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Commercial Funder's Corner

Unleashing the Potential of Outsourcing

By Richard Culberson |
October 24, 2024

Unleashing the Potential of Outsourcing

The following article was contributed by Richard Culberson, CEO of Moneypenny & VoiceNation, North America.

Every leader knows the importance of maximizing the potential of their people, clients, and business. It’s about recognizing the value of your resources and optimizing their efficiency. This can be achieved by streamlining, leveraging technology, and investing in people, however, one solution that is gaining momentum in the legal world is outsourcing.  

Traditionally, businesses used outsourcing to save money by obtaining help with non-essential administrative tasks, thereby avoiding the costs of hiring and training employees and purchasing equipment and it’s been proven to be an effective way to control expenses. 

However, today, Outsourcing 2.0 is more than just a cost-saving measure. It is about collaborating to grow, thrive and maximize value.  

Take the humble phone call as an example. Whether it is a new inquiry or an existing client, every call is important and ensuring that they are answered, and opportunities are never missed is particularly crucial for law firms, whatever their size. On average one in 10 calls to a law firm is from someone making a new inquiry. If they go unanswered that is business lost, or worse, it is business that goes to the competition.  

Outsourcing your calls could help you never miss a call, avoid interruptions, and support business continuity. For example, it can allow your firm to operate seamlessly, whether it is a busy day in court, meetings, an office move, or a holiday. Furthermore, it should be able to work as a faultless extension of your business, so that no one knows you have a partner to answer your calls, for example.  

The same goes for other functions. Marketing and IT tasks can take away time that attorneys could be spending on billable hours. Just like you would hire an expert in a field that is out of your legal realm, outsourcing can support law firms to save valuable time, manage overflow, reduce costs, improve the litigation process, and allow employees to focus on key tasks. 

As a business leader, you understand your business’s strengths and areas where it needs support better than anyone else, so it is logical to look at ways you can focus on these strengths and seek assistance for other aspects.  Especially when you consider the tangible benefits that outsourcing can deliver to businesses, all while making financial sense. The key is finding the right partner. 

So, how can you ensure that outsourcing works for your business? 

Outsourcing will only work in the long term if both parties approach it as a partnership. It’s all about collaboration. With commitment and effective communication from both sides, long-term success can be achieved, however, it does require investment of time to get it right; treating it as a one-time deal will limit its potential. 

So, it’s all about finding your perfect partner, one that aligns well with your business, not only in terms of skills and experience, but also in terms of culture and values. This requires thorough research and careful evaluation. 

There is no doubt that outsourcing can help you to unleash your law firm’s potential by allowing you to focus on your core competencies while delegating other activities to external experts. This can lead to increased efficiency, cost savings, and access to specialized skills and resources that may not be available in-house freeing up time and resources to drive growth and also provide the flexibility to scale operations up or down based on business needs, making it a powerful tool for unlocking and maximizing a company’s potential. 

But you must approach it with the right attitude if you want to unleash the potential of your people and your business. Getting the right partnership and outsourcing can serve as a strategic tool to help law firms reach new heights of success in 2025 and beyond. 

Richard Culberson, CEO of Moneypenny & VoiceNation, North America, a global leader in outsourced call answering, live chat, receptionist teams and customer service solutions for business large and small, handling over 20 million calls and chats for thousands of organizations. Moneypenny has an award-winning culture, with over 1,250 people across the US and UK. At the centre of this culture is a vision that if you combine awesome people with leading-edge technology, you will supercharge your people and your business, delivering gold standard customer experience and service. Richard is passionate about building teams that leverage new business models and technologies, driving growth and scaling business.

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Richard Culberson

Richard Culberson

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Announcements Commercial Fundraising

Sigma Funding Secures $35,000,000 Credit Facility, Bryant Park Capital Serves as Financial Advisor

By John Freund |

Bryant Park Capital (“BPC”) announced today that Sigma Funding has recently closed a $35 million senior credit facility with a bank lender. Sigma Funding is a rapidly growing litigation finance company focused on providing capital solutions across the legal ecosystem.

Sigma’s experienced executive team oversees a portfolio of businesses spanning insurance-linked litigation and other sectors, bringing a proven track record of successful growth and meaningful exits.

Bryant Park Capital, a leading middle-market investment bank, served as financial advisor to Sigma Funding in connection with the transaction.

“Bryant Park Capital was an indispensable advisor to Sigma and worked closely with our management team throughout the process,” said Charlit Bonilla, CEO of Sigma Funding. “BPC’s experience in the litigation finance space was critical in identifying potential banking partners and ultimately structuring our credit facility. Their extensive industry knowledge helped bring this deal to a successful close, and we are grateful for their support. We look forward to doing more business with the BPC team.”

About Sigma Funding

Founded in 2021, Sigma Funding is a leading New York–based litigation funding platform that provides pre- and post-settlement advances to plaintiffs involved in contingency lawsuits, as well as financing solutions for healthcare providers and attorneys. The company is the successor to the founders’ prior venture, Anchor Fundings, a pre-settlement litigation funder that was acquired by a competitor. 

For more information about Sigma Funding, please visit www.sigmafunding.com.

About Bryant Park Capital

Bryant Park Capital is an investment bank providing M&A and corporate finance advisory services to emerging growth and middle-market public and private companies. BPC has deep expertise across several sectors, including specialty finance and financial services. The firm has raised various forms of credit and growth equity and has advised on mergers and acquisitions for its clients. BPC professionals have completed more than 400 engagements representing an aggregate transaction value exceeding $30 billion.

For more information about Bryant Park Capital, please visit www.bryantparkcapital.com.

Commercial People Moves

Invenio Adds Litigation Finance Veteran John J. Hanley as Partner

By John Freund |

Invenio has announced the addition of John J. Hanley as a partner, bolstering the firm’s bench in litigation finance, claim monetization, and structured finance. Hanley joins Invenio with a practice that sits squarely at the intersection of complex commercial litigation and sophisticated financial structuring, advising a wide spectrum of market participants including litigation funders, claimholders, law firms, hedge funds, investment funds, and specialty finance providers.

According to Invenio's website, Hanley brings a particular focus on structuring, negotiating, and executing advanced funding arrangements across the full litigation finance lifecycle. His experience spans single-case funding, portfolio transactions, and bespoke claim monetization structures, with a notable specialization in prepaid forward purchase agreements. In addition, Hanley has advised extensively on secured lending transactions involving banks, commercial lenders, and alternative capital providers—experience that aligns closely with the hybrid legal-financial nature of modern litigation funding deals.

A post on LinkedIn announcing the move highlights that Hanley’s practice is designed to support both the capital side and the legal side of funded disputes, an increasingly important capability as funding arrangements grow more complex and interconnected with broader capital markets. His background enables him to navigate not only the legal risks inherent in funding structures, but also the financial and regulatory considerations that sophisticated investors expect to see addressed at the outset of a transaction.

Commercial Regulatory Issues

Malaysia Launches Modern Third-Party Funding Regime for Arbitration

By John Freund |

Malaysia has officially overhauled its legal framework for third-party funding in arbitration, marking a significant development in the country’s dispute finance landscape. Effective 1 January 2026, two key instruments, the Arbitration (Amendment) Act 2024 (Act A1737) and the Code of Practice for Third Party Funding 2026, came into force with the aim of modernising regulation and improving access to justice.

An article in ICLG explains that the amended Arbitration Act introduces a dedicated chapter on third-party funding, creating Malaysia’s first comprehensive statutory foundation for funding arrangements in arbitration. The reforms abolish the long-standing common law doctrines of maintenance and champerty in the arbitration context, removing a historical barrier that could render funding agreements unenforceable on public policy grounds.

The legislation also introduces mandatory disclosure requirements, obliging parties to reveal the existence of funding arrangements and the identity of funders in both domestic and international arbitrations seated in Malaysia. These changes bring Malaysia closer to established regional arbitration hubs that already recognise and regulate third-party funding.

Alongside the legislative amendments, the Code of Practice for Third Party Funding sets out ethical standards and best practices for funders operating in Malaysia. The Code addresses issues such as marketing conduct, the need for funded parties to receive independent legal advice, capital adequacy expectations, the management of conflicts of interest, and rules around termination of funding arrangements. While the Code is not directly enforceable, arbitral tribunals and courts may take a funder’s compliance into account when relevant issues arise during proceedings.

The Legal Affairs Division of the Prime Minister’s Department has indicated that this combined framework is intended to strike a balance between encouraging responsible third-party funding and improving transparency in arbitration. The reforms also respond to concerns raised by high-profile disputes where funding arrangements were not disclosed, highlighting the perceived need for clearer rules.