Westfleet Advisors, the leading U.S. litigation finance advisory firm, announced today that it has expanded its executive team with the addition of Wendie Childress as Managing Director and Counsel. Ms. Childress was most recently an Investment Advisor at commercial litigation funder Validity Finance, where she forged and deepened relationships throughout the U.S. legal market and advised parties seeking funding through all stages of the process.
“We are delighted to attract such high-quality talent and extensive industry experience to our team, enabling us to expand our capacity to serve our growing client base,” said Charles Agee, Founder and CEO of Westfleet Advisors. “Wendie’s background is especially well-suited for the type of advisory services we provide, and we are pleased to bolster our presence in the growing and underserved Texas market as well.”
“I’m thrilled to join Charles and his talented team at Westfleet and excited to combine my experience as a litigation funder and trial counsel for the benefit of parties seeking litigation funding,” said Ms. Childress. “There is obviously a continuity with what I have done in my years in the litigation finance industry, but an important draw for me in joining Westfleet is the ability to serve counsel and their clients in new ways. I can now help them secure the most favorable terms and find the best structural fit across a vast array of options industrywide.”
Ms. Childress brings substantial litigation experience to her new role at Westfleet, having spent seventeen years at top trial boutique Yetter Coleman, LLP, where she represented plaintiffs and defendants in complex commercial litigation and arbitration. “Not only has Wendie developed deal expertise over many years in the litigation finance industry, she also perfectly understands the issues and concerns of Westfleet’s core audience because she has been in their shoes,” Agee added.
“Having seen the challenges and opportunities of complex legal disputes from the perspective of both counsel and funder, I appreciate the need for clients to have a bona fide expert on their litigation financing deal team. And by closely advising clients through the process, I can help trial counsel stay focused on what matters most – winning the case,” said Childress. “Also, in publishing objective industry analysis and research, Westfleet carries its commitment to transparency well beyond our individual client engagements. That matters a great deal to me and to my colleagues in the bar.”
