" />Boris Ziser is a partner and co-head of Schulte Roth & Zabel’s Finance Group, where he advises on a diverse range of asset classes and transactions such as asset-backed lending and securitization, warehouse facilities, secured financings, specialty finance lending and esoteric finance transactions. Boris manages the London finance practice and the global litigation funding and law firm finance practice.
With almost 30 years of experience, Boris works on a variety of asset classes, including life settlements, litigation funding, equipment leases, structured settlements, lottery receivables, timeshare loans, merchant cash advances and cell towers, in addition to other esoteric asset classes such as intellectual property, various insurance-related cash flows and other cash flow producing assets. He also represents investors, lenders, hedge funds, private equity funds and finance companies in acquisitions and dispositions of portfolios of assets and financings secured by those portfolios.
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: Finance, Litigation Finance, Private Credit, Structured Finance
Member Quote: “With its uncorrelated investment opportunity and plethora of rules that vary by jurisdiction (State-by-State and international), litigation funding is a complicated asset class that is rewarding at the same time, as it enables those with meritorious claims, but without the necessary resources, to pursue justice.”
“Show Me the Money” – Diverse Teams are a Revenue Driver and Not Just the Right Thing to Do
The following article was contributed by Kirstine Rogers, Legal Director at Certum Group, and Molly Pease, Managing Director at Curiam Capital.
Both are also on the steering committee for Women of Litigation Finance (WOLF). WOLF is an organization intended to give women in and around the litigation finance field a space for support, mentorship and connections. WOLF holds quarterly zoom meetings focused on specific relevant topics and hosts various networking events throughout the year. Please find out more through our LinkedIn page or by contacting any member of the steering committee. WOLF welcomes the support and participation of all industry members.
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As our country continues to debate the pros and cons of diversity, equity, and inclusion programs in the government and private sectors, the litigation finance industry would be well served by remembering that diverse teams make companies better. Indeed, several studies have explored the link between diversity initiatives and increased profitability in organizations and found that a more diverse workforce can positively impact business performance, innovation, and profitability.
There are many reasons for this. First, representation matters. Whether it is getting a phone call for a potential new investment opportunity from a female general counsel who wants to see diversity in the team she might be working with or being able to hire top talent who want to work with a diverse team, better opportunities present themselves to litigation finance market participants when those firms present a diverse and capable team. Second, a diverse team allows for more diverse networking opportunities, which encourages investment opportunities from a wide variety of sources. And finally, and potentially most importantly, diversity of backgrounds, skills, and expertise allows for a risk assessment in underwriting investment opportunities that is less likely to miss potential risks or pitfalls that a more narrow-minded team might not see. Better underwriting decisions result in better investments, which results in more revenue for the company.
Diversity need not be a mandate for it to be an intentional and profitable choice.
“If you build it, they will come.”
Does your company reflect the world of your counterparty or their counsel?
Research has shown that consumers are more likely to buy from or engage with businesses that appear to understand their specific needs, often through shared demographic traits like race, gender, or age. Businesses that reflect their target consumers' characteristics and values are more likely to foster trust and client loyalty. The same is true in commercial transactions with counterparties and their counsel. In entering into a funding agreement, you are forming a potentially long-term partnership. Communication and trust are essential to the success of that relationship. You only maximize the likelihood of that success with the diversity of the decision makers on your team.
Companies with inclusive environments are also more likely to attract top talent and retain employees. Why wouldn’t a firm cast the widest net possible?
“Nobody puts baby in a corner.”
Having a diverse workforce also increases opportunities for connection and visibility in the market. It provides a vehicle for commonality – a shared experience, history, or perspective. This is because similar backgrounds make it easier to communicate, share common goals, and find mutual interests, which in turn can lead to individual career opportunities and company-wide growth.
Diversity-based industry groups like the Women of Litigation Finance (WOLF) facilitate interaction between market peers, provide leadership and speaking opportunities, and lead to collaboration between companies seeking to work together. Bar associations also frequently have smaller diversity-based committees that provide a smaller community from which to network and form connections. Bigger fish. Smaller pond. Stronger bond. And these genuine connections formed on shared experiences can lead to exponential networking growth. A familiar face at one industry event only leads to more familiar faces at the next one.
This is true for thought leadership too. If every member of a panel of speakers looks the same and does not reflect the different faces in the audience, there are people in that audience your panel is not reaching. If every article is written from the same perspective, there are readers who are not listening.
“You’re gonna need a bigger boat.”
At its core, the litigation finance industry assesses risk. The better a firm can do that – whether it is a funder, a broker, or an insurer – the more profitable it will be. Risk assessment involves seeing things that others might miss and making sure no stone gets left unturned.
There are many components of a due diligence risk assessment, including reviewing the strength of the legal merits of the claims, assessing the credibility and testifying potential of key witnesses, and predicting what arguments or defenses will be presented by opposing counsel. A diligence team with diverse backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives will be better at identifying risks and assessing the value of potential claims. For example, a funder will often speak extensively with key witnesses to assess how they would present testimony at trial and whether a jury would find that testimony credible and persuasive. If a trial team were conducting a mock jury to test these points, it would assemble a diverse panel of men and women from different ages and backgrounds to get various views on the testimony. Similarly, a funder trying to make its own internal assessment will be better served by a diverse team with a variety of perspectives. If everyone in the room has the same basic background, characteristics, and experiences, they are likely to see things similarly and thus miss key factors that could be important in determining the impact of the testimony. And this is only one aspect of a risk assessment. Each step of the diligence and risk assessment process would benefit from analysis by a diverse team. The biggest concern in the litigation finance industry is that a funder, broker, or insurer misses a significant risk in their assessment of a legal asset and finds themselves funding an investment that has a low chance of success in hindsight. A diverse team will protect against this outcome and therefore drive revenue for industry participants.
"You talkin' to me?"
At the end of the day, the value of meaningfully implemented diversity initiatives is clear. Having the benefit of differing experiences and perspectives makes companies better. And, as to litigation finance in particular, diversity without question strengthens the return on investments.
But just having a diverse workforce does not necessarily result in a better company or improved profitability. The company needs to foster an inclusive environment where diverse perspectives are valued and integrated into decision-making processes and where those selected as thought leaders demonstrate how diversity is implemented, prioritized, and integrated into company culture.
In honor of International Women’s Day, make this a call to action – what can you do at your company to ensure you have the broadest perspectives represented? Ask yourself, does the panel you are sponsoring completely reflect your target client base? Does your leadership team include those with different perspectives? Does your company provide women with networking and mentoring opportunities?
After all, diversity presents an opportunity for someone at your company to collaborate with other market participants to write an article just like this.
About the authors:
Molly Pease is Managing Director and Chief Compliance Officer at Curiam Capital, and Kirstine Rogers is Legal Director at Certum Group. They both serve on the Steering Committee for WOLF, the Women of Litigation Finance. They can be reached at molly.pease@curiam.com and krogers@certumgroup.com.
