Steven is a leader in the law and business of ESG (environmental, social and corporate governance), and one of the most well-established litigation finance professionals in the international market. He is particularly expert in helping large groups of shareholders, bondholders and other stakeholders to collaborate in the face of catastrophic breakdowns in corporate governance at publicly listed companies.
He has been the driving force behind Woodsford’s evolution from a traditional litigation funder into a leading global collective redress business in the UK, Australia, continental Europe, Japan and Canada.
A leader in the international litigation finance space, Steven has been in the industry for over a decade. Before joining Woodsford, Steven was a partner in the London office of international law firm Brown Rudnick. Prior to joining Brown Rudnick, Steven was a partner in the London office of DAC Beachcroft, and practiced from the London and New York offices of Debevoise & Plimpton.
Steven is a graduate of Cambridge University, and graduated top of his class with a Master of Laws degree in International Dispute Resolution from the University of London.
Steven is an advisory board member at the Centre for Sustainable Governance and Law at University College London.
Steven has repeatedly been ranked by independent directories as a leader in the field. He has been consistently recognised as a key individual by Chambers & Partners since 2018. Since 2021, he has been consistently regarded as one of the top 100 professionals at the forefront of the litigation funding industry in the Lawdragon Global 100 – Leaders in Legal Finance Guide.
Steven’s expertise was recognised by every annual edition of the Legal 500 published in the eight years up to when he left private practice. For commercial litigation work, he was praised as having “the sort of knowledge that one only gets with years of accumulated experience in heavy or complex litigation” and a “strong commercial grip on the relevant legal provisions and financial aspects of cases.”
For his work in international arbitration, the Legal 500 ranked Steven as “outstanding,” and he was noted as an “experienced practitioner” of banking litigation. Steven was also recognised as a leading expert in Lexology Index (formerly Who’s Who Legal): Thought Leaders Third Party Funding 2024 and 2025.
Steven is the author of ‘The Law and Business of Litigation Finance’ (published by Bloomsbury), the leading treatise on the international development of the law and practice of high value litigation and arbitration funding. The second edition was published in June 2024.
“Distinguished by its permanent capital structure, the ‘outstanding’ Woodsford Litigation Funding has established clear market dominance in the UK CAT opt-out regime, achieving 5 of 6 settlements to date, and leads the non-US securities litigation market globally with a portfolio spanning multiple jurisdictions. Praised for its ‘very impressive, experienced and knowledgeable team’, the firm’s institutional client base includes top-tier asset managers, pension funds, and sovereign wealth funds. Key individuals include CEO Steven Friel; Chief Investment Officer Charlie Morris; co-founder and GC Jonathan Barnes; and finance and commercial director Mark Spiteri.”
“Steve is the grandmaster of ESG litigation funding.”
“Steven Friel is a knowledgeable individual. He is a very good deal maker and commercially minded.”
“Steven has deep expertise and is also a great negotiator. He is shrewd and diligent, and someone you would want funding your case.“
“Steven’s commitment to ESG matters is inspiring and we benefit greatly from his extensive experience as a litigator.”
“Steven is very sharp, quick with proposals, and an excellent negotiator.”
“Steven Friel is an experienced litigator and funder, he is particularly interested in assisting various stakeholders, including shareholders and bondholders, with ESG matters involving listed listed companies.”
“Steven is a leader in his field and regularly gets involved in public-facing ESG and training materials. Friel is active in Woodsford’s investments in the Netherlands.”
“Steven is a reliable professional with a clear focus on the given business case.”
“Steven is very good at time-critical decision-making. He is commercially minded.”
“In the UK, Woodsford has carved out a niche in the securities litigation space, acting on many of the highest-profile cases including the RSA, Serco, and G4S litigation. London-based Steven Friel, Charlie Morris, and Jonathan Barnes attract praise.”
“Woodsford is an established player in the litigation funding space. It is always flexible in finding solutions for clients to make claims viable and is dogged in its determination to see claims through to a successful resolution for all stakeholders. In the UK, it has developed a specialism for collective competition and securities litigation and counts ESG as one of its growth areas. London-based CEO Steven Friel, formerly a partner at Brown Rudnick and earlier DAC Beachcroft, is a leading name.”
“Steven Friel is … an experienced litigator and funder, he is particularly interested in assisting various stakeholders, including shareholders and bondholders, in ESG matters involving listed companies.”
“He is not afraid to make a decision. Steven backs his judgement and if you go to him with a case he will tell you quickly one way or another how it will go.”
“Steven Friel is an experienced litigator and funder… He has also published a book on the business of litigation funding. A source explains: “Steven deploys strong problem-solving abilities with the finesse only available to people of unusually high intelligence.”
“Steven Friel is … praised for his hands-on approach and ability to work constructively on even the biggest and most complicated matters.”
“Steven Friel is very easy to deal with, makes decisions quickly on an informed basis and won’t leave you hanging around. He grasps the facts and the law extremely quickly. He is an extremely good resource for Woodsford – a great strategic thinker.”
“Steven is smart, and responds well and quickly to clients. He is willing to take a decision quickly and take some risk. He has got enormous energy, I’ve spoken to him as a sounding board on a few other cases as well. He seems to have limitless energy to explore things, and he’s extremely sharp.”
“Steven Friel is an experienced disputes practitioner who is held in high esteem as an adviser to Woodsford’s clients. Clients appreciate his ability to combine his litigation expertise with a commercial approach. One seasoned barrister reports that ‘he is very impressive. He has a razor-sharp legal mind, is intellectually curious, and has strong business sense.”
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