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The Association of Litigation Funders of England and Wales appoints Susan Dunn as Chair

London 2 October 2019: The Association of Litigation Funders of England & Wales (“the ALF”) today announced the appointment of Susan Dunn as Chair at the ALF’s Annual General Meeting. Susan Dunn currently serves as a Director of the ALF and succeeds Leslie Perrin, following his expression of a desire to stand down this year after serving as Chair for almost 8 years.

Susan Dunn is one of the co-founders of Harbour Litigation Funding, one of the industry’s leading litigation funders.  Susan qualified as a solicitor in 1992 and has worked as a commercial litigator in both the United Kingdom and the United States where she was also a diplomat (Vice-Consul Investment) for the British Government.  Susan was central to the completion in 2011 of the Code of Conduct in England and Wales for Litigation Funders and the formation of the ALF in 2011.

Leslie Perrin said: “Susan is one of the pioneers of the litigation funding industry and she has worked tirelessly to raise awareness of how litigation funding can promote access to justice and facilitate the resolution of disputes. Under Susan’s leadership, the ALF will continue to be regarded as embodying the best practice gold standard of the litigation funding industry.”

Susan Dunn, Chair of ALF said: “It is an honour to take over the Chair of the ALF from Leslie, who took on the leadership of the ALF when it was formed in November 2011.  His work has ensured that our members adhere to the highest standards at a time of growth in litigation funding. I look forward to continuing to work with Leslie and all of my other colleagues in the industry, as well as the Government and regulators, and to ensure excellence in the provision of litigation and arbitration funding as the industry continues to grow and develop.”

The Association of Litigation Funders is an independent body that has been charged by the Ministry of Justice with delivering self-regulation of litigation funding in England and Wales.  Litigation funding is the provision by a third party of finance to a party to litigation or arbitration, which is used to pay for the legal costs of the dispute, in exchange for the funder taking a share of the proceeds in the event of a successful outcome.

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About the Association of Litigation Funders

The Association of Litigation Funders (the ALF) is an independent body that has been charged by the Ministry of Justice with delivering self-regulation of litigation funding in England and Wales. Litigation funding is the provision by a third party of non-recourse finance to a party to litigation or arbitration, which is used to pay for the legal costs of the dispute, in exchange for the funder taking a share of the proceeds in the event of a successful outcome. The litigation funding industry has established and paid for its own regulation and defined best practice, helping to protect claimants who seek the rational management of financial risk in litigation and arbitration. By working with a Funder Member of the ALF, parties accessing litigation funding are assured that they will find an organisation that strives to meet the high-quality standards that should define this industry. The ALF Code of Conduct sets out the standards by which all Funder Members of the ALF must abide. It sets the standards for the capital adequacy of funders, sets out the specific, limited circumstances in which funders may be permitted to withdraw from a case, and outlines the way in which the roles of funders, litigants and their lawyers should be kept separate. The ALF also maintains robust and efficient complaints handling procedures. The ALF actively engages with government, legislators, regulators and other policy makers to shape the regulatory environment for litigation funding in England and Wales.

ALF board members include Susan Dunn, Neil Purslow, Christopher Bogart, Jonathan Barnes who was re-elected at the AGM and Rob Rothkopf, Managing Partner of Balance Legal Capital LLP, who joins the board for the first time.

Funder members of the ALF include Augusta Ventures Ltd, Balance Legal Capital LLP, Burford Capital, Calunius Capital LLP, Harbour Litigation Funding Ltd, IMF Bentham, Innsworth Advisors Ltd, Redress Solutions PLC, Therium Capital Management Ltd, Vannin Capital PCC and Woodsford Litigation Funding Ltd.

For more information please visit: http://associationoflitigationfunders.com/

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Announcements Commercial Legal Innovation

Sentry Expands Free Funding Market Search for Litigators

By John Freund |

Sentry Funding’s free tool enabling litigators to instantly search the funding market on behalf of clients has been expanded.

Sentry’s free ‘decision in principle’ feature enables lawyers to evidence to clients that they have conducted a broad market search, even if funding is not ultimately taken out.

Having deployed £125m in funding across a range of case types, Sentry now has access to an even broader funding marketplace, covering 34 global jurisdictions. Finance is provided by 13 funders, five of which are members of the Association of Litigation Funders.

With the recent addition of Sentry’s first US-based funder, the US offering will now be expanding over the next few months. 

A faster process

Sentry has deployed the latest technology to make the search for funding even easier. 

  • The intuitive application process now only asks questions relevant to previous answers, saving lawyers time.
  • The commercial marketplace has been redeveloped with 63 new data points added to the funder criteria matrix - improving the accuracy of case / funder matching
  • Sentry has also begun building out its AI capabilities, starting with an automated auditing tool for live case progression audits. 

Tom Webster, chief executive officer at Sentry Funding, said:

‘By broadening our reach and speeding up the process, we’re making it even easier for lawyers to raise funding. We’re also giving litigators an easy way to show clients they have fully researched the market, rather than just approaching one or two funders. 

‘The service is free to use, so even if clients decide they do not ultimately want funding or if none is available for that case, for the lawyer, it makes sense to use our “decision in principle” feature, so they can put evidence on file that they did check the market.’

Sentry Funding is an SaaS (software as a service) technology provider that gives solicitors access to a diverse marketplace of litigation funders. It works with solicitors, funders and third-party providers to ensure claimants are getting the most efficient service for their funding needs. 

The Sentry Portal also acts as a case management system that runs a transparent digital case file for solicitors, funders, after-the-event insurance providers, barristers, cost lawyers and other relevant third parties.

Announcements Commercial

NorthWall Capital Hits €2.9 B AUM on Private Credit Momentum

By John Freund |

NorthWall Capital has rocketed past €2.9 billion in assets under management after pulling in an additional €1.6 billion of institutional capital in 2025 alone. The London-based alternative credit manager says the surge reflects allocators’ intensifying hunt for scaled, multi-strategy platforms as Europe’s banks retrench and borrowers seek bespoke sources of credit.

A press release from NorthWall Capital details first-close totals across four distinct strategies. The flagship Credit Opportunities fund secured €731 million—already eclipsing its prior vintage—while the newly launched Senior Lending vehicle raised $503 million, translating to roughly $750 million of deployable firepower once leverage is applied. Asset-Backed Opportunities collected €252 million for collateral-rich loans in sectors underserved by traditional lenders, and the specialist Legal Assets platform locked down $169 million to extend the firm’s law-firm lending programme.

Founder and CIO Fabian Chrobog said the fundraising validates “the consistency of our approach” and NorthWall’s ability to craft solutions that resonate with investors and counterparties alike. With headcount slated to hit 40 by year-end, the firm plans to lean further into complex, situational credit born of bank deleveraging, regulatory shifts and sponsors’ need for certainty of execution.

Announcements Commercial People Moves

Victory Park Expands Legal Credit Leadership with Maleson Promotion

By John Freund |

Victory Park Capital (VPC), a global alternative asset manager specializing in private credit, has announced that Justin Maleson will expand his role to Managing Director, co-heading the firm’s legal credit investment strategy. The promotion underscores VPC’s ongoing investment in its legal finance capabilities and follows Maleson’s initial appointment in 2024 as Assistant General Counsel.

An announcement from Victory Park Capital details Maleson’s new responsibilities, which include sourcing, analyzing, and managing investments across legal assets, while maintaining oversight of the firm’s legal operations. He joins Chad Clamage in co-leading the strategy, working alongside team members Hugo Lestiboudois and Andrew Pascal, under the continued oversight of VPC CEO and founder Richard Levy.

Maleson brings a strong background in litigation finance and commercial law to the position. Before joining VPC, he served as a director at Longford Capital, where he specialized in originating and managing litigation funding transactions. His earlier tenure as a litigation partner at Jenner & Block further deepened his exposure to complex legal matters, equipping him with the expertise needed to navigate the nuanced legal credit space.

VPC’s legal credit team emphasizes an asset-backed lending model, prioritizing downside protection and predictable income streams. The firm aims to capitalize on inefficiencies within the legal funding market by leveraging its internal expertise and broad network of relationships. With Maleson’s appointment, VPC signals its intent to further scale its legal credit strategy, positioning itself as a key player in the evolving legal finance sector.

Maleson’s elevation comes at a time of increasing sophistication in litigation finance, where experienced legal minds are playing a pivotal role in portfolio construction and risk management. As VPC bolsters its leadership, the move may foreshadow further institutionalization of legal asset investing and heightened competition in a maturing market segment.