Delta Capital Partners Management LLC, Chicago-Based Litigation Finance Firm, Announces New Offices and Hires

CHICAGO, Jan. 8, 2020 –Delta Capital Partners Management LLC, a private equity and advisory firm specializing in litigation finance, today announced major milestones in its growth.

Christopher DeLise, Delta’s Managing Principal, CEO and CO-CIO, stated, “Delta has met its key business objectives for 2019 by hiring top-tier professionals, building out our geographic footprint, and joining forces with a top-tier global financial partner.  These developments have strengthened Delta’s AUM and the successful completion of recoveries for claimants, Delta and the firm’s investors. We look forward to continuing to provide world-class services to our investors and clients in 2020.”

Delta’s Geographic Reach and Team Expansion

In 2019, Delta increased its presence in several geographies where it had historically done business, by opening offices in Madrid, Prague, Warsaw and Hong Kong.

New Management Team Members 

Daniel Bond, Esq., Managing Director

Daniel Bond has been hired to lead Delta’s intake, evaluation, due diligence, and monitoring efforts to support new investment opportunities. Mr. Bond was previously a Partner at Kirkland Ellis LLP. Mr. Bond has had a 10+ year law firm career with extensive experience in the planning and management of commercial litigation and dispute resolution.

Since 2015, Mr. Bond has been named by Leading Lawyers as an “Emerging Lawyer in Illinois,” an honor given to the top 2% of lawyers who are 40 years old or younger or practicing law 10 years or less, who have proven themselves professional, ethical and experienced at an early point in their legal career.

Michael Makridakis, Esq., Managing Director – Asia, Australia and Offshore Jurisdictions

Michael Makridakis has been hired to lead Delta’s business in Asia, Australia, and in the Offshore Jurisdictions including the Cayman Islands, BVI and the Channel Islands. Mr. Makridakis works out of the firm’s Hong Kong office.

Prior to joining Delta, Mr. Makridakis was Managing Partner and Head of Dispute Resolution & Insolvency of the Hong-Kong office of Carey Olsen. Mr. Makridakis has a broad range of experience with investment funds, both offshore and domestically. Mr. Makridakis has worked extensively with distressed investment funds and has been a commercial litigator for over 15 years with extensive global litigation and arbitration expertise. Prior to launching the Hong-Kong office of Carey Olsen, Mr. Makridakis practiced law in the Cayman Islands, starting his career with Walkers Global in 2008.

Petr Malecek, Esq., Managing Director – Central & Eastern Europe

Petr Malecek has been hired to lead Delta’s business in Central and Eastern Europe. Mr. Malecek works out of the firm’s Warsaw and Prague offices. Mr. Malecek has over 20 years of experience advising corporate and sovereign entities on banking, finance and dispute-related matters in jurisdictions across Central and Eastern Europe and the Middle East.

Prior to joining Delta, Mr. Malecek co-founded a multi-disciplinary advisory practice where his areas of expertise included litigation management, dispute resolution, asset recovery, cross-border leveraged finance and the coordination of the company’s  advisors/practices and external contractors. Previously, Mr. Malecek was a Partner at CMS Cameron Mckenna and ran the banking and finance practices in Warsaw and Kyiv during that time.

Joseph Drozd, Jr., Director – Strategic Initiatives & Investor Relations

Joseph Drozd brings over ten years of experience in investment management and specializes in fundraising and managing a fund’s entire investment process. Before joining Delta, Mr. Drozd was the director of strategy and marketing with a major Chicago-based investment management company.    Joe formerly was a portfolio manager and director of research for a multi-family office in Chicago and previously worked in the alternatives group at Mercer Investments.

Jennifer Conley, Director – Marketing & Communications

Jennifer Conley has been hired to lead Delta’s marketing and communications efforts. Ms. Conley has worked in marketing and business development across the legal and financial services industries for over 13 years. Ms. Conley is responsible for developing marketing and branding strategies, client pitches and proposals, social media initiatives, competitive intelligence research, national conference sponsorships, and client socials.  Prior to joining Delta, Ms. Conley was a Global Practice Development Manager at Winston & Strawn and focused on practice and client development initiatives for the firm.

In addition to the new management team members noted above, Delta also hired several support, finance, accounting, and legal professionals during 2019, including: Daniel Noonan, Alon Polischuk, and Erin Bishop, Esq.

Delta’s Institutional Financial Partner in 2019

In May 2019, Delta entered a joint venture with a prominent Chicago-based asset manager that has made more than 60 investments since 2007.  The firm has had commitments and deployments of over $5 billion since inception and has an AUM of $9 billion.  The firm manages funds with a variety of investment strategies, including private equity, venture capital, specialty financing, distressed bond and credit alternatives, and has invested extensively in litigation finance over the last decade.

About Delta Capital Partners Management LLC

Delta Capital Partners Management LLC is a US-based private equity and advisory firm specializing in litigation finance, judgment enforcement, asset recovery and related strategies serving claimants, law firms and other professional service firms, and businesses across the globe. The firm provides capital and expertise that enables their clients to de-risk, focus on their core businesses, and significantly enhance the probability of a successful and timely resolution of their and/or their clients’ claims.

Contact:

Delta Capital Partners

Jennifer Conley, 312-481-8194

jconley@deltacph.com

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Pegasus Legal Capital Completes $74 Million Securitization to Fuel Growth

Pegasus Legal Capital, LLC ("Pegasus") (mylawfunds.com), a prominent pre-settlement legal funding company in the United States, announced today that it has successfully completed a $74 million litigation finance securitization. This achievement marks Pegasus' second securitization transaction in the asset class and another significant milestone in its capital market journey. The proceeds from this transaction will further propel Pegasus' growth across key markets in the United States.

Pegasus Managing Director, Alexander Khanas, expressed, "With the successful completion of this transaction, Pegasus will expand its business in the personal injury market while upholding its industry-leading service standards."

GreensLedge Capital Markets LLC played the role of Placement Agent for Pegasus. GreensLedge Senior Managing Director, Douglas Lipton, added, "We are delighted to continue expanding Pegasus' investor base through their second securitization issuance and assisting them in creatively developing their platform."

Headquartered in Deerfield Beach, Florida, Pegasus was founded in 2008 as a pre-settlement litigation finance company. Since its inception, the company's management team has successfully sourced, underwritten, and serviced over half a billion dollars through more than 30,000 advances. While Pegasus has traditionally focused on the New York market, it has established a strong presence in the Southeast and Texas markets as well.

Pegasus is a proud member of the American Legal Finance Association (ALFA), a national organization comprising companies that provide non-recourse funds to personal injury victims. ALFA's primary objective is to establish industry standards for transparency in legal funding transactions, ensuring upfront and clear disclosure to consumers.

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New Burford Capital Research Reveals How Businesses are Preparing for Likely Rise in Global Energy Transition Disputes

By Harry Moran |

Burford Capital, the leading global finance and asset management firm focused on law, today releases new research entitled “Energy transition disputes: GCs and senior lawyers on the business impacts of legal challenges to come,” which demonstrates how businesses are preparing for a likely rise in legal disputes related to the global energy transition. This transition―or the shift to renewable sources of energy―is likely to cause an increase in expensive commercial disputes.

Businesses are investing significant sums in this transition, and corporate commitments highlight the scale of economic engagement as they invest in the new technologies, infrastructure and other resources that will be needed. But multifaceted legal and commercial pressures present businesses with a myriad of potential challenges including contractual disagreements, regulatory compliance issues and the need for intellectual property enforcement or litigation. Burford’s research report aims to offer a unique perspective on how corporations foresee the expected rise in litigation and arbitration related to this energy transition, examining the areas of business impact related to this evolving landscape.

Burford commissioned this independent research by capturing insights from 300 GCs and heads of litigation across key industries impacted by the energy transition and spanning North America, Europe, Asia and Australia.

Key findings from the study include:

Disputes relating to the energy transition are rising

·       76% of GCs report they are already encountering disputes related to the energy transition and nearly half (47%) expect a further rise in the volume of such disputes in the next decade, driven by evolving laws, new technologies and infrastructure requirements.

Disputes relating to the energy transition are expected to be costly

·       Almost two in three GCs (63%) expect legal fees and expenses to exceed $4 million per energy transition case; a notable minority (29%) expect per case costs to exceed $10 million.

·       Over half (52%) view high costs as a significant factor in deciding not to pursue disputes.

·       Half (50%) of GCs agree that the energy transition will create the need for additional capital sources for the business.

Expected disputes span all types of business conflict

·       GCs are most likely to predict (77%) that the energy transition will result in more contractual disputes and commercial arbitration.

·       Joint ventures are expected to be particularly prone to disputes over profit allocation (76%) and intellectual property rights (65%).

·       Over half of GCs (57%) also expect their businesses to face arbitrations to resolve investor-state conflicts relating to the transition.

New tools are needed to manage the rising dispute costs

·       Legal finance is increasingly used to mitigate the financial burden of these disputes; three in four (75%) GCs have used or would consider using legal finance to offset the cost of disputes relating to this transition.

·       In particular, GCs value monetization―or advancing some of the expected entitlement of a pending claim, judgment or award― to generate liquidity from claims tied up in litigation and arbitration. With legal finance, companies can also offset the cost of pursuing affirmative litigation to generate liquidity, shifting legal departments from cost centers to value drivers.

Christopher Bogart, CEO of Burford Capital, said: “Businesses face significant challenges related to the global energy transition due to cross-border projects, differing legal frameworks and rapidly evolving policies. Additionally, long-term energy contracts may not keep pace with energy markets and technologies, resulting in conflicts among stakeholders. Burford’s latest research demonstrates the value of corporate finance for law, as legal finance helps companies manage the high costs of energy transition disputes and allows them to pursue meritorious claims without depleting resources.”

Burford’s research is based on a 2024 survey conducted by GLG and is supplemented by interviews with ten global energy transition experts conducted by Ari Kaplan Advisors.

The research report can be downloaded on Burford’s website.

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Hannah Sadler Joins GLS Capital Patent Investment Team

By Harry Moran |

Hannah Sadler has joined the firm as a vice president and member of the patent investment team.

“We are very happy to welcome Hannah to GLS Capital as a vice president and member of our team focusing on patent investments,” said Adam Gill, a GLS Capital managing director, co-founder, and leader of the firm’s patent-related investing. “Attracting top-tier talent is essential for continuing to help our clients achieve success, and Hannah’s background in patent litigation will be invaluable for navigating the complexities of patent investments and helping to drive our mission forward.”

Sadler focuses on diligence around qualified underwriting opportunities and monitoring and managing the firm’s patent litigation investments.

Before joining GLS Capital, Sadler was a patent litigator at Global IP Law Group in Chicago. She has over a decade of experience with all aspects of patent portfolio management and enforcement, including prosecution, litigation, sales, licensing, and portfolio valuation.

Sadler earned her J.D. (cum laude) from DePaul University College of Law and her Bachelor of Arts from the University of San Diego.

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