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An LFJ Conversation with Steve Nober, Founder/CEO of Consumer Attorney Marketing Group

By John Freund |
September 12, 2024

An LFJ Conversation with Steve Nober, Founder/CEO of Consumer Attorney Marketing Group

Steve Nober, the founder and CEO of Consumer Attorney Marketing Group (CAMG), has been a significant force and innovator in the legal marketing industry for over 15 years. Often hailed as the Mass Tort Whisperer℠, Nober earned his reputation through over a decade of spearheading successful mass tort campaigns and fostering close relationships with top handling firms, showcasing unparalleled expertise in the mass tort arena. He is a sought-after speaker, presenting at over 40 conferences annually, across the United States and globally, covering a range of topics, including best marketing practices, ethics in advertising, and litigation funding. Under Nober’s leadership, CAMG has grown into the largest fully integrated legal marketing agency in the United States, steadfastly committed to its core values of ethics first, transparency, innovation, and efficiency. With a remarkable career spanning over 30 years, Steve Nober has demonstrated executive leadership and innovation in marketing, media management, and digital and computer technologies. His experience includes managing mergers and acquisitions, corporate turnarounds, and startups. In the advertising sector, his specialties include direct response marketing, digital and offline advertising, and lead generation strategies, as well as media buying and analysis, particularly focused on the legal sector. Below is our LFJ Conversation with Steve Nober: CAMG breaks down mass tort claims into early, mid and late stage. These are segmented by expected time to settlement, with early being 30-48 months, mid being 18-30 months, and late being 6-18 months.  How does the value-add of CAMG change as cases make their way from early to mid to late stage?   The value CAMG brings to each stage is a bit different and I will explain. The first value proposition CAMG bring to clients for early-stage cases is similar to the answer to your question 3 below in regards the modeling, leveraging historical data, targeting and projecting what the origination costs will look like is key to being ready to jump into a new and early tort. Also, understanding criteria that leadership handling law firms would like to see used to qualify an injured victim is critical to have knowledge before starting.  Also, in this early stage knowing who the key handling law firms that are going to make a move to be in leadership for the various torts is a key decision that needs to be made as all things are set up to begin.   These are all part of the CAMG process to help our clients begin deploying capital into the early stage torts.
I am often referred to as “The Mass Tort Whisperer®” which really means we are usually very early in hearing about early new torts, late-stage torts that may be settling soon, etc.
This information can be traded on so it’s quite valuable as we can help our clients use much of this information to make capital deployment decisions. The value for mid stage is a combination of value we bring for early and some of the value propositions mentioned in late stage. Knowing the handling firms that have been really serious about the tort and in leadership is key.  The modeling financials can get more detailed with projections and less guessing since the tort will have moved from early to mid-stage.  Following the tort activity in the litigation is key to understanding the direction that leadership sees for each tort and how bullish they are is key to an investor deciding to deploy capital for the tort.    Our value for the mid stage is key being the tort is mid-way thru the life cycle and so many variables need to be considered prior to investing. The value of late stage is knowing which law firms would be considered the best handling firm to work with that can maximize settlement values or which firms are in settlement negotiations and can still take more cases would be two good examples. Also, having the data to model out what fallout/attrition looks like with late-stage cases is key since it may be higher than the earlier stages.   The late-stage torts are a great opportunity but financial modeling and picking the right partners are key.  Also, the marketing/origination of cases needs to be handled very precise and almost scientific like to make sure cases can still be acquired at costs that make sense taking the criteria in mind of the possible handling firms.  There’s quite a bit of value we bring to these late-stage campaigns for our clients. At which stage of the case life are you currently finding the most attention from litigation funders?  Where is there the most room for growth?  The most attention goes to late-stage torts due to the projected shorter time to settlement vs. the early and mid-stage torts.  If there’s more capital to spend annually, we see more diversification with the heavy weight still on late stage and smaller percentages of total capital going to the mid and early stages. We educate our clients on costs and risk for each stage tort.  The late stage is typically higher, but risk of a settlement is much lower since it’s a mature tort, there’s more history and analysis that can be done on how the tort has progressed.   The early torts are just emerging or will have recently passed Daubert so being early the costs are much lower and risk a bit higher since the litigation will be early in starting.  Mid stage gives you a bit of all with costs not as high as late stage and risks a bit lower than the torts just starting out.
There are a limited number of injured victims in each tort, and we always need to be careful not to put more capital than we project we can spend, or costs of a case will drive higher pretty fast.
With larger capital clients we are moving into other torts whether late stage as well or mid and early stages to help diversify. One interesting note as we diversify clients is deploying capital into some torts that are closer to personal injury cases vs. traditional mass torts like Asbestos and Sex Abuse as two examples.  The time to settlement in these are closer to what we see in auto accidents being around 18 months, these are interesting torts to diversity capital and see shorter settlement times that some of the longer mass torts. The answer to the question about where room for growth is would be from the early-stage torts in being that there typically has not been a large amount of marketing yet to acquire cases so the possible total cases available would be quite high and with costs being fairly low.   This is usually where we can deploy the most capital vs. the other stages. When it comes to modeling out the expected costs, timeline and return, you look at a variety of factors here.  Can you explain what those factors are, and how do you weight each of those from case to case (is there a standard algorithm, or is the weighting bespoke to each case?)  When modeling out the expected costs, timeline, attrition and projected return, we consider a variety of factors to ensure a comprehensive analysis. These factors can include:
  1. Historical Data: Past performance and outcomes of similar cases provide a baseline for expectations.
  2. Targeting Data: We subscribe to very sophisticated targeting and demographic syndicated services such as Kantar and Neilson.  Once we have targeting details on who the injured victims are, these targeting services help is see which advertising mediums and channels index the highest to reach them.
  3. Active Campaigns: We are typically running active campaigns for most of the more popular mass torts so building up recent cost details is something we are looking at every day to optimize the performance response data which keeps costs of origination lower by being very quick to move capital where response and quality of cases are best and stop the capital spend in areas that are not showing a response that makes sense to continue.  This is Moneyball for Marketing, and I speak about this often at conferences.
  4. Market Conditions: Current trends in the legal market and any external factors that might affect the case.
  5. Attrition or Fallout: This is key with modeling out costs of originating a real quality case.  We watch very close as the tort matures from early to mid to late stage how the fallout or attrition of the new signed case is trending.  Once a claimant is signed with a law firm, some of these will not turn into a case as all of things are verified.  Medical records for example will always have a percentage of cases where there are no medical records or the records show a different injury, etc.  These need to be projected into the modeling at the very beginning and they vary from tort to tort.
  6. Intel from Leadership Firms: Our relationship with firms in leadership allow us to receive regular updates on the estimated timeline and estimated settlement values.
As for the weighting of these factors, it tends to be bespoke rather than algorithmic. Each case is unique, and while we do use historical data and standard metrics as a starting point, the specific circumstances of each case require a tailored approach.  The key metrics are seeing where the full costs are to originate compensable case and what the projected settlement range looks like so the various torts can be compared from an ROI analysis. You provide a wealth of intelligence through your Legal Marketing Index.  What can law firms and litigation funders expect to find there, and how is this intelligence useful?  We publish what we call the Legal Marketing Index or LMI for short and this is what we use to provide some of the data we collect that we share with the industry.  This data is broken down by each mass tort and includes extensive details that we have aggregated from large case volume so the data tends to be spot on as a baseline on what we see and can be expected if a law firm or fund wants to move to be active in a particular tort.  We are publishing date on topics such as injury details, demographics, geographics, case concentration in cities around the country, media details, call details, etc. Some of the intelligence is useful and some just interesting to review.  An example of how the data is critical to know before moving into acquiring cases for a tort would be the following:  If you wanted to acquire hernia mesh cases but knew that only a few manufactures are defendants and the rest of the hernia mesh devices do not make sense hold onto as a case, knowing what percentage of cases of every 1,000 are which manufacturer’s would be key to calculating the real costs of finding the right hernia mesh cases with the right manuf. Product vs. all others not making sense to keep.    People who have had hernia mesh surgeries usually have no idea which manufacture mesh device was used so when signing these cases there is no way to know how many are actually going to be what you were looking for until medical records are pulled which can me many months down the line.  So, being able to predict before starting what those percentages will be is critical to calculating costs on cases and to see if the ROI is enough to move ahead or not. One more example would be Talc cases which cause ovarian cancer and defendant is Johnson & Johnson.  This litigation has gone on for quite a while so now many of the cases signed end up not being a good case to keep so there’s fallout or what we call attrition after medical records are pulled.  Having this recent fallout data from the medical records with a sampling of a large pool of records is key to the modeling ahead of time and again, to see if ROI makes sense to move ahead given the fallout may be quite high. A third example would be for the litigation PFAS and the leadership handling firms have set a fixed criteria on which cancers they would accept and sign a claimant vs. others they would not sign.  We collect the data on “type of cancer” for thousands of calls and have published the breakdown of each cancer callers have in descending order.  A review of this data would help see for every 10 or 100 calls from victims who may qualify, how many from the total would have a qualifying cancer.  Again, this helps project out costs of a case to sign using the data to help model correctly. These are just a few quick examples of how some of the data we publish is quite valuable to firms looking to move into the various mass torts. What are some of the main questions / concerns you receive from litigation funders, and how do you address these?  Here are a few of the more common questions we get from litigation funders: What are your investment minimums? While we have no minimums, we don’t think the funding program makes sense for less than $2m-$3M as a minimum if that helps the fund with getting started.  Averages tend to be more like $5m-$10M as first run and many come to us with $20M+ as first year to start.   How long does it take for you to deploy capital? That depends on market conditions and performance of each tort but typically we are starting and originating cases within a week of receiving capital so it’s usually quite fast to start.   We have weekly meetings with our clients to discuss the most intelligent deployment strategy taking all things into consideration at that time. We are always sensitive to scaling while keeping acquisition costs within the forecasted range What is your primary role? The primary role is to manage the curated program which includes many pieces.  I would say the actual origination of cases which includes the marketing, call center screening & case signing is primary.   Not to take away from how critical the financial modeling, handling firm choices and leveraging our relationships with these handling firms is key.  There are many key value pieces we bring to a client of ours so tough to answer since we think all are so important. Does a funder client of CAMG have to use a handling law firm CAMG introduces or can we they use their own existing relationships?
We are happy to collaborate with your existing law firm relationships, but we really try to stick to the requirements we think make for a great handling firm and we would want to see if the law firm you may want to use meets the standard.
The key things we look for are the following:
  • Are they in leadership in the MDL for the tort being discussed.
  • Are they a real trial firm with a rich history of litigating cases and a threat to the defendants?
  • Do they have the infrastructure to take on more cases from this program
  • Will they agree to an equity split on the partnership that we think makes sense
  • Are they good people to work with in general
Choosing the right handling firm has never been more important considering how many of the settlements have been structured the last few years.
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John Freund

John Freund

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LFJ Conversation

An LFJ Conversation with Ken Epstein and Matt Leland, Co-Founders, Backlit Capital Solutions

By John Freund |

Ken Epstein is a co-founder and principal of Backlit Capital Solutions and brings 25 years of experience in bankruptcy law, commercial litigation, restructuring and finance. Ken leverages his deep industry expertise to provide tailored solutions for companies, law firms, investors, and individuals navigating complex litigation and financial restructuring challenges.

Prior to co-founding Backlit, Ken was a Senior Investment manager and Legal Counsel in the New York office of Omni Bridgeway, a legal finance and risk management company, where he led the company’s U.S. insolvency litigation finance platform. In this role, he originated, structured, and managed a diverse portfolio of legal assets, playing a key role in many of the firm’s most significant transactions. Prior to his tenure at Omni Bridgeway, he was a managing director at MBIA, a public financial services company, where he led large-scale initiatives and crisis management efforts. He was also on the board of directors of MBIA Services Corp. Ken started his career as a lawyer at Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft, where he specialized in financial restructuring and corporate bankruptcy law.

Ken graduated from Brooklyn Law School (cum laude) and holds an accounting degree from the University of Maryland. Ken has also served as an adjunct professor of bankruptcy law at Cardozo Law School. He has been recognized in Who’s Who Legal: Thought Leaders – Third Party Funding Guide and the LawDragon Global Restructuring Advisors & Consultants Guide.

Matt Leland brings over 20 years of experience in commercial litigation and litigation finance to Backlit Capital Solutions.  Most recently, Matt was as an Investment Manager and Legal Counsel in the Washington, D.C. office of Omni Bridgeway.  There, Matt sourced and evaluated funding opportunities, negotiated deal terms, and monitored funded matters through to resolution.

Before Omni Bridgeway, Matt served as partner and as a commercial litigator for nearly two decades at AmLaw 100 firms King & Spalding LLP and McDermott Will & Emery LLP, experienced in all facets of civil litigation, including appeals, trials, arbitrations, and mediations. He successfully represented corporate clients engaged in diverse legal issues including government reimbursement claims, contractual disputes, unfair business practices, deceptive trade practices, civil RICO, and trademark infringement. Over his career, Matt helped clients recover hundreds of millions in damages and has extensive experience working closely with corporate executives and in-house counsel to develop budgets, fee structures, and strategies for all phases of litigation, including early case assessment, discovery, trial, and settlement. He has repeatedly been recognized in peer-reviewed guides including The Best Lawyers in America, Legal 500, and Super Lawyers.

Matt received his Juris Doctor from Georgetown University Law Center, where he was the Publications Director for The Tax Lawyer and The State and Local Tax Lawyer. He earned his B.A. in Political Science from the University of New Hampshire.

While earning his law degree, Matt was as a top aide for former U.S. Senator and Congressman John Sununu, after serving previously as the Deputy Campaign Manager on Mr. Sununu’s first campaign.

Below is our LFJ Conversation with Ken and Matt: Could you elaborate on Backlit Capital's approach to fundraising support for law firms, particularly start-ups, and what key factors contribute to successful fundraising in today's market?

There’s been no better time to be a law firm seeking financing, as new investors enlarge the funding universe and options multiply. However, the landscape can be daunting and complex.  We invite those firms to take advantage of our experience.  We have spent years on the funding side of negotiations - evaluating claims and risks - and understand the nuanced distinctions between a fundable investment and one that gets passed over by litigation funders, lenders, and alternate investment sources.

Rather than simply connecting lawyers to potential sources of capital, we collaborate with firms, no matter their experience level, to implement comprehensive strategies that achieve specific financing goals.  We showcase the potential of their assets with smart strategic positioning and precise financial modeling to address the investment concerns of potential funding sources. And to drive successful fundraising, we help firms provide transparency with risk profiling, highlight their operational credibility, and seize upon tactics to mitigate unpredictability so that the firm can showcase high-grade opportunities.

Finally, to ease the burden of this process, we provide end-to-end transaction management.  We take on all of the complex and time-consuming tasks associated with legal funding so that clients can focus on providing first-rate legal services.

With the increasing complexity of legal finance, what innovative risk management strategies does Backlit Capital employ to mitigate potential losses for investors and lenders?

We appreciate that these are high-stakes transactions for both the investor and the claimant and our review is disciplined, transparent and robust. Each transaction is different and we provide additional services depending on the client’s need, but here’s how we approach every opportunity:

  • Early-Stage “Pressure Testing”:  We test key legal theories, jurisdictional issues, damages, and enforcement risk with input from independent experts before approaching funders. Backlit will only move forward with quality transactions that bring clear value to all parties. Our funders know that we’ve done the work and stand behind every law firm and claimant we represent.
  • Contingent Insurance Products:  Whether for judgment preservation or adverse cost coverage, we’ll provide detailed financial modeling and help source appropriate products that can reduce litigation risk and, in turn, improve pricing or expand access to capital.
  • Post-funding Oversight:  We offer ongoing monitoring of case progress, legal developments, and emerging risks.  Our proactive oversight, combined with strategic advisory services, allow for early adjustments to protect investments and provide better measures of valuation as the investment moves through the litigation process. Further services include exploration of secondary market options when an investor wants to acquire or monetize a litigation asset.

By combining deep legal and financial expertise with market tools, Backlit ensures that risk is not just identified, but actively managed.   

How does Backlit Capital stay ahead of emerging trends in legal finance, and what future developments do you anticipate will significantly impact the industry?

We’re always focused on potential shifts in the market.  At Backlit, our experience comprises not only litigation finance, but also decades of credit analysis, restructuring, commercial litigation, and government policymaking.  This expertise enables us to identify how trends in financial, legal, and public sectors might influence litigation funding, and this positions Backlit extremely well for what we see as the biggest catalyst in the market – the addition of significant new funding capacity driven by new investors in the sector, like hedge funds, family offices and middle-market institutions. This provides a great opportunity for claimants and law firms looking for funding, but also injects unprecedented complexity into the marketplace.

At Backlit, we developed our services to not only identify, but capitalize, on opportunities for clients on either side of these transactions. Our connections with and understanding of the private capital space allow Backlit to find and structure deals that address the financial, operational and reporting requirements of all parties. As this market continues to grow, we’re positioned to create exciting new investment opportunities for funders and drive strong deals for clients seeking capital.

Can you share insights into a recent successful deal Backlit Capital facilitated, highlighting the unique challenges and solutions implemented?

We expect that over time, most of our business is likely to be on the brokerage side and we are actively working with numerous clients to develop solutions to their diverse funding needs. In the short period since our launch there are two particular engagements that demonstrate the breath of the services we offer beyond traditional funding.

In the first, we have been engaged as an expert in a multibillion-dollar, high-profile bankruptcy litigation to assist a private equity client in the valuation of a complex litigation asset. Backlit has provided counsel, analytics and testimony in support of the client’s position. Our broad in-house capabilities and market expertise allow us to quickly analyze and deliver valuations that support our clients’ goals and survive deep scrutiny.

We have also been engaged on a project basis to help a large multi-billion dollar investment fund evaluate, structure and close a large loan transaction backed by a legal claim.  The borrower’s existing lending relationship ended when the share collateral was involuntarily converted into a legal claim due to litigation surrounding a merger of the entity that had issued the shares.  This was a time sensitive transaction with high stakes for all involved. Selecting legal counsel, working through conflicts, providing assistance on the unique features of legal finance - a discreet asset class - as part of the diligence and in-house deal team was a rewarding experience.

In the context of distress and insolvency, what specific pre- or post-Chapter 11 assistance strategies have proven most effective for Backlit Capital in maximizing creditor trust and claims management?

While we work across sectors, we have a proven specialty in maximizing litigation assets for entities in financial distress and insolvency. Claimants facing the challenges of bankruptcy often have few other meaningful assets, and are extremely capital-restricted in their ability to effectively pursue damages. Additionally, these parties have fiduciary duties that need to be satisfied fully and transparently. Running a robust marketing process and ensuring best pricing is in the best interest of the estates, will enable the trustees to defend their fiduciary decisions if challenged, and given the multiple interests in the case, ensure a fair process and optimization of assets.

With such complex interests to manage, these clients demand specialized approaches that differ significantly from traditional commercial litigation support.

  • Funding for the debtor or trustee: We can help a debtor, bankruptcy trustee or litigation trustee secure funding to pursue legal claims (e.g., fraudulent transfer, preference, breach of fiduciary duty) or help support ongoing administrative costs. Our process ensures all parties are comfortable with transparency, discipline and reporting.
  • Funding for creditors and committees: We can help creditors and committees push back on a debtor’s attempt to bury valuable claims because they don’t benefit management or insiders.  Consulting with us early in the process can help add negotiating leverage and drive up recoveries.
  • Sale or assignment: When parties want to divest all or part of an estate asset, we can help sell or assign litigation claims and judgments, accelerating recoveries and ensuring a minimum return to stakeholders.
  • Post-confirmation litigation trusts: When establishing a post-confirmation trust to investigate and prosecute claims, we can help drive a competitive process, ensuring that the trust is adequately funded and that key professionals are fairly compensated for their work.
LFJ Conversation

An LFJ Conversation with Juliana Giorgi, General Counsel for Latin America at Loopa Finance

By John Freund |
Juliana Giorgi Is a Colombian lawyer and holds a law degree from Spain, with postgraduate studies in international arbitration. She has over 15 years of experience in consulting, litigation, domestic and international arbitration, and alternative dispute resolution mechanisms. Below is our LFJ Conversation with Juliana Giorgi: Could you elaborate on Loopa Finance’s specific investment criteria when evaluating potential litigation and arbitration funding opportunities in Latin America and continental Europe? The first and foremost consideration in our investment decision-making process is to conduct a rigorous due diligence procedure aimed at maximizing the likelihood that the fund is making a sound investment.  To this end, we follow a two-tiered analysis process comprising both internal and external legal due diligence. The internal review is carried out by our in-house legal team, while the external review is conducted by top-tier law firms retained specifically for this purpose. During these due diligence phases, counsel will thoroughly review the case documentation and information provided by the claimant. To be eligible for funding, the case must meet the following minimum criteria:
  • Financial metrics: The amount of funding sought and the value of the claim must be reasonable and proportionate.
  • Duration: The maximum timeframe the fund is willing to wait for a return on its investment is five years.
  • Respondent’s solvency: There must be sufficient evidence to reasonably conclude that the opposing party has the financial capacity to satisfy a potential award.
  • Merits of the claim: The likelihood of success must be high, based on a legal and factual assessment.
How does Loopa Finance manage the risks associated with funding litigation and arbitration cases, particularly in regions with varying legal systems and enforcement mechanisms? Variability—and even instability—in legal systems is not necessarily a negative factor. On the contrary, it can be advantageous for the litigation funding industry, as it often leads to a higher volume of disputes, thereby generating a broader pool of investment opportunities. What is particularly noteworthy is that legal instability in a given country does not automatically translate into judicial instability or unpredictability in adjudication. In fact, while fluctuations in substantive law may lead to more disputes, the procedural rules and the competence of the adjudicating authorities often remain stable and reliable. This enables us to reasonably forecast litigation outcomes. That said, we recognize that external factors unrelated to the merits of a case may still influence its resolution. To mitigate such risks, our team includes highly trained and internationally experienced dispute resolution lawyers. This internal capability is further reinforced through the engagement of top-tier law firms to conduct independent due diligence, as previously outlined. Finally, we are fully aware that there are exceptional jurisdictions where the level of systemic instability makes outcome predictability unfeasible or where adverse rulings may result from extrinsic factors. In such cases, we simply refrain from investing in disputes arising in those jurisdictions. Since Loopa Finance operates with its own capital, how does this influence your investment strategy and decision-making process compared to firms that use external funding? Operating with our own capital allows us to act with greater agility and make swift investment decisions without relying on third parties, external processes, or outside funding sources. This autonomy is particularly valuable when participating in a “beauty contest” among funders. In such competitive processes—where multiple funds vie for the opportunity to finance a case—clients place a premium on the funder’s ability to respond quickly and decisively. The ability to independently negotiate commercial terms, assess client counteroffers, and move expeditiously through the decision-making process is critical. In this regard, Loopa holds a significant competitive advantage. What impact has Loopa Finance’s funding had on access to justice and the resolution of legal disputes in Latin America and continental Europe? Broadly speaking, our service has a significant social impact and contributes meaningfully to the administration of justice.  On the one hand, we provide the financial resources necessary for a party with a meritorious claim—who may otherwise lack the means to pursue it—to bring their case forward. In doing so, our involvement facilitates access to justice. On the other hand, our service promotes the principle of “equality of arms.” In many disputes, there may be a significant disparity in the financial capabilities of the parties. While the economically stronger party can afford to retain top-tier legal representation, the weaker party may not have such access. Litigation funding helps level the playing field, enabling both sides to secure high-caliber legal counsel and pursue the dispute on more equitable terms. Can you discuss any recent trends or developments in the litigation and arbitration funding landscape that are influencing Loopa Finance’s strategies and priorities? We are a technology-driven litigation fund with operations across Latin America and Europe. The fund has been active since 2019 and has experienced significant growth in recent years. As our operations expand, we have identified several key trends shaping the markets in which we operate: Market Growth Across Jurisdictions While there are substantial differences between the Latin American and European markets, we are seeing growth in both regions.
  • In Latin America, where the litigation funding industry is still in its early stages and claims tend to be smaller in value, we have observed increasing demand and a rising number of funding inquiries. We are funding more cases—particularly in the energy, mining, oil & gas, construction, and infrastructure sectors.
  • In Europe, our activity has increasingly shifted toward portfolio funding, which provides greater risk diversification and operational efficiency. We are also seeing the rise of hybrid funding structures, involving partnerships with insurers and specialized litigation finance products tailored to complex cases.
Moreover, there has been notable growth in environmental and consumer rights litigation, which amplifies the corporate accountability dimension of our portfolio and enhances the social impact of our investments. Integration of Technology and Artificial Intelligence As a technology-based fund, technology underpins every aspect of our operations. Our team includes not only lawyers but also software engineers who have developed a proprietary platform to support the fund’s end-to-end operations. This platform supports the commercial management of leads, case sourcing, and comprehensive case tracking, from legal analysis and economic structuring to contractual execution and post-investment monitoring. It features a wide range of functionalities and is under continuous development. We are consistently integrating advanced tools into the platform, including AI modules to support legal review, machine translation, and data analytics tools, all aimed at increasing the efficiency and accuracy of our case assessment and management processes.
LFJ Conversation

An LFJ Conversation with Bo Moss, President of Bridgehead Legal Capital

By John Freund |

Bo Moss is the Co-Founder and President of Bridgehead Legal Capital. A former litigator in Atlanta and Charlotte, Bo earned a reputation for being a tough but fair adversary. His deep understanding of the legal landscape led him to a Charlotte-based litigation funder, where he leveraged his litigation background to successfully underwrite and tailor loans for contingency fee law firms nationwide.

Since co-founding Bridgehead with Scott Richards and Megan Baer in 2021, Bo has spearheaded the company's mission to provide accessible capital to contingency fee lawyers. Under his leadership, Bridgehead has engaged in over 150 transactions, demonstrating his strategic vision and operational excellence. Bo is a graduate of The University of the South (Sewanee) and Samford University Cumberland School of Law.

Below is our LFJ Conversation with Bo Moss:

Bridgehead Legal Capital emphasizes "Freedom Through Funding" and aims to be a long-term partner. Can you elaborate on how this mission guides your approach to client relationships and what specific long-term benefits firms can expect beyond just capital?

"Freedom Through Funding" isn't just a catchy phrase for us; it's the core of how we do business. As former litigators ourselves, we see every client relationship as a real partnership, all about helping you achieve sustained growth. So, beyond just giving you capital, here's what else firms gain:

  • Smart Advice: We share insights on things like case selection, portfolio management, and growth strategies, drawing directly from our own legal experience. This makes sure our funding acts as a real boost for well-thought-out, lasting expansion.
  • More Control: Our predictable capital gives your firm greater financial freedom. That means less pressure to settle cases too soon, the ability to invest in top-notch experts or the latest tech, and the capacity to take on more truly meritorious cases.
  • Better Portfolio Management: We work hand-in-hand with you to understand your entire case pipeline, helping you spot opportunities to leverage your existing assets for future growth.
  • We're Nimble and Responsive: We anticipate your evolving needs and quickly adapt, offering agile solutions that truly support your journey. We build relationships based on trust and a shared vision for success.

Your services include both Portfolio Loans and Asset Purchase Loans. For a small to mid-sized plaintiff law firm, how do you help them determine which product is the most advantageous for their specific financial needs and case pipeline?

Great question. When it comes to choosing between Portfolio Loans and Asset Purchase Loans, it really comes down to your firm's specific needs and what your case pipeline looks like. We don't do cookie-cutter solutions; instead, we go through a thorough, collaborative process:

  • What are Your Goals? We kick things off by figuring out what you're really trying to achieve – whether it's managing daily expenses, investing in marketing, funding a big, complex case, or growing your team.
  • Looking at Your Pipeline:
    • Portfolio Loans are usually best for firms with a diverse, ongoing stream of contingency cases. They let you tap into the collective value of your active cases, giving you consistent cash flow for general operations or bringing in new clients.
    • Asset Purchase Loans are a better fit if you have specific, high-value, well-developed cases. This lets you monetize a portion of the expected future recovery from that particular asset, giving you a bigger lump sum for targeted investments like major trial expenses.
  • Comfort with Risk: We'll chat about your comfort level with recourse and how different repayment structures fit your risk appetite.
  • Future Cash Flow: We'll project your future cash flow to show how each product impacts your financials, making sure the chosen solution genuinely helps your firm's health.

Ultimately, our job is to guide you in making a smart, strategic decision that truly aligns with your unique business model.

Bridgehead Legal Capital highlights its ability to unlock greater funding for plaintiff law firms by recognizing the value of their case portfolios. Could you explain the unique aspects of your underwriting process that allow you to assess and leverage these portfolios more effectively than traditional lenders?

Our ability to unlock more funding really comes down to our unique underwriting process, which is a big departure from traditional lenders who often just don't have our legal finance expertise:

  • Litigator-Led Due Diligence: This is huge for us. Since many on our team, including founders, are former litigators, we inherently understand case merits, legal strategy, and the practicalities of litigation. We analyze legal strengths, attorney experience, jurisdiction, and potential settlement ranges, letting us accurately evaluate the true value of a portfolio where others might only see uncertainty.
  • Our Own Valuation Models: We've built sophisticated, proprietary models that dig deep into factors specific to contingency fee litigation. This includes case type, complexity, damages assessment, jurisdictional nuances, and historical performance, allowing us to accurately value future earning potential.
  • Portfolio Diversification Analysis: We're really good at understanding the collective strength of an entire portfolio of cases. By looking at diversification by type, litigation stage, and estimated value, we see a more stable asset, which in turn allows us to offer more substantial funding.
  • Looking Forward: Unlike banks that often just look at past performance, we focus on the future earning potential of your active cases, assessing success probability and expected recovery.
  • Relationship-Based Assessment: Our underwriting isn't just numbers; it's also about understanding your firm's operational efficiency, management capabilities, and overall business strategy. This holistic view gives us a more complete picture of your firm's creditworthiness.

This unique blend of legal expertise, sophisticated modeling, and a forward-looking, relationship-based approach is what allows us to leverage your case portfolio so much more effectively than traditional lenders.

The website mentions categories of loans such as "Start-up," "Case Investments," and "Growth Loan." How do you tailor the terms and support for a start-up firm compared to an established firm seeking a growth loan?

We know a brand-new firm has totally different needs than an established one looking to expand. That's why we tailor our loan terms and support accordingly:

For Start-up Firms:

  • Terms: These loans are all about providing that essential working capital to get a solid foundation (think office space, tech, initial marketing, overhead). Repayment structures are often more flexible, maybe with interest-only periods or deferred principal payments, so you can focus on building your case pipeline. Our underwriting here really emphasizes your business plan, the founders' individual legal track records, and how viable your practice area is.
  • Support: As former litigators, we offer invaluable mentorship on building a practice, from getting clients to managing cases efficiently. We can also connect you with other professionals in our network and provide scalable funding solutions as your firm matures.

For Established Firms (Growth Loan):

  • Terms: These loans are primarily based on the proven value and predictable cash flow of your existing case portfolio, meaning much larger funding amounts are possible. With a solid track record, you'll typically qualify for more favorable interest rates and longer repayment periods. The terms are specifically designed to support your growth initiatives, whether that's expanding into new practice areas or acquiring another firm.
  • Support: We provide advanced analysis of your portfolio, helping you spot opportunities for greater efficiency and profitability. We offer data-driven market insights and can help brainstorm strategies for expansion. For complex growth plans, we can even structure customized financial solutions.

Our whole philosophy is about making sure you get the right capital at the right time, with the right level of tailored support, so your firm, no matter its stage, can hit its full potential.

 Given the fast approval process and funds typically delivered within two weeks, what are the key factors that contribute to this efficiency, and what advice would you give to firms to ensure a smooth and rapid funding experience?

Our quick approval process and getting funds to you within two weeks really comes down to our specialized focus and streamlined operations:

  • Specialized Expertise: We only do law firm financing. Our team can quickly and accurately assess legal assets without needing a ton of outside help. We just get the nuances.
  • Streamlined Due Diligence: We've developed a super efficient process that focuses only on the critical information. We know what we need, and we don't ask for extra paperwork. Our internal systems are built for fast data intake and analysis.
  • Agile Structure: As a private lender, we're simply less bureaucratic than big banks. That means quicker internal approvals and faster movement from your application to you actually receiving the funds.

To make sure your funding experience is as smooth and fast as possible, here's my best advice:

  • Be Prepared and Organized: Have your firm's financial statements (past 2-3 years) and a detailed list of your active contingency cases (type, stage, estimated value, deadlines, and expenses) all ready to go. The more organized you are, the faster we can move!
  • Know Your Needs: Clearly tell us exactly how much capital you need and what you plan to do with it. Saying something to us like “Well I am not entirely sure, maybe something in the range of _____” does not give us confidence that the firm has really spent the requisite amount of time properly reflecting upon their current and future funding needs and how our money is going to be used to assist in growing the firm.
  • Designate One Point Person: Pick one person at your firm to be our main contact. This really helps streamline communication.
  • Be Responsive: Our efficiency relies on your quick responses to any information requests or clarifications. The faster you get us what we need, the faster we can get you funded!

By partnering with Bridgehead Legal Capital, you're not just getting capital; you're gaining a strategic ally genuinely committed to your long-term success.