund- ed party’s related operating costs); funding of potential adverse costs may be included in the funding arrangement as well. As the market is still developing, the influence from other more mature markets, such as the UK, is significant, which means that the terms of funding agree- ments are affected by trends from other more developed markets. 2.6 Contingency Fees The Procedural Code does not prohibit the use of contingency fees; accordingly, such arrange- ments are permitted. However, under the Code of Conduct of the Swedish Bar Association (Sec- tion 4.2.1) it is not permitted for bar members to enter into contingency fee arrangements except for in certain exceptional situations, such as: • if the Swedish Advokat is local counsel in a case where a contingency fee has been agreed in the main jurisdiction; • in a Swedish class action, within certain limi- tations (see 3.7 Representative or Collective Actions ); or • in cases where the claimant otherwise would be denied access to justice due to a lack of funds.
Swedish Advokat (member of the Swedish Bar Association) and, more rarely, by other counsel with legal training (for instance in-house coun- sel). The concept of “rights of an audience”, which usually is applicable in common law coun- tries, is not used in the same way in Sweden. Further rules regarding legal representatives can be found in Chapter 12 of the Procedural Code and rules concerning attorneys exclusively are to be found in Chapter 8 of the Procedural Code. 2. Litigation Funding 2.1 Third-Party Litigation Funding In most cases, litigation costs are carried by the parties to the dispute. In addition to this, legal expense insurance is included in most stand- ard insurance policies for SMEs, and commonly available as stand-alone insurance, but normally only covers a fairly limited amount. Third-party litigation funding, which is a growing market in Sweden, is unregulated and permit- ted in Sweden. Several third-party funders, both domestic and international, are active in Sweden and there are several examples of funded cases, including contemplated group actions. Although the number of funded cases is increasing, the prevalence of third-party funded cases remains limited. 2.2 Third-Party Funding: Lawsuits All types of lawsuits are available for third-party funding, including, for example, tax recovery. 2.3 Third-Party Funding for Plaintiff and Defendant Third-party funding is available for both the plaintiff and defendant.
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