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Longford Capital Continues to Add to its Team of Experienced Litigators and Trial Lawyers with the Addition of Marc Cavan as Director

CHICAGO – July 13, 2020 – Longford Capital today announced that Marc A. Cavan has joined the firm asDirector. Mr. Cavan will assist with investment sourcing, due diligence, and monitoring of portfolio investments, supporting Longford’s Chicago and Dallas offices.

Mr. Cavan is an experienced patent litigator. He has served as lead counsel for clients in the life sciences, healthcare, and technology industries and has successfully handled patent cases in federal courts throughout the United States. Mr. Cavan’s experience includes jury trials, ANDA Hatch-Waxman litigation, arbitrations, and proceedings before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB). He is registered as a patent attorney with the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office, and his clients have ranged from start-ups to leading multinationals. Mr. Cavan is also experienced with trade secrets, commercial litigation, and licensing, and he has advised on intellectual property issues for significant mergers and private equity investments.

Mr. Cavan’s litigation and counseling expertise has included a range of technologies, including medical devices, pharmaceuticals, health care technology, electronic health records, nanotechnology, software, wireless and internet technology, automotive components, energy, and consumer products.

Prior to joining Longford Capital, Mr. Cavan was a partner in some of the most prestigious law firms in the country. Mr. Cavan started his career at Sidley Austin LLP (associate 1998-2006; partner 2006-2011) and was also a partner in the Chicago offices of Ropes & Gray LLP (2011-2015) and Baker McKenzie LLP (2015-2018). Most recently, Mr. Cavan served as the chair of the intellectual property practice at Harrison Law LLC, a Chicago litigation boutique.

During his career in private practice, Mr. Cavan earned recognition as a leading lawyer in Chambers USA, International Asset Management, and SuperLawyers. For several years, Mr. Cavan served as a co-chair the Patent Law Institute’s Patent Boot Camp, presenting on strategic patenting issues.

Mr. Cavan graduated with honors from Harvard Law School, where he taught legal writing as a member of the Board of Student Advisers and served on the editorial board of the Harvard Journal of Law & Technology. Mr. Cavan graduated magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from DukeUniversity with a B.S. in Biology. After graduating from Duke, Mr. Cavan taught as an Annenberg Fellow and master at Eton College in Windsor, England.

Mr. Cavan has been admitted to practice before the United States Patent & Trademark Office, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, the U.S. District Court of the Northern District of Illinois, and the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin. Mr. Cavan has also been a member of the Trial Bar for the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

“The current economic climate of uncertainty and volatility has resulted in a jump in demand for our capital and we are expanding our team in response. Before joining Longford, Marc assisted us in the investment selection process evaluating the strength of patent claims; we know his talent as a patent litigator, and we are fortunate to have Marc join our team,” stated Michael A. Nicolas, Managing Director of Longford Capital.

About Longford Capital

Longford Capital is a leading private investment company with more than $1 billion in assets under management that provides capital to leading law firms, public and private companies, universities, government agencies, and other entities involved in large-scale, commercial legal disputes. The firm manages a diversified portfolio, and considers investments in subject matter areas where it has developed considerable expertise, including, business-to-business contract claims, antitrust and trade regulation claims, intellectual property claims (including patent, trademark, copyright, and trade secret), fiduciary duty claims, fraud claims, claims in bankruptcy and liquidation, domestic and international arbitrations, and a variety of others. For additional information about Longford Capital, please visit www.longfordcapital.com.

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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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