Two leading litigation funders and former trial lawyers have joined forces and launched Signal Peak Partners, with a focus on commercial and patent litigation including domestic and international matters. Signal Peak offers customized litigation financing, private credit solutions, and monetization options to plaintiffs and their trial lawyers.

Signal Peak is led by co-founders and managing partners Lauren J. Harrison and Mani S. Walia. They have managed over $500 million in institutional capital, funded some of the largest judgments in the country, and practiced at preeminent law firms. From its network of trial lawyers, Signal Peak will source compelling cases to provide investors uncorrelated returns.

“I’ve had the privilege of working with the Signal Peak team for years,” said Jason Bertoldi, Global Team Leader for Litigation & Contingent Risk Insurance at Alliant Insurance Services, Inc. “They are a rare combination: elite trial lawyers and top-flight litigation funders with an unwavering commitment to delivering efficient and excellent results for their clients. Lauren and Mani are widely recognized as thought leaders, trusted partners, and expert advisors in the litigation finance industry. Signal Peak will be a tremendous asset for attorneys and plaintiffs.”

Ms. Harrison, recognized as one of Lawdragon’s “100 Global Leaders in Litigation Finance,” has over 25 years of civil litigation and litigation funding experience. She graduated magna cum laude from both Dartmouth College and Cornell Law School, where she was Articles Editor of the Cornell Law Review, and clerked for judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington. She spent decades as a litigation partner at Vinson & Elkins and Jones Walker before focusing on litigation finance and serving as Vice President and Investment Counselor at Law Finance Group.

Mr. Walia has over 20 years of civil litigation and litigation funding experience. He graduated with honors from the University of Texas and with honors from the University of Texas School of Law, where he was an editor of the Texas Law Review. He clerked for judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit and the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas before litigating at Susman Godfrey.

Mr. Walia previously founded the litigation finance group at the investment firm Siltstone Capital, where his work earned him Texas Lawbook’s award for Legal Innovation in 2022. Mr. Walia is a co-author of the sixth edition of ALM’s national treatise on litigation funding.

Signal Peak is honored that Hazoor Partners, the largest investor in Mr. Walia’s prior Siltstone fund, has chosen to be an anchor investor of Signal Peak. Prior to launching its first funding strategy, Signal Peak has secured commitments of over $40 million in investment capital, with a hard-cap final close of $125 million, along with a broad investment mandate.

Ms. Harrison said that Signal Peak “will distinguish ourselves as a funder of complex litigation and will empower trial lawyers and their clients through strategic funding.” She noted that Signal Peak takes its name from the highest natural point in Texas. “We aim to bring perspective and to help our partners achieve towering success.” Of Mr. Walia she said, “Mani is a visionary who saw this industry’s potential at an early stage, and he has profound leadership skills.”

Mr. Walia said, “It is a professional dream to partner with Lauren. She’s the person I admire most in the industry. I owe my approach to case selection to my mentor Stephen D. Susman, the country’s best trial lawyer over the last 50 years and the original litigation funder, and we continue his legacy of ensuring access to justice.”

Signal Peak’s management team includes experienced litigation fund specialists Jackson Schaap as Vice President of Finance and Carly Thompson-Peters as Director of Operations. Both were formerly with Siltstone Capital.

“Lauren and I are fortunate to have Jackson and Carly join us as founding members,” Mr. Walia said. “Jackson brings elite finance acumen to valuation and portfolio construction, and Carly, with her paralegal expertise, is the nerve center of our firm.”

Signal Peak’s investment committee includes a retired federal district court judge, one of the country’s leading litigation funding law professors, and the former head of Omni Bridgeway’s Houston office.

Signal Peak invites you to attend LitFinLive, its industry conference, on February 25-26, 2026, at The Post Oak Hotel in Houston.

The following is contributed by Alberto Thomas, co-founder and managing partner of Fideres Partners LLP, an economic consulting firm specializing in litigation-related services.

Innsworth Capital's opposition to the Competition Appeal Tribunal's fee award in the Mastercard settlement has dominated headlines, with the litigation funder arguing that inadequate compensation threatens the future of UK class actions. But this dispute misses the fundamental issue. The real threat to collective redress isn't judicial attitudes toward fee awards—it's the structural limitations of how litigation funding operates.

The stakes couldn't be higher. Without structural reform, the UK class action system risks permanent ineffectiveness, leaving millions of consumers without practical access to justice while allowing corporate wrongdoing to continue unchecked. The changes proposed here would dramatically increase the volume of viable class actions, reduce funding costs, and create a genuinely functional collective redress system. Failing to act now means perpetuating a dysfunctional market where only a tiny fraction of meritorious claims ever see the light of day.

Rather than debating whether courts provide adequate compensation to funders, we should ask: why does the success of the entire UK class action regime depend on the economics of individual cases? The current model represents a classic case of capital misallocation, where resources are inefficiently concentrated rather than distributed optimally across the market.

The Flawed Foundation of Current Funding

The current model forces funders to make large, concentrated investments in individual cases while hoping their due diligence can identify certain winners. This approach is fundamentally unsound, regardless of fee awards.

Diversification is essential, but it is often impossible due to capital limitations. The UK market remains fragmented, with small funds lacking sufficient capital for diversification. Many of these funds share common investors, further exacerbating concentration problems and reducing overall market capacity. Individual class actions require millions in upfront investment over the years, so most funds can finance only a handful of class action cases simultaneously. Funders spend vast resources attempting the impossible: predicting with certainty how complex legal proceedings will unfold.

This strategy fails because litigation outcomes depend on uncontrollable variables. The Merricks case illustrates this perfectly—despite being strong on allegations of anticompetitive conduct, Innsworth's £45 million investment produced disappointing results. This isn't a failure of due diligence but the inherent unpredictability of litigation.

The Mathematics of Portfolio Necessity

The solution lies in recognizing that litigation funding should operate like every other investment class: through diversified portfolios designed to achieve consistent returns across aggregate investments, not individual successes.

Successful venture capital funds expect most investments to fail, some to break even, and a small percentage to generate exceptional returns that compensate for losses. The mathematics work because diversification allows the law of large numbers to operate, reducing portfolio risk while maintaining attractive returns.

Litigation funding should follow identical principles, but this requires making tens or hundreds of investments across diverse cases, jurisdictions, and legal theories.

Market Structure as the Primary Constraint

This capital limitation creates a destructive cycle that no fee restructuring can resolve. Limited diversification forces funders to be extremely selective, reducing meritorious cases that receive backing. Meanwhile, defendants observe that only the most obvious cases receive funding, escaping accountability for misconduct below this artificially elevated threshold.

The Mastercard outcome exacerbates these dynamics not because of inadequate fee awards, but because it highlights the vulnerability of concentrated portfolios. When funders experience significant losses on promising investments, rational capital allocation demands that they either exit the market or require substantially higher returns to compensate for concentration risk.

Beyond Traditional Funding Models

Solving this challenge requires moving beyond incremental reforms toward fundamental structural change. The key insight involves separating litigation risk from funding through proven approaches that have already transformed other markets.

The optimal structure would place litigation risk—the possibility that cases fail entirely—in the After-the-Event (ATE) insurance market, where specialized insurers possess deep expertise in risk assessment, diversification, and pricing across large portfolios. A fully insured investment vehicle could then access capital through traditional financial markets: banking facilities, mutual funds, pension funds, and institutional investors.

This separation would transform the economics entirely, using methods already well-established in insurance and capital markets. Insurance companies could price litigation risk using actuarial methods across diversified books of business. Meanwhile, the funding vehicle—protected by comprehensive insurance—could attract liquidity from other investment channels, such as mutual funds and the financial sector, at attractive interest rates. This type of bifurcation of  risk  would likely shorten due diligence times, significantly increase the amount of litigation funding available while simultaneously reduce its cost.

Learning from Financial Evolution

This transformation would mirror the evolution witnessed in credit markets with the development of risk transfer mechanisms like credit default swaps in the 1990s. Prior to these, banks faced severe limitations because they had to hold credit risk on their balance sheets. Risk transfer mechanisms allowed separation of credit origination from risk bearing, dramatically expanding lending capacity.

The parallels to litigation funding are exact. Currently, funders must simultaneously assess legal merit, manage litigation risk, and provide capital—constraining both capacity and efficiency. Separating these functions would deliver identical efficiency gains.

European Market Opportunities

The emergence of collective action regimes across Europe presents a significant opportunity to address these diversification challenges. As markets develop in the Netherlands, Portugal, and potentially Spain, they create additional avenues for portfolio diversification.

Rather than viewing these regimes as facing identical constraints, we should recognize their potential contribution to risk mutualization. A larger, diversified pool of cases across multiple jurisdictions would enable the portfolio approach that current market fragmentation prevents.

Time for Transformation

What's needed is recognition that effective collective redress requires sustainable funding models built on proper risk diversification rather than case-by-case selection. This requires applying established financial approaches that separate litigation risk from funding, enabling access to the vast capital pools necessary for portfolio-scale operations.

The time has come for bold innovation in UK litigation funding—bringing entrepreneurial spirit to what the City of London does best: creating imaginative solutions to complex financial problems. The City's unrivalled expertise in structuring sophisticated financial products and insurance markets makes it perfectly positioned to develop these new models. Such innovation would not only transform access to justice but could create an entirely new growth sector within the UK's service economy, establishing global leadership in a rapidly evolving field.

The transformation in litigation funding won't come from courts awarding higher fees to disappointed funders. It will come from applying the same proven structural approaches that have successfully developed every other sophisticated investment market. The question isn't whether this transformation will occur, but whether the UK will lead it or be forced to follow others who seize this opportunity first.

Legal Bay Presettlement Funding reports that over 50 plaintiffs have filed suit against San Diego County, alleging sexual abuse while minors at the Polinsky Children's Center during the 90s and 2000s. Accusations also include being drugged and verbally abused by staff members, not to mention the years of trauma the victims have endured.

The lawsuits, announced during a press conference last Friday, were filed by survivors now coming forward as adults to seek justice and accountability. Attorneys representing the plaintiffs say the abuse occurred at a time when the children were placed at Polinsky for their safety and protection. Attorney Joseph Woodhall, who is representing many of the plaintiffs, encouraged other victims to come forward and start the journey toward healing.

The recent filings follow a wave of litigation from September 2024 when Los Angeles-based firm Slater Slater Schulman filed similar complaints on behalf of more than 100 former residents of the Polinsky Center.

Both firms are now collaborating to pursue justice and compensation for the growing number of clients who have come forward. Survivors or others with knowledge of abuse at the Polinsky Children's Center are encouraged to contact the legal teams involved

Chris Janish, CEO of Legal Bay, says, "Legal Bay is tracking the development of these cases in California, unfortunately our research indicates a similar pattern of sexual abuse we have seen in other litigations throughout the country. Oftentimes the victims are so traumatized, it's hard for them to get by financially month-to-month, and legal funding cash advances are a way to help them bridge the gap to a meaningful settlement. We will continue to aid victims of sex abuse claims, as well as pledge our support for the victims' pursuit of their personal justice."

If you're the plaintiff in an existing lawsuit and need an immediate advance against your anticipated cash settlement award, you can apply HERE or call: 877.571.0405. If you were a victim of sexual abuse and need an attorney, Legal-Bay can also help you find legal representation. 

Legal-Bay lawsuit funding remains vigilant in helping clients who have experienced childhood sexual abuse. Additionally, any new clients that have an existing lawsuit and need cash now can apply for regular settlement funding to help them get through their own crises. Legal-Bay funds all types of loan on lawsuit programs including personal injury, slips and falls, car accident lawsuit, medical malpractice, dog bites, and more.

Legal-Bay is one of the best lawsuit funding companies when it comes to providing immediate cash in advance of a plaintiff's anticipated monetary award. The non-recourse legal funding—sometimes referred to as loans on lawsuit or loans on lawsuits—are risk-free, as the money doesn't need to be repaid should the recipient lose their case. Therefore, the lawsuit funding isn't really a loan, but rather a cash advance.

To apply right now, please visit the company's website HERE or call toll-free at: 877.571.0405 where agents are standing by.

As hernia mesh lawsuits continue to progress against major medical device manufacturers, Mayfair Legal Funding is stepping forward with financial solutions to support plaintiffs awaiting settlements. As a trusted provider of pre-settlement funding, Mayfair is committed to helping victims of defective hernia mesh implants manage their financial needs while pursuing justice.

Hernia Mesh Lawsuits and Manufacturer Liability

Hernia mesh implants, designed to provide long-term repair for hernias, have been linked to severe complications such as chronic pain, infections, adhesion, and organ perforation. Many affected individuals have filed lawsuits against manufacturers like C.R. Bard, Ethicon (a Johnson & Johnson subsidiary), and Medtronic, alleging that their mesh products were defectively designed and failed to provide the promised benefits.

The legal process for these cases is extensive, with thousands of plaintiffs waiting for settlements. A significant development occurred in October 2024 when C.R. Bard reached a settlement agreement involving approximately 38,000 lawsuits, though financial relief for many plaintiffs is still pending. As litigation continues, Mayfair Legal Funding is ensuring that victims are not forced into premature settlements due to financial strain.

Providing Relief During Lengthy Legal Proceedings

Hernia mesh complications can result in multiple surgeries, chronic pain, infections, and organ damage, significantly affecting victims' quality of life. However, proving liability in court is a complex process that can extend for years. Manufacturers and their insurers frequently employ delaying tactics, making it difficult for plaintiffs to maintain financial stability while waiting for a fair settlement.

Many individuals who file lawsuits cannot work due to their medical conditions, yet they must continue paying for essential needs, ongoing healthcare, and legal costs. The prolonged nature of these lawsuits means that victims are often financially pressured to settle prematurely, even if their case could result in higher compensation with more time.

Why Legal Funding Matters

The pressure to settle early for a lower amount is common in hernia mesh litigation. Insurance companies and medical device manufacturers often attempt to delay proceedings, making it difficult for plaintiffs to maintain financial stability. Lawsuit loans allow plaintiffs to access a portion of their expected settlement upfront, helping cover urgent expenses such as medical treatments, rent, utilities, and other living costs. This financial support ensures that plaintiffs are not forced into disadvantageous settlements due to economic pressure.

Eligibility and Application Process

Plaintiffs who have filed a hernia mesh lawsuit and are represented by an attorney may be eligible for funding. Mayfair Legal Funding works closely with law firms handling hernia mesh cases to ensure that plaintiffs can access financial assistance without delays.

About Mayfair Legal Funding

Mayfair Legal Funding is a trusted provider of pre-settlement funding, helping plaintiffs in medical device lawsuits, including hernia mesh cases, stay financially stable while awaiting settlements. With a risk-free, non-recourse funding model, plaintiffs only repay if they win their case. Mayfair ensures fast approvals, access to funds within 24 hours, and no credit checks. To date, the company has provided $45 million in funding with a 94% approval rate.

Deminor, a leading global litigation funder, is pleased to announce the successful completion of a EUR 100 million funding round. The proceeds will be used to support the continued expansion of Deminor’s litigation portfolio across its three core regions: Continental Europe, the UK and Asia.

Next to this major funding milestone, Deminor has also achieved the “Certified B Corporation™” status, becoming the first litigation funder outside the US to do so. This certification highlights the company’s commitment to high standards of social and environmental performance, transparency, and accountability.

1. Over the past few years, Deminor has significantly diversified its portfolio in terms of both claim types and geographic reach. Originally focused on securities actions for investors in Continental Europe, Deminor now finances a broad range of claims, including competition and antitrust cases, collective consumer actions and commercial litigation/arbitration throughout its three core regions: Continental Europe, the UK and Asia.

The firm currently funds 47 active cases and has funded a total of 85 cases across 23 jurisdictions. Notably, 78.8% of all concluded cases have resulted in positive outcomes for clients—reflecting Deminor’s disciplined case selection and prudent risk management approach.

Deminor also leverages a proprietary digital platform to deliver technology-driven solutions for managing mass claims in areas such as securities, antitrust, and consumer law.

2. The latest investment round of EUR 100 million, comprising equity, senior and junior debt, and asset-backed financing, includes participation from a diverse group of investors. These include Contingency Capital LLC (New York), which provided a EUR 72 million (USD 80 million) secured credit facility to the company, alongside finance&invest.brussels SA (backed by the Brussels regional government and local financial institutions), Stalusa (a Belgian family office), and Saffelberg Investments (a Belgian private equity firm). Existing shareholders, including Deminor’s management team, also participated in the round.

Despite challenging market conditions and regulatory uncertainty in 2023 and 2024, the legal finance sector remains resilient and is expected to record strong growth in 2025 and beyond. Key drivers include growing market awareness, restricted corporate credit access, and a rising number of collective actions by both businesses and consumers.

3. As the first litigation funder outside the USA to achieve B Corp certification, Deminor reaffirms its mission as a value-driven organization. High ethical standards have always guided its investment strategy, and the firm is proud to support claimants who might otherwise lack access to justice. Deminor believes this approach promotes a more balanced legal landscape and contributes to a fairer economy and society.

About Deminor: 

Founded in 1990, Deminor is a Band 1 Chambers & Partners international litigation funder with offices in Brussels, London, Hamburg, New York, Hong Kong, Madrid, Milan, Stockholm and Luxembourg. Deminor’s name, derived from the French ‘défense des minoritaires’, reflects its origins in providing services to minority shareholders. Deminor is still very much defined by the pursuit of good causes and its determination to restore justice for clients. 

Combining skill sets from 19 different nationalities and 22 languages, Deminor has actively supported cases in 23 different jurisdictions, including the Americas, the Middle East and offshore centres such as the Cayman Islands and Bermuda. 

In addition to funding one-to-one commercial claims, Deminor originates, syndicates and funds group actions. In 2018, Deminor was instrumental in securing the two largest securities settlements in Europe (EUR 1.4 bn in the Steinhoff case and EUR 1.3 bn in Fortis/Ageas).

Today, Legora announces an $80 million funding round led by ICONIQ and General Catalyst, with continued support from existing investors Redpoint Ventures, Benchmark, and Y Combinator. This latest round is a strong endorsement of Legora’s product quality, velocity and the remarkable traction it has achieved globally—underscored by its rapid progression from inception to Series B in under two years.

The deal comes as adoption of legal AI surges across the world. Legora is at the forefront of this shift - with lawyers across 250 firms and legal teams in 20 markets globally making daily use of its platform to review and research with precision, draft smarter, and collaborate seamlessly.

Legora operates out of New York, London, and Stockholm, with 100 employees drawn from some of the world’s leading global law firms and tech companies.

Max Junestrand, CEO and founder of Legora said: “The investment is a clear validation of the value our product is delivering to lawyers around the world. While we weren’t actively seeking funding, the strength of our growth, product, and client partnerships naturally attracted this backing, and I am ecstatic to have ICONIQ and General Catalyst with us on the journey as Seth and Jeannette join our board.

“This enables us to double down on what’s always set Legora apart — deep collaboration with our clients — and to scale innovation and accelerate product development, ensuring we leverage rapidly changing technology to meet the needs of the legal profession. We’re committed to building a product that not only solves today’s challenges but continues to adapt and deliver long-term value.”

Seth Pierrepont, General Partner at ICONIQ commented: “From our first conversation with Max and Sigge, it was immediately evident to us that they are building with rare clarity and velocity, creating a platform that doesn’t just fit into legal workflows — it elevates them, and understands the nuance and pace of modern legal teams. In just two years, they’ve delivered an enterprise-grade product that’s already trusted by hundreds of law firms and in-house legal teams globally. We’re proud to partner with Legora as they scale what we believe is a category-defining platform that’s reshaping how legal work gets done.”

Jeannette zu Fürstenberg, Managing Director and Head of Europe at General Catalyst said: “Legora is driving AI transformations in a highly specialized industry. With an outstanding product, rapid adoption by top-tier firms, and a founder who combines rare product instinct with exceptional execution, as we see it, Legora is redefining how legal work gets done. We’re excited to support Max and the team as they scale this category-defining platform.”

Legora’s collaborative approach to developing and embedding its AI underpins its success to date. More than just a platform, Legora is a true partner to clients, working alongside them from the first interaction to company-wide rollout and beyond. This ensures Legora’s solution is intuitively matched to client needs, and that engagement is broad and deep from day one; with the technology embraced by junior lawyers right up to managing partners across enterprises.

By building with lawyers, not just for them, Legora has accelerated adoption and delivered immediate value. Its AI platform is making a measurable impact at top law firms and in-house teams, powering multiple work-critical use cases and helping teams get to the heart of key issues in hours rather than days — enabling improved and more confident client responses with less write-offs.

Mary O’Carroll, Goodwin’s Chief Operating Officer commented: “Legora represents exactly the kind of strategic technology investment that keeps Goodwin at the forefront of legal excellence. We've been very pleased with the initial results we have seen since partnering with them in March, and we look forward to continuous improvement in how our lawyers use Legora to deliver legal services and insights to clients.”

Max Junestrand added: “AI, simply put, is a historic opportunity for legal professionals to get real leverage on their expertise and know-how. We have observed tasks such as reviewing data-rooms go from weeks to hours with no loss in accuracy - making human-machine intelligence and collaboration the de facto way of working. Both law firms and legal teams are already reaping the benefits of these advancements at scale.”

About Legora

Legora is the world’s first truly collaborative AI for lawyers serving over 250 law firms and in-house legal teams across 20 countries. Co-founded by CEO Max Junestrand and CTO Sigge Labor, Legora now has offices in New York, Stockholm and London and has raised $120M in funding to date. Legora works with prestigious clients such as Cleary Gottlieb, Goodwin and Bird & Bird - helping lawyers review, draft and work more effectively with AI. Legora.com

About ICONIQ

ICONIQ is a global investment firm catalyzing opportunity through extraordinary community. Our venture and growth investment platform partners with visionaries defining the future of their industries to achieve uncommon outcomes. Drawing on the wisdom and connectivity of our extraordinary community, we support our portfolio companies’ success at every inflection point, from early traction to IPO and beyond. Our robust portfolio includes Adyen, Airbnb, Alibaba, Alteryx, Automattic, BambooHR, Braze, Chime, Collibra, Coupa, Datadog, Docusign, Gitlab, Marqeta, Miro, Procore, Red Ventures, Relativity, ServiceTitan, Snowflake, Sprinklr, Truckstop, Uber, Wolt, and Zoom, among others. For more information, please visit www.iconiqcapital.com/growth.

About General Catalyst

General Catalyst is a global investment and transformation company that partners with the world’s most ambitious entrepreneurs to drive resilience and applied AI.

We support founders with a long-term view who challenge the status quo, partnering with them from seed to growth stage and beyond.

With offices in San Francisco, New York City, Boston, Berlin, Bangalore, and London, we have supported the growth of 800+ businesses, including Airbnb, Anduril, Applied Intuition, Commure, Glean, Guild, Gusto, Helsing, Hubspot, Kayak, Livongo, Mistral, Ramp, Samsara, Snap, Stripe, Sword, and Zepto.

Sauvegarder Investment Management, Inc ("SIM IP"), a Miami-based firm focused on intellectual property-based financing, investment, and monetization, today announced it has entered into a funding and strategic advisory agreement with Gene Pool Technologies.

Gene Pool Technologies ("Gene Pool") focuses on the development, aggregation, and licensing of advanced extraction and processing technologies, with a particular emphasis on solutions applicable to the cannabis and hemp industries. Gene Pool's intellectual property portfolio broadly covers innovations in plant extraction methods, equipment, and systems that enhance quality, safety, and efficiency for producers and manufacturers.

"We believe that Gene Pool brings a disciplined, technology-focused process to intellectual property licensing that aligns with SIM IP's commitment to efficient and transparent value creation," said Jennifer Burdman, Managing Director at SIM IP. "We look forward to collaborating to provide inventors with stronger protection and improved monetization opportunities, while offering industry participants with streamlined access to critical technologies through clear and equitable licensing terms."

Erich Spangenberg, CEO of SIM IP, commented, "Gene Pool is leveraging two key services provided by SIM IP, which includes capital support through a corporate investment and unparalleled, strategic advisory expertise. Gene Pool strategically chose to leverage our capital for both litigation and the anticipated acquisition of additional intellectual property, as well as our extensive expertise in global intellectual property monetization to support execution and business strategy."

Gene Pool partners with innovators and technology owners to ensure their innovations are protected, compensated, and accessible to operators through operator-friendly, non-exclusive licensing agreements. Gene Pool's licensable portfolio includes  over fifty patent assets, with approximately half owned by Gene Pool and the rest being in-licensed from key market innovators.

"Gene Pool was seeking a strategic partner capable of providing capital and supporting the execution of our intellectual property monetization strategy across multiple jurisdictions, including the U.S. and Europe. We're pleased to have identified SIM IP as a partner and to have formalized our collaboration," said Travis Steffen, CEO of Gene Pool. "We met with numerous litigation funding firms; however, only SIM IP demonstrated strategic advisory service capabilities and meaningful experience in global enforcement strategies."

Over the last few years, Gene Pool secured significant legal victories against companies in the cannabis and hemp industries including defending key patent claims in three inter partes review proceedings before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office; defeating invalidity, non-infringement, and illegality challenges against these claims in U.S. District Court; and most recently obtaining summary judgment from the same court that the Defendants infringed these claims.

About SIM IP
Sauvegarder Investment Management, Inc. ("SIM IP") is a Miami-based firm focused on intellectual property-based financing, investment and monetization opportunities. SIM IP invests across IP as an asset class and across jurisdictions, primarily focusing on the US, Europe, and Asia. Further information is available at www.simip.io. Follow us on LinkedIn, X (Twitter), and Instagram. 

About Gene Pool Technologies
At Gene Pool Technologies, we believe in industry solutions that recognize inventors, incentivize ongoing R&D, and enable operating companies with seamless access to technologies that will be critical to the long-term success of the Cannabis industry. Our team brings decades of experience across Cannabis and intellectual property and is deeply committed to the success of the industry and the innovation that will continue to drive quality, safety, and efficiency.

As the lawsuit funding industry continues to grow, Legal-Bay Lawsuit Settlement Funding is issuing a public advisory to plaintiffs navigating the complex and often underregulated pre-settlement loan landscape. The company urges consumers to remain vigilant against deceptive contract practices and highlights its own commitment to transparency, fairness, and ethical funding solutions.

While pre-settlement funding can offer critical financial relief during lengthy legal battles, Legal-Bay warns that not all funding companies operate ethically. In particular, the firm is cautioning plaintiffs to avoid contracts that include compounding pricing models, hidden fees, and vague language, common tactics used by unscrupulous funders.  Legal-Bay also offers refinancing's in event you have a large legal funding lien with a bad compounding rate and want cheaper pricing.

Chris Janish, CEO of Legal Bay, says, "Too often we see plaintiffs fall victim to exploitative funding agreements that leave them owing far more than they borrowed, especially after years of compounding costs buried in the fine print. Many of these contracts are intentionally confusing, designed to mislead consumers. At Legal-Bay, we offer refinancing options on large funding buyouts, by converting your existing compounding lien into a flat pricing lien – no different than a home mortgage refi."

If you are involved in any active litigation and would like to discuss how to get a cash advance from your anticipated lawsuit settlement, please visit the company's website HERE or call 877.571.0405 where agents are standing by to hear about your specific case.  

Legal-Bay outlines several red flags that plaintiffs should watch out for when considering a pre-settlement advance:

• Compounding interest without clear repayment terms: Some funders fail to disclose how much a plaintiff will owe over time, resulting in balances that balloon dramatically after two or three years.
• Vague or misleading contract language: Important terms are often hidden in fine print or presented in confusing legal jargon.
• Discouraging attorney involvement: Ethical funders will encourage plaintiffs to review all funding agreements with their attorneys instead of trying to edge them out of the discussion.
• Lack of disclosure about maximum repayment: Some contracts leave plaintiffs uncertain about how much will ultimately be deducted from their settlement.

In contrast, Legal-Bay's approach is rooted in transparency, fairness, and full attorney cooperation. All of their contracts are structured to include straightforward terms, capped repayment amounts, and no compounding interest. Plaintiffs and their attorneys are given full access to review and understand the terms before any funding is finalized.

Legal-Bay's dedication to ethical funding has made it a trusted name in loan on lawsuit funding for plaintiffs in personal injury, sexual abuse, motor vehicle accidents, medical malpractice, dog bite, commercial litigation, and many more.

Legal-Bay's lawsuit funding programs are designed to provide immediate cash in advance of a plaintiff's anticipated monetary award. While it's common to refer to these legal funding requests as loans on lawsuit or settlement loans, legal funding isn't like a loan at all. Because the funds are non-recourse, there's no risk since there is no obligation to repay the money if the recipient loses their case.

To apply right now for a loan settlement program, please visit the company's website HERE or call toll-free at: 877.571.0405 where agents are standing by to answer any questions.

In this episode, Richard Culberson, the CEO of Moneypenny, discuses how technology is redefining communications and the client experience within the litigation funding and broader legal services industries.

In this podcast, Richard highlights:

1. Balancing innovation with professionalism when it comes to the human connection that clients demand
2. How to implement secure digital communication tools to ensure that AI-enabled client insights maintain robust security
3. One technology that most firms still overlook but has the potential to become a major differentiator in client experience
4. Practical first steps for firms that wants to future-proof their communication strategies without overwhelming their internal teams.

Plus much more! Check out the full video below:

Theo Ai, the AI-driven prediction platform for litigation, has raised a $4.2 million seed round just six months after its $2.2 million pre-seed announcement in November. The round was co-led by returning investor NextView Ventures and new investor Collide Capital. As part of the investment, Aaron Samuels, General Partner at Collide Capital, will join Theo Ai’s board. The funds will be used to expand proprietary data pipelines, enhance legal corpus, and reinforce supervised learning with legal experts.

“The legal industry is at a turning point, and AI-powered predictions are becoming essential for managing client expectations and executive decision-making,” said Patrick Ip, Co-founder and CEO of Theo Ai. “With this investment, we will continue to develop the infrastructure that makes settlement predictions more precise and valuable for law firms and corporate legal teams.”

Theo Ai will use the new capital to accelerate product development, focusing on its AI-powered settlement prediction tools tailored for Big Law firms and General Counsels. The company is committed to building firm-specific prediction engines that leverage case history and proprietary data to provide actionable insights across a wider array of legal scenarios.

“The leadership team within Theo Ai continues to demonstrate a deep understanding of customer needs and the way advanced technology can reshape the legal field for decades to come” said Co-Founder and Partner at NextView, Rob Go. “this round came together very quickly because customers are quickly adopting what they see as a uniquely valuable solution."

“Theo Ai is transforming the way legal teams predict and manage settlements, and we are excited to back their next phase of growth,” said Aaron Samuels. “Having crossed paths with Patrick early in our respective founder journeys, it’s incredible to now collaborate in building the future of AI-driven legal intelligence.”

The funding round also marks a significant expansion of Theo Ai’s leadership team with the appointment of Jay Mandal as Chief Product Officer. A Stanford Law Lecturer and former COO at SAP, Mandal brings deep expertise in AI, enterprise technology, and legal innovation. He previously was the head M&A attorney at Apple and founded a legal tech company acquired by Rocket Lawyer. The company also welcomed Rob Martorana as Head of Partnerships. A former attorney with over 25 years in legal sales and marketing, including 12 years in litigation finance, Rob brings deep expertise across portfolio, single-case, and corporate monetization strategies. He most recently founded REMO Litigation Finance and served as SVP at Burford Capital.

Theo Ai’s seed round saw participation from all pre-seed investors, including nvp capital, Ripple Ventures, and Beat Ventures. The round also welcomed new investors Four Acres Capital and a distinguished group of angel investors from across legal, finance, and technology:

• David Fox (Kirkland & Ellis)
• Bo Berluti (RTP Global)
• Ramesh Dhanaraj (ex-Fortress Investment Group)
• Vivek Nasta (ex-Thomson Reuters)
• Akash Garg (ex-Uber)
• Art Calcagnini (ex-UBS)

Theo Ai initially launched by helping litigation funders optimize their investment decisions – recently partnering with Mustang Litigation Funding – and has rapidly expanded into serving Big Law and in-house legal teams. The strong market demand led to an oversubscribed seed round, reinforcing confidence in Theo Ai’s technology and vision.

With this latest funding, Theo Ai is poised to drive the future of AI-powered legal decision-making, delivering cutting-edge predictive solutions for the legal industry.

To learn more and join the waitlist for Theo Ai, visit: Theo Ai

About Theo Ai

Theo Ai is the first predictive engine designed by technical and legal professionals to forecast the outcome of legal disputes. Its AI models are trained on historical case data and incorporate real-time analytics with predictive modeling to deliver accurate and actionable insights. Theo Ai is meeting the most critical need for legal professionals - offering accurate case outcome predictions, backed by data. To learn more and join the waitlist for Theo Ai, visit: https://theoai.ai/#product

The International Legal Finance Association (ILFA), the only global association of commercial legal finance companies, announced that it has added its 30th member company to the association –Certum Group. 

Certum Group specializes in comprehensive alternative litigation strategies, such as litigation buyout insurance, judgment preservation insurance, litigation funding, class action settlement insurance, adverse judgment insurance, and claim monetization. The Texas-based Certum Group team includes litigation and insurance professionals along with risk mitigation specialists. 

“We are delighted to join ILFA and help it engage with policymakers interested in litigation finance,” said William Marra, a Director at Certum Group who leads the company’s litigation finance efforts. “Funding helps people and companies with strong legal claims get better access to the courts. We are excited to work with IFLA and ensure policymakers continue to encourage rather than restrict companies’ access to commercial legal finance.” 

“We’re delighted that Certum is joining ILFA’s growing membership”, said Rupert Cunningham, ILFA’s Global Director of Growth and Membership Engagement. “Certum already provides a lot of thought leadership on litigation funding and other matters, and they will make a great addition to ILFA’s work to support the sector in the US and globally.” 

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.

The following was contributed by Richard Culberson, the CEO North America of Moneypenny, the world’s customer conversation experts, specializing in call answering and live chat solutions.

Teams have the power to deliver sharper results, better service, and greater resilience. But how can we turn collaboration into a powerhouse — and keep it going?

As someone who leads a fast-paced customer conversations business, I know firsthand how critical strong teamwork is to delivering excellence, building trust, and staying competitive. While I don’t lead a law firm, I work closely with legal professionals across North America every day — and I’ve seen that the principles behind high-performing teams apply just as much in the legal sector as they do in tech.

At Moneypenny, we support thousands of law firms by providing virtual receptionists, client communication tools, and 24/7 support — so we understand the pressures legal teams face: high stakes, fast turnarounds, and a growing expectation for more responsive, more efficient service.

So, here’s the big question: how do you transform teamwork from something that gets things done to something that drives sustained excellence? 

Defining a Powerhouse Legal Team

We’ve all heard the phrase, “teamwork makes the dream work.” But in reality, that only holds true when the team is built and supported in the right way.  What really makes the difference is a powerhouse team – one that doesn’t just meet expectations but shapes them.

A legal team, like any tech or ops team is made up of specialists - attorneys, paralegals, and support staff. It's a collaborative unit aligned toward shared client outcomes — whether that’s winning a case, closing a deal, or shaping legal strategy. A powerhouse legal team, however, takes this a step further. It consistently delivers excellence, anticipates client needs, and influences firm-wide success.

This could be the litigation team that wins precedent-setting cases. The M&A group that closes complex deals under pressure. Or the in-house counsel team that protects and propels business strategy. Whatever the mission, a powerhouse team lead sthrough several key building blocks, and in my experience, they’re universal to all industries.

The Seven Pillars of a Powerhouse Team (Legal or Otherwise)

So, how do you build that level of excellence? It starts with people — the right people. In legal services, your people are your greatest asset. But it’s not just about legal acumen. They must align with your firm’s culture, values, and long-term vision.

Then, you build on these seven pillars:

1. Strong Legal Leadership

Every successful team needs a leader who can inspire and set a strategic course. Whether it’s a senior partner, practice head, or general counsel, their job is to elevate the team’s performance, foster a culture of accountability, and ensure alignment with both client goals and firm direction. Great leaders don't micromanage — they empower.

2. Shared Goals and Legal Vision

Powerhouse teams are unified by clear, shared goals. Everyone knows what success looks like and what’s expected of them — whether that’s billable hours, client feedback, or innovation in legal service delivery. When the entire team rallies around a common vision, alignment and momentum follow.

3. Diverse and Complementary Legal Expertise

No team succeeds when everyone brings the same strengths. The best-performing teams I’ve built include a mix of strategists, problem-solvers, doers and deep thinkers. The same principle applies in legal settings. Legal excellence requires more than technical brilliance in one area. It demands a combination of skills across disciplines. A litigation team thrives when trial lawyers, legal researchers, and case managers work seamlessly. In a corporate team, dealmakers, compliance professionals, and contract experts must collaborate. And just as important as functional skills is diversity of thought — bringing varied perspectives to legal problems leads to smarter, more creative outcomes.

4. Open and Effective Communication

In our world, communication is everything but that is true in all busines. Whether it’s delegating work, discussing a case strategy, or updating clients, effective communication prevents errors, builds trust, and enhances efficiency. I’ve found that when communication flows freely everything else works better. Egos stay in check, ideas get better and results speak for themselves.

5. Trust and Collaboration

A true team operates with mutual trust. Everyone understands their role, respects others’ and works to a shared goal. When legal professionals trust one another’s judgment, competence, and intentions, the team thrives. This trust allows lawyers to focus on their areas of expertise while relying on others to do the same. Collaboration becomes second nature, not forced. Roles are respected, workloads are balanced, and credit is shared. That kind of trust turns a good team into a powerhouse.

6. Adaptability and Resilience

Across the business landscape, we’re in a time when things change fast and the legal world is no different — new legislation, client demands, economic pressures. A powerhouse team responds with agility. They learn quickly, adjust strategies, and support each other during challenging cases or high-pressure deadlines. They don’t just survive stress — they strengthen through it.

7. Continuous Learning and Improvement

The best teams never stay still. Whether it’s staying ahead of regulatory changes, mastering new tech tools, or refining client service skills, powerhouse teams prioritize development. Mentoring, ongoing training, and regular performance feedback cultivate teams that evolve — not stagnate.

A commitment to continuous improvement sends a clear message: you believe in your team, and you’re investing in their growth. That, in turn, builds loyalty, engagement, and retention.

Final Thoughts

Whether you're building a tech team, a client success function, or a legal department, the fundamentals of a high-performing team remain the same. Great teams don’t just happen. They’re built with intent — with the right people, supported by the right culture, and driven by the right leadership.

When you get this right, the payoff is exponential. From more efficient operations to higher client satisfaction and better outcomes — powerhouse teamwork becomes a competitive advantage.

In any sector — and certainly in law — that’s a result worth striving for.