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Chris Dore Joins Bridge Legal as Managing Director, Strategic Opportunities

By Harry Moran |
October 7, 2024

Chris Dore Joins Bridge Legal as Managing Director, Strategic Opportunities

Bridge Legal, a leading provider of AI legal workflows, data management, and predictive analytics solutions for litigation funders and the high-volume law firms they support, is pleased to announce the appointment of Chris Dore as Managing Director, Strategic Opportunities.

With over 15 years of experience as a litigator and litigation funder specializing in mass torts, single-event, and class-action matters, Chris brings a wealth of expertise to Bridge Legal. Prior to joining the company, he served as a Partner at Edelson PC, a nationally recognized mass tort and class-action law firm, and most recently as a Director at Burford Capital, the world’s largest litigation funder.

In his new role, Chris will focus on expanding and managing Bridge Legal’s capital market strategies in high-volume consumer litigation. He will leverage the company’s industry leading marketing, intake, case maturation, and AI-driven software platform—Bridgify—to strengthen relationships within the mass tort, mass arbitration, and single-event space. His efforts aim to enhance the sophistication of services offered to Bridge Legal’s law firm and litigation funder clients, providing them with the tools and resources necessary to thrive amidst increasing data complexity and operational risk.

“Bridgify’s AI workflow capabilities are transforming the way litigation funders and law firms operate by providing unprecedented visibility over their investments and case portfolios,” said Ed Scanlan, Founder & CEO of Bridge Legal. “We are thrilled to welcome Chris to our leadership team. His extensive experience in mass torts and litigation funding aligns perfectly with our strategic vision. With his leadership, we aim to further enhance Bridgify’s AI-driven solutions to meet the evolving needs of litigation funders and the firms they support. Chris’s role will be pivotal in deepening our relationships within the industry and elevating the services we provide.”

“I’m excited to join the leading legal tech company in the industry,” said Chris. “Bridgify represents the future of high-volume legal services and litigation funding by integrating AI to streamline and enhance every facet of investment and case management. By focusing on expanding capital investments in high-volume consumer litigation and leveraging Bridge Legal’s innovative platforms, we can provide unparalleled value to our clients. I look forward to contributing to Bridge Legal’s mission of increasing human access to justice and helping to lead the company into its next chapter.”

About Bridge Legal

Bridge Legal is the leading provider of AI workflow and predictive analytics solutions for litigation funders and the law firms they support. From its Chicago office, the company also offers marketing and intake services to help firms build their dockets, as well as back-office support for rapid case prove-up, including Plaintiff Fact Sheets and medical record reviews. Combined with its flagship platform, Bridgify—which includes data management and normalization, AI-driven workflow automation, integration management, predictive analytics, client communication and asset monitoring and fund management—this provides a game-changing, flexible offering unmatched in the industry. By integrating advanced technology with industry expertise, Bridge Legal empowers its clients to streamline operations, enhance client services, and drive profitable growth in an increasingly complex legal landscape.

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Harry Moran

Harry Moran

Commercial

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Commercial

Private Equity and Litigation Funders Build Out MSO Pipeline into U.S. Personal Injury Law Firms

By John Freund |

Private equity firms — and a growing number of established litigation funders — are accelerating their push into U.S. personal injury law firms through management services organizations, a structure that lets outside capital share in firm economics without running afoul of state rules against non-lawyer ownership of legal practices.

As reported by Bloomberg Law, Apollo Global Management, Fortress Investment Group, and Stifel Financial Corp. are all actively eyeing the space, with Fortress reportedly behind a $125 million investment into Rafi Law Group. Louisiana's Dudley DeBosier has launched a PE-sponsored MSO that has already acquired a second firm, and Holland & Knight is advising the Amaro Law Firm on an MSO-routed capital infusion expected to close by year-end.

Litigation finance players are squarely in the mix. Mass tort funder Certum Group has acquired an MSO partnered with Dallas trial firm Sbaiti & Co., and Burford Capital has expressed interest in U.S. law firm investments through similar vehicles. Advisory firm Samson Partners Group closed 10 MSO deals in 2025 and is working on roughly 20 in 2026, the bulk of them in personal injury, while Tierra Capital Partners is fundraising a $100–125 million co-investment fund dedicated to the structure.

The MSO route — typically handling IT, marketing, intake, and back-office functions — gives funders and PE sponsors economic exposure to plaintiff-side caseflow that has historically only been accessible through case-by-case advances or portfolio facilities.

Commercial

Loopa Finance Backs Nearly 300 Chilean Families in $18 Million Villa Panamericana Construction Defects Suit

By John Freund |

Latin America–focused litigation funder Loopa Finance has announced that it will fund a civil action filed by nearly 300 apartment owners at the Villa Panamericana housing complex in Cerrillos, Santiago, against the developers and contractors behind the project. The claim, brought before Santiago's 10th Civil Court, exceeds $18 million in aggregate damages.

According to a Loopa Finance announcement, the suit is led by Nicolás Vassallo, partner at Chilean firm Abogabir Miranda, and targets Inmobiliaria Parque Cerrillos SpA, Empresa Constructora DLP S.A., Ameris Capital S.A., and related investment entities. Plaintiffs are seeking roughly $11 million in direct damages and temporary housing costs, nearly $7 million in moral damages, and additional compensation equal to 10% of each unit's purchase price to capture lost property value.

Villa Panamericana's Lot B comprises 17 buildings and 1,355 apartments originally built to house athletes at the 2023 Pan American and Parapan American Games, before being allocated to lower-income families through government housing subsidies and the Teletón program. Residents have reported water leaks, structural cracks, and serious electrical, plumbing, gas, and elevator failures, with preliminary expert reports citing violations of Chile's General Urban Planning and Construction Law.

"Access to justice should not depend on the affected families' financial resources," said Federico Muradas, Loopa's head of legal. Loopa's funding will cover legal and technical costs of the proceedings on a non-recourse basis, in what stands as one of the larger consumer-tied construction defect actions yet financed in Latin America.

Commercial

Merricks Urges UK Court to Reject Innsworth’s Challenge Over £200M Mastercard Settlement Distribution

By John Freund |

The class representative in the Merricks v Mastercard collective claim has urged a London court to reject litigation funder Innsworth Advisors' judicial review of the £200 million settlement distribution, in what observers describe as the first substantive test of a Competition Appeal Tribunal settlement decision.

As reported by Law360, Walter Merricks's legal team told the High Court on Wednesday that Innsworth has already received an adequate return from the CAT-approved settlement and that its challenge should be dismissed. Innsworth argued earlier in the week that the distribution scheme is "illogical" and "flawed," contending that the tribunal failed to properly assess the funder's recovery.

The CAT had divided the settlement into three pots. Pot 1, totalling £100 million, is ring-fenced for class members. Pot 2, approximately £45 million, covers Innsworth's litigation costs. Pot 3, approximately £55 million, allocates roughly £23 million to Innsworth as the profit element of its return, bringing its total recovery to around £68 million. Innsworth contends that this amounts to only a 0.5x return on more than £45 million invested, and disputes the methodology used to set the figure.

The case has drawn close attention from the UK funding sector. A judicial review of a CAT-sanctioned distribution could establish important parameters around how courts assess funder returns in collective proceedings, particularly at a moment when the tribunal has signaled heightened scrutiny of certification and take-up in entrepreneurial class actions.