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Community Spotlight: Andi Mandell, Partner and Co-Head of Schulte Roth & Zabel’s Tax Group

By John Freund |

Community Spotlight: Andi Mandell, Partner and Co-Head of Schulte Roth & Zabel’s Tax Group

Andi Mandell is a partner and co-head of Schulte Roth & Zabel’s Tax Group, where she advises on the tax aspects relating to structured finance, securitization and fund formation. Her practice is focused on esoteric assets, including litigation funding, structured settlements, lottery receivables, secured and unsecured consumer loans and timeshare loans.

Andi has over 30 years of experience providing skilled tax advice to the securitization industry. In addition to her work in the esoteric space, Andi is recognized as an authority in the securitization of residential and commercial mortgage-backed securities and real estate structured finance, including the structuring of REO-to-rental financings, servicer advance facilities, debt re-packaging, securitization of non-performing and re-performing mortgage loans, re-securitizations, distressed asset funds and MSR purchases and sales.

Andi works with other industry leaders who are shaping the securitization industry as a member of the Board of Directors of the Structured Finance Association (SFA), and is serving her fifth year as the co-chair of the Tax Policy Committee.

Company Name and Description: With a firm focus on private capital, Schulte Roth & Zabel LLP is comprised of legal advisers and commercial problem-solvers who combine exceptional experience, industry insight, integrated intelligence and commercial creativity to help clients raise and invest assets and protect and expand their businesses. The firm has offices in New York, Washington, DC and London, and advises clients on investment management, corporate and transactional matters, and provides counsel on securities regulatory compliance, enforcement and investigative issues.    

Company Website: https://www.srz.com/

Year Founded: 1969  

Headquarters: New York, New York, U.S.A.  

Area of Focus: Tax, Finance, Structured Finance  

Member Quote: “Navigating the intricacies of litigation funding requires a deep understanding of both the financial and the legal landscape. As a tax lawyer, my role is to ensure that funding arrangements are properly structured to allow a broad range of investors to participate as funders in this asset class in a tax efficient manner. Litigation funding presents unique tax challenges to non-US investors and tax exempts and having the tax expertise to help guide our clients allows for greater participation in this space.”

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John Freund

John Freund

Commercial

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Burford Releases New Quarterly on Navigating Global Business Disputes

By John Freund |

Burford Capital has published a new Burford Quarterly that pitches legal finance as a strategic resource for corporates and law firms confronting increasingly complex, cross-border matters. Vice Chair David Perla frames the theme succinctly: legal finance is no longer merely a tool to pay fees—it’s a way to unlock capital trapped in claims and manage portfolio risk as regulatory scrutiny and multijurisdictional exposure rise.

The issue is built around sector playbooks. A pharma feature addresses how generic and branded drug makers use financing to shoulder costly Hatch-Waxman litigation and development timelines, positioning capital as a buffer where damages are uncertain but speed to market is critical.

A construction-arbitration piece tracks the uptick in global disputes amid supply-chain shocks, decarbonization mandates, and elongated project schedules, with third-party capital smoothing cash flow over multi-year EPC programs and helping parties sustain high-value claims through arbitration.

Two additional components round out the package. A ten-year lookback on the UK’s opt-out competition regime argues funding has been central to the maturing collective-actions market and will remain pivotal as policymakers contemplate broader redress. And a Q&A tied to Burford’s strategic minority investment in Kindleworth explores how alternative capital and law-firm entrepreneurship intersect to seed specialist boutiques and align incentives with client outcomes.

UK Courts And Policymakers Narrow The Post-PACCAR Gap For Funders

By John Freund |

The UK’s fast-evolving funding landscape continues to clarify what works—and what doesn’t—after PACCAR. In July, the Court of Appeal in Sony Interactive v Neill held that LFAs pegging a funder’s return to deployed or committed capital, even when paid from proceeds and subject to a proceeds cap, are not damages-based agreements. That distinction matters: many CAT and other group LFAs were rewritten over the past year to swap percentage-of-recovery models for multiple-based economics, and the ruling indicates those structures remain enforceable when drafted with care.

Quinn Emanuel's Business Litigation Report traces the arc from PACCAR’s treatment of percentage-based LFAs to Sony v Neill’s clarification and the policy response now gathering steam. The analysis underscores that returns keyed to funding outlay—not the quantum of recovery—avoid the DBA regime, reducing the risk that amended post-PACCAR agreements are second-guessed at certification or settlement approval.

The Civil Justice Council’s June Final Report outlines a legislative repair kit: a statutory fix to reverse PACCAR’s impact prospectively and retrospectively; an explicit separation of third-party funding from contingency-fee arrangements; a shift from self-regulation to light-touch statutory oversight; and, in exceptional cases, judicial power to permit recovery of funding costs from losing defendants. The CJC would also keep third-party funding of arbitration outside the formal regime.

For market participants, the immediate implications are contractual. Multiples, proceeds caps, waterfall mechanics, and severability language deserve meticulous treatment; so do disclosure and control provisions, given heightened judicial scrutiny of class representation and adverse costs exposure.

Burford Hires Veteran Spanish Disputes Lawyer to Bolster EU Footprint

By John Freund |

Burford Capital has strengthened its European presence with its first senior hire in Spain, recruiting Teresa Gutiérrez Chacón as Senior Vice President based in Madrid.

According to the press release, Gutiérrez Chacón brings over 16 years of experience in complex dispute resolution, international arbitration, and legal strategy—most recently serving as Chief Legal Counsel for Pavilion Energy’s European trading arm. Her prior roles include positions at Freshfields and Gómez‑Acebo & Pombo, and she has been recognized by Legal 500 as a “Rising Star” in Litigation & Arbitration and named Best Arbitration Lawyer Under 40 by Iberian Lawyer.

In her new role, she will deepen Burford’s relationships with Spanish law firms and corporations, positioning the firm to address the growing demand in Spain for legal finance solutions. Burford emphasized that Spain’s sophisticated legal market presents “significant opportunities,” and that adding on‑the‑ground leadership in Madrid enhances its ability to deliver local insight and cross‑jurisdictional support.

Philipp Leibfried, Burford’s Head of Europe, noted that this hire demonstrates a commitment to expanding in key European jurisdictions and strengthening Burford’s role as a “trusted partner” for law firms and businesses seeking innovative capital solutions.