Hedge fund MKM Longboat is allocating US$100 million to invest in European legal disputes, and has hired a prominent former litigator to manage it.

London-based MKM is believed to be the first group to hire a fund manager, Susan Dunn, focusing exclusively on third-party litigation funding, The Times of London reports, although it is not alone in pursuing the strategy. Dunn is a former managing director of IM Litigation Funding, and was involved in one of the largest-ever third-party litigation funding case, a £90 million negligence claim against an accountant. As a litigator, Dunn worked at the law firm Wragge & Co,

Under third-party litigation funding, investors cover the costs of litigation in exchange for a share of any awards won in court.

Dunn has been tasked with investing in British and European legal disputes potentially worth upwards of £3 million, according to The Times. The initial US$100 million allocation is expected to rise as needed.