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Community Spotlight: Richard Culberson, CEO, VoiceNation and Moneypenny North America

By John Freund |

Community Spotlight: Richard Culberson, CEO, VoiceNation and Moneypenny North America

Member Bio: Richard Culberson is the CEO of VoiceNation and Moneypenny North America, global leaders in outsourced call answering, live chat, receptionist teams and customer service solutions for business large and small, handling over 20 million calls and chats for thousands of organizations. The business  has an award-winning culture, with over 1,000 people across the US and UK. At the centre of this culture is a vision that if you combine awesome people with leading-edge technology, you will supercharge your people and your business, delivering gold standard customer experience and service. Richard is passionate about building teams that leverage new business models and technologies, driving growth and scaling business.

Company Name and Description:  Moneypenny and VoiceNation are America’s leading virtual receptionist & phone answering providers offering 24/7 communication solutions. 

Collectively, Moneypenny and VoiceNation employ over 1,000 people handling millions of calls, chats and bespoke tech solutions for thousands of businesses of all shapes and sizes from sole traders right up to multinational corporations.

Company Websitewww.voicenation.com & www.moneypenny.com

Year Founded:  2000

Headquarters:  Atlanta (USA) and Wrexham (UK)

Area of Focus: Richard Culberson, CEO of North America, focuses on strategic growth, innovation, and market expansion in the region combining the very best people and tech to provide gold standard customer contact solutions. 

Member Quote: “Litigation funding is transforming how businesses approach legal disputes. Moneypenny and VoiceNation provide bespoke call answering and customer service solutions, ensuring prompt and professional responses that improve client engagement and lead generation. We also provide 24/7 availability, allowing firms to capture opportunities and deliver excellent customer service even outside regular business hours.”

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John Freund

John Freund

Commercial

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Legal Funding Market Report Frames Litigation as a Capital Allocation Strategy

A new market analysis argues that the most consequential shift in legal funding has little to do with litigation itself and everything to do with capital efficiency. Corporations that once treated major disputes as an unavoidable drain on working capital are increasingly evaluating claims the way they assess any other asset.

According to a report highlighted by openPR, published by HTF Market Insights, legal departments now weigh disputes by expected return, duration risk, probability-adjusted value, and portfolio diversification. Rather than asking whether litigation should be financed, the report contends, sophisticated organizations are asking which disputes deserve capital and which should be transferred to specialized funding partners.

The analysis attributes the trend to greater institutional participation, more rigorous underwriting, and growing executive acceptance that legal claims carry measurable economic value. As procedural complexity and extended case timelines persist, it characterizes third-party capital as evolving from an alternative financing option into a strategic balance-sheet instrument, producing structural rather than cyclical growth.

The report segments the market by type — commercial, personal injury, intellectual property, class action, and international — and by application across law firms, corporates, and small and mid-sized enterprises. Among the players it identifies are Burford Capital, Omni Bridgeway, Harbour Litigation Funding, Augusta Ventures, Longford Capital, Woodsford, Parabellum Capital, and Validity Finance. Single-case funding, it notes, remains the most recognizable segment, resembling private equity underwriting more than traditional lending.

High Rise Financial Expands Pre-Settlement Funding Into Nevada

High Rise Financial, a national consumer legal funding company, has extended its pre-settlement funding operations into Nevada, offering non-recourse advances to plaintiffs across Las Vegas, Henderson, Reno, North Las Vegas, and Sparks. The move continues a state-by-state expansion that recently reached Illinois.

According to a press release published via Newswire, the company provides cash advances to individuals awaiting settlement in personal injury, motor vehicle accident, slip-and-fall, premises liability, wrongful death, medical malpractice, product liability, and mass tort matters. Because the funding is structured as non-recourse, plaintiffs repay only if their case results in a recovery.

"Nevada represents an important growth opportunity and an important opportunity to serve plaintiffs who may be struggling financially while their cases move through the legal system," said co-founder Mark Berookim. The advances are designed to help claimants cover medical expenses, lost wages, and household bills during litigation delays, easing the financial pressure that can push injured parties toward premature settlements.

High Rise Financial works with attorneys nationwide and emphasizes transparent terms, streamlined reviews, and direct collaboration with counsel. Consumer legal funding of this kind continues to draw regulatory attention across several states, with lawmakers weighing disclosure and rate-cap requirements even as demand from plaintiffs grows. The Nevada launch adds another jurisdiction to a consumer-facing segment of the litigation finance market that operates alongside, but distinct from, the commercial funding used by corporations and law firms.

LITFINCON Launches Inaugural European Conference in Amsterdam

LITFINCON, the global litigation finance conference series produced by Siltstone Capital, is bringing its platform to Europe for the first time, signaling how central the region has become to the asset class. The inaugural European edition will convene at Rosewood Amsterdam on October 7–8, 2026.

According to a press release distributed via PR Newswire, the two-day event will run under the theme "The Claim Is the Asset: IP, Arbitration, Class Actions & the Investors Who Know It," with eleven panels spanning UK, EU, and US regulatory frameworks, European transaction structures, collective redress, international arbitration, portfolio and law firm financing, insurance and risk transfer, patent litigation funding, and the growing role of artificial intelligence.

The expansion reflects Europe's emergence as one of the most active litigation finance markets, propelled by cross-border collective actions, the Netherlands' WAMCA regime, and the rise of the Unified Patent Court. "Europe is where some of the most important questions in litigation finance are being worked out right now," said Jim Batson, Chief Investment Officer of Legal Finance at Siltstone Capital.

Co-founder Robert Le noted the asset class is drawing institutional capital from banks, pension funds, insurers, and family offices. Prior LITFINCON editions in Houston, Beverly Hills, and Singapore have collectively drawn more than 1,000 attendees, though organizers say the Amsterdam gathering will remain intentionally curated. LITFINCON Houston follows on February 24–25, 2027, at The Post Oak Hotel.