The International Legal Finance Association (ILFA), the only global association of commercial legal finance companies, today announced the addition of Paris-based legal finance provider IVO Capital Partners as its 25th member. 

“ILFA is pleased to welcome IVO Capital Partners to our growing membership ranks,” said Shannon Campagna, ILFA’s interim Executive Director. “IVO’s addition serves as the quarter century mark for ILFA’s global membership. The firm will play a crucial role in helping ILFA promote the highest standards of operation and service for the commercial legal finance sector around the world.” 

“We are thrilled that IVO’s team is joining ILFA’s diverse roster of commercial legal funders,” said Neil Purslow, ILFA Chairman and Co-Founder of Therium, an ILFA member. “The addition of yet another legal finance provider this year demonstrates the increasingly important role that ILFA plays as the global voice for the ever-expanding legal finance industry, particularly in Europe.” 

IVO Capital Partners is an independent asset management company specializing in corporate debt and has established itself as a leader in the European legal finance industry. The firm boasts over a decade of experience in litigation funding, investing over $166 million in 64 cases across a wide array of geographies and action types. IVO is currently deploying its third legal finance fund, IVO Legal Strategies Fund III SLP. 

“The key role being played by ILFA in working with members of the litigation funding industry, as well as all other professionals involved with this industry, has made this membership a requirement for us to be even more active in the evolution and growth of the industry,” said Paul de Servigny, the fund manager of IVO’s litigation finance activities. “With Europe as our main source of business, we are very happy to be able to contribute to growing ILFA’s reach and understanding of different jurisdictions and how litigation finance is viewed there.”

About the International Legal Finance Association 

The International Legal Finance Association (ILFA) represents the global commercial legal finance community, and its mission is to engage, educate and influence legislative, regulatory and judicial landscapes as the voice of the commercial legal finance industry. It is the only global association of commercial legal finance companies and is an independent, non-profit trade association promoting the highest standards of operation and service for the commercial legal finance sector. ILFA has local chapter representation around the world. 

For more information, visit www.ilfa.com and find us on LinkedIn and X @ILFA_Official.

About IVO Capital Partners 

IVO Capital Partners is an independent French asset management company with more than €1.5 billion in assets under management. Founded in 2012, it invests in listed and unlisted credit on emerging market corporate bonds and litigation finance. IVO Capital Partners' expertise allows its client-investors to access new investment universes with clarity and profitability and also to provide access to financing, on the one hand, to companies established in emerging countries and, on the other hand, to litigation so that they can lead to compensation. The company employs 14 nationalities and invests in more than 50 countries. IVO is among Europe’s leaders in the legal finance industry, with more than $166 million invested and more than 64 cases financed as of 2024. For over a decade, IVO’s expert investment team has ensured asymmetric returns for investors while promoting the rights of parties involved in meritorious litigation and class-action lawsuits. For more information, visit www.ivocapital.com

• What is the overall state of the legal insurance market? What are the current trends and forecasts regarding the intersection of these two industries?
• How can funders incorporate insurance products into their underwriting and claims selection processes?
• What are the current challenges facing insurers in the legal funding market?  How are they seeking to overcome those challenges?
• How have recent losses in the JPI market impacted insurers’ willingness to underwrite these policy types?
• Given that litigation funders and insurers are at odds over regulatory issues, how can we engender greater cooperation between these two sectors?

Bryant Park Capital (“BPC”) is pleased to report that High Rise Financial, LLC recently secured a $100 million senior secured credit facility with a group of syndicated bank lenders. High Rise Financial was founded by Mark Berookim and Michael Berookim in 2016 and is based in Los Angeles, California.

Bryant Park Capital served as the exclusive financial advisor to High Rise Financial in arranging this senior secured credit facility. Founded in 1991, BPC is an investment bank providing mergers and acquisitions, debt & equity, and corporate strategic advisory services to its clients in the middle market. For over 30 years, BPC has successfully guided middle-market firms through growth, expansion, and sales or acquisitions. Due to our client-driven approach, we have developed and maintain deep relationships with strategic and financial buyers, banks, private equity firms, hedge funds, and other institutional investors.

Michael Berookim, Managing Member of High Rise Financial, stated, “BPC’s combination of strong specialty finance expertise and industry relationships, along with their deep understanding of personal injury pre-settlement funding and medical factoring, has helped further accelerate our already exponential growth. They remain a valuable partner to us, and we are appreciative of their efforts to help us reach this $100 million milestone. They were a trusted advisor in the process from day one.”

About High Rise Financial

High Rise Financial is a leading nationwide litigation finance company in the personal injury industry. The company specializes in plaintiff pre-settlement funding, medical factoring and providing a network of medical providers that treat personal injury victims. High Rise Financial is a relationship-based company known for its ease of use and exceptional service to law firms, plaintiffs and medical providers. 

For more information about High Rise Financial, please visit www.highriselegalfunding.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 excels in providing M&A advisory and capital raising services for complex deal structures. BPC has raised various forms of credit and growth equity and assisted in mergers and acquisitions for its clients. The firm has completed approximately 30 engagements worth over $2 billion in transaction value within the legal funding industry. Overall, the team has completed more than 400 assignments representing an aggregate transaction value of over $30 billion. 

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

Burford Capital, the leading global finance and asset management firm focused on law, is doubling down on its commitment to addressing the lack of diversity in the leadership of commercial litigation and arbitration. In announcing the third phase of its award-winning Equity Project, Burford is earmarking an additional $150 million to fund commercial matters with a female or racially diverse lawyer in a leadership role, bringing its cumulative funds earmarked for this initiative to more than $300 million.

• Given its leadership in funding global commercial litigation and arbitration, Burford has a front row seat to the continued lack of diverse lawyers in leadership roles and saw a need to address this gap.
• Burford first launched The Equity Project in 2018 with $50 million earmarked to financing cases led by female lawyers.
• In 2021, Burford launched phase two of The Equity Project, earmarking a further $100 million and extending the initiative to also finance racially diverse lawyers; further, it added a promise to contribute a share of proceeds from successfully resolved matters to organizations that promote diversity in the business of law.
• With cumulative Equity Project commitments of almost $170 million, Burford is launching phase three with an additional $150 million earmarked.
• As in phase two, if phase three Equity Project-funded matters resolve successfully and generate expected returns, Burford will contribute on its client's behalf a portion of its profits to organizations that promote lawyer development for female and racially diverse lawyers.

Aviva Will, President of Burford Capital, leads Burford's Equity Project initiative. 

Ms. Will states: "The Equity Project reflects Burford's values and our pragmatism—our belief not only that it is right to use our capital and our industry leadership to help close the diversity gap in the leadership of commercial disputes, but also that there is a tangible benefit to our clients and the business of law to doing so."

She continues: "The whole Burford team is proud of the impact we have made. Clients appreciate The Equity Project as a tool to promote leadership from diverse backgrounds, and we hear directly from those who've been funded that it makes a difference in their careers. From when I first started practicing law to today, the business of law has made progress, but the legal profession remains slow to adapt, and in providing economic levers for change, we are doing our part to expedite still more."

Equity Project Mission and Impact

The Equity Project enables female and racially diverse lawyers to compete for leadership roles in significant matters with attractive terms in place. It incentivizes firms to promote talent from diverse backgrounds and demonstrates innovation to clients. Businesses can use Equity Project capital to encourage the firms that represent them to appoint female and racially diverse lawyers on their matters, and as a reason to talk to their firms about diverse representation and origination credit.

Equity Project matters funded to date include contract disputes, antitrust, federal statutory, IP/patent and treaty and commercial arbitration matters, with female and racially diverse litigators in leadership roles (first or second chair), and with clients represented by women- or minority-owned firms. Clients include large corporations and large litigation boutiques.

We have to date provided financing for 19 different matters from the Equity Project, some of which were multi-case portfolios. The average amount of capital committed per matter was $8.9 million, indicating that these are large, complex litigation and arbitration matters. The matters qualified for inclusion in the Equity Project on the following basis:

• 14 with first or second chair female lawyers
• 3 with first or second chair racially diverse lawyers
• 2 with both a female and racially diverse lawyer as lead lawyers

Equity Project Champions

Burford has also expanded its cadre of Equity Project Champions, corporate and law firm leaders who will support and spread awareness of the initiative. The expanded list, which is currently in formation, includes the following returning and new* Champions:

APAC

• *Angela Ee, Asean and Singapore Turnaround and Restructuring Strategy Leader, EY-Parthenon
• *Blossom Hing, Director, Dispute Resolution and Corporate Restructuring & Workouts, Drew and Napier
• Brenda Horrigan, International Arbitrator

Europe

• *Conway Blake, Partner, Debevoise & Plimpton
• Amy Frey, Partner, King & Spalding
• Sophie Nappert, International Arbitrator; Co-Founder, ArbTech
• *Akima Paul Lambert, Partner, Hogan Lovells
• Sue Prevezer QC, International Arbitrator, Mediator and Consultant, Brick Court Chambers
• Noradèle Radjai, Partner, Lalive
• *Lauma Skruzmane, Founding and Co-Managing Partner, Butler Reichline Skruzmane
• Daniel Winterfeldt MBE QC (Hon), Founder & Chair Interlaw Diversity Forum, Managing Director & General Counsel – EMEA And Asia, Jefferies

US

• Elizabeth Brannen, Managing Partner & Chair of Intellectual Property Litigation, Stris & Maher
• Mylan Denerstein, Co-Chair, Public Policy Practice Group, Gibson Dunn & Crutcher
• *Ryan Dunigan, Senior Division Counsel, Corning, Incorporated
• The Honorable Katherine B. Forrest, Partner, Paul Weiss
• Faith Gay, Founding Partner, Selendy & Gay
• Maria Ginzburg, Partner, Selendy & Gay
• Megan E. Jones, Partner, Hausfeld
• Carolyn Lamm, Partner, White & Case
• Tara Lee, Partner, White & Case
• Roberta D. Liebenberg, Senior Partner, Fine, Kaplan & Black
• Veta T. Richardson, President & CEO, Association of Corporate Counsel
• Adriana Riviere-Badell, Partner, Kobre & Kim
• *Lauren M. Weinstein, Partner, MoloLamken

About Burford Capital

Burford Capital is the leading global finance and asset management firm focused on law. Its businesses include litigation finance and risk management, asset recovery and a wide range of legal finance and advisory activities. Burford is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: BUR) and the London Stock Exchange (LSE: BUR), and it works with companies and law firms around the world from its offices in New York, London, Chicago, Washington, DC, Singapore, Dubai and Hong Kong.

For more information, please visit www.burfordcapital.com.

Nakiki SE announces that the two so-called “mask lawsuits” (lawsuits against the federal government for payment related to supply contracts for COVID masks), which are currently in the review phase or at the stage of a Letter of Intent, will not be financed after thorough and detailed examination.

Litigation funders such as Nakiki SE assess claims to be financed through both internal and external legal and economic evaluations. A decision not to finance a claim is not necessarily an indicator of the claim’s chances of success but may also be due to a limited risk appetite or other factors.

In principle, Nakiki SE remains interested in financing so-called mask lawsuits. Affected mask suppliers are still encouraged to contact Nakiki. Each case will be reviewed individually and promptly.