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Launching of new specialist legal finance investment firm, Orington Capital

Legal finance investment professional, Wei-Khing Seow, today launched Orington Capital (Orington), a specialist legal finance investment firm with globally first attributes. 

Making Orington distinctively different from traditional litigation funders is the ability to invest holistically in the sector globally across the entire capital and investment structure, both in public and private markets. This provides the opportunity to back industry participants with bespoke capital solutions. The launch of the new firm combines Wei-Khing’s deep expertise in legal finance, having been a successful investor in the asset class over the last 6 years. His 20 years of experience in global equities,REITs, private credit, managed funds and parts of the derivative markets provides significant broader investment knowledge. This includes assisting in the portfolio management of an A$1.5bn global investment fund. In addition, Wei-Khing will draw from his broad commercial acumen developed as an executive in commerce and as a management consultant to analyse the commerciality of individual cases and funders’ business models. Commenting on the formation of Orington, Mr Seow said: “I am extremely pleased to be bringing a unique offering to market that provides smart and dedicated capital to this rapidly growing and exciting asset class. Orington has the ability to invest holistically and unconstrained across the entire sector, partnering with litigation funders by co-investing in cases and in their capital structure. In addition, we provide law firms, which services clients on contingent basis, working capital.”  Mr Seow said the sector is growing quickly and as it is a capital intense industry, participants like Orington will aid the maturity and profile of the industry. “Orington’s underlying goal is to back meritorious claims, either directly or indirectly. Additionally, the firm will operate as a social enterprise with a strong and positive environmental, societal, governance(ESG) philosophy. Our investments aid access to justice, enforce rule of law and provide both a deterrent, as well as outcomes to environmental and societal damages.Mr Seow said. Lastly, Orington is investigating ways to bring its intellectual property through a product offering to market for external investors to participate.

About Orington Capital

 Orington Capital (Orington) is an Australian private investment firm established in 2021 specialising in the global legal finance industry. The firm participates as a dedicated capital provider to litigation funders and law firms working on contingent cases. Uniquely, Orington invests holistically and unconstrained across the entire capital and investment structure in both public and private markets. Orington provides the most comprehensive, dedicated and bespoke capital solutions. Visit orington.com for further details.

About Wei-Khing Seow

Wei-Khing Seow (Managing Director & Portfolio Manager), has 20-years of experience in global equities,REITs, private credit, managed funds and parts of the derivative markets. Additionally he has established a successful 6-year track record in the legal finance industry. Wei-Khing combines deep legal finance knowledge with unique capability to access, create and execute opportunities across the entire capital and investment structure in both private and public markets. Wei-Khing’s career spans assisting the portfolio management of A$1.5bn global fund, executive roles in multi-national companies, as well as management consulting. He has a strong philosophy in allocating capital and living in a sustainable manner, with his goal of leaving this planet, from all angles of ESG, in a better position than when he entered. Orington is a key contributor to him reaching his goal.

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Pegasus Legal Capital Completes $74 Million Securitization to Fuel Growth

Pegasus Legal Capital, LLC ("Pegasus") (mylawfunds.com), a prominent pre-settlement legal funding company in the United States, announced today that it has successfully completed a $74 million litigation finance securitization. This achievement marks Pegasus' second securitization transaction in the asset class and another significant milestone in its capital market journey. The proceeds from this transaction will further propel Pegasus' growth across key markets in the United States.

Pegasus Managing Director, Alexander Khanas, expressed, "With the successful completion of this transaction, Pegasus will expand its business in the personal injury market while upholding its industry-leading service standards."

GreensLedge Capital Markets LLC played the role of Placement Agent for Pegasus. GreensLedge Senior Managing Director, Douglas Lipton, added, "We are delighted to continue expanding Pegasus' investor base through their second securitization issuance and assisting them in creatively developing their platform."

Headquartered in Deerfield Beach, Florida, Pegasus was founded in 2008 as a pre-settlement litigation finance company. Since its inception, the company's management team has successfully sourced, underwritten, and serviced over half a billion dollars through more than 30,000 advances. While Pegasus has traditionally focused on the New York market, it has established a strong presence in the Southeast and Texas markets as well.

Pegasus is a proud member of the American Legal Finance Association (ALFA), a national organization comprising companies that provide non-recourse funds to personal injury victims. ALFA's primary objective is to establish industry standards for transparency in legal funding transactions, ensuring upfront and clear disclosure to consumers.

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New Burford Capital Research Reveals How Businesses are Preparing for Likely Rise in Global Energy Transition Disputes

By Harry Moran |

Burford Capital, the leading global finance and asset management firm focused on law, today releases new research entitled “Energy transition disputes: GCs and senior lawyers on the business impacts of legal challenges to come,” which demonstrates how businesses are preparing for a likely rise in legal disputes related to the global energy transition. This transition―or the shift to renewable sources of energy―is likely to cause an increase in expensive commercial disputes.

Businesses are investing significant sums in this transition, and corporate commitments highlight the scale of economic engagement as they invest in the new technologies, infrastructure and other resources that will be needed. But multifaceted legal and commercial pressures present businesses with a myriad of potential challenges including contractual disagreements, regulatory compliance issues and the need for intellectual property enforcement or litigation. Burford’s research report aims to offer a unique perspective on how corporations foresee the expected rise in litigation and arbitration related to this energy transition, examining the areas of business impact related to this evolving landscape.

Burford commissioned this independent research by capturing insights from 300 GCs and heads of litigation across key industries impacted by the energy transition and spanning North America, Europe, Asia and Australia.

Key findings from the study include:

Disputes relating to the energy transition are rising

·       76% of GCs report they are already encountering disputes related to the energy transition and nearly half (47%) expect a further rise in the volume of such disputes in the next decade, driven by evolving laws, new technologies and infrastructure requirements.

Disputes relating to the energy transition are expected to be costly

·       Almost two in three GCs (63%) expect legal fees and expenses to exceed $4 million per energy transition case; a notable minority (29%) expect per case costs to exceed $10 million.

·       Over half (52%) view high costs as a significant factor in deciding not to pursue disputes.

·       Half (50%) of GCs agree that the energy transition will create the need for additional capital sources for the business.

Expected disputes span all types of business conflict

·       GCs are most likely to predict (77%) that the energy transition will result in more contractual disputes and commercial arbitration.

·       Joint ventures are expected to be particularly prone to disputes over profit allocation (76%) and intellectual property rights (65%).

·       Over half of GCs (57%) also expect their businesses to face arbitrations to resolve investor-state conflicts relating to the transition.

New tools are needed to manage the rising dispute costs

·       Legal finance is increasingly used to mitigate the financial burden of these disputes; three in four (75%) GCs have used or would consider using legal finance to offset the cost of disputes relating to this transition.

·       In particular, GCs value monetization―or advancing some of the expected entitlement of a pending claim, judgment or award― to generate liquidity from claims tied up in litigation and arbitration. With legal finance, companies can also offset the cost of pursuing affirmative litigation to generate liquidity, shifting legal departments from cost centers to value drivers.

Christopher Bogart, CEO of Burford Capital, said: “Businesses face significant challenges related to the global energy transition due to cross-border projects, differing legal frameworks and rapidly evolving policies. Additionally, long-term energy contracts may not keep pace with energy markets and technologies, resulting in conflicts among stakeholders. Burford’s latest research demonstrates the value of corporate finance for law, as legal finance helps companies manage the high costs of energy transition disputes and allows them to pursue meritorious claims without depleting resources.”

Burford’s research is based on a 2024 survey conducted by GLG and is supplemented by interviews with ten global energy transition experts conducted by Ari Kaplan Advisors.

The research report can be downloaded on Burford’s website.

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Hannah Sadler Joins GLS Capital Patent Investment Team

By Harry Moran |

Hannah Sadler has joined the firm as a vice president and member of the patent investment team.

“We are very happy to welcome Hannah to GLS Capital as a vice president and member of our team focusing on patent investments,” said Adam Gill, a GLS Capital managing director, co-founder, and leader of the firm’s patent-related investing. “Attracting top-tier talent is essential for continuing to help our clients achieve success, and Hannah’s background in patent litigation will be invaluable for navigating the complexities of patent investments and helping to drive our mission forward.”

Sadler focuses on diligence around qualified underwriting opportunities and monitoring and managing the firm’s patent litigation investments.

Before joining GLS Capital, Sadler was a patent litigator at Global IP Law Group in Chicago. She has over a decade of experience with all aspects of patent portfolio management and enforcement, including prosecution, litigation, sales, licensing, and portfolio valuation.

Sadler earned her J.D. (cum laude) from DePaul University College of Law and her Bachelor of Arts from the University of San Diego.

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