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Omni Bridgeway expands in France with new Paris operations, welcomes Leon Ioannou

Omni Bridgeway is pleased to announce the company’s expansion and permanent operations in France, welcoming Leon Ioannou as Investment Manager and Senior Legal Counsel. Based in Paris, Leon will focus on supporting clients and lawyers with non-recourse financing and recovery solutions for legal disputes both in France and internationally.

Leon brings extensive legal, financial, and international arbitration expertise across jurisdictions from his career in-house and with leading law firms, most recently as the general in-house legal counsel for the European operations of an international medical device company where he steered the resolution of the company’s European disputes and litigation. Prior to that, Leon practiced as a lawyer resolving international disputes at White & Case LLP, Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLP, and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer.

Leon’s has advised clients in international arbitration (both common- and civil-law governed) across industry sectors including energy (nuclear, oil and gas), construction, utilities, telecommunications, pharmaceutical, banking and finance, and professional service industries. Leon has conducted proceedings under most of the world’s major arbitral institutional rules as well as ad hoc proceedings under the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) Rules. 

In Paris, Leon will work closely with the full EMEA team including French trained lawyer, Nevena Ivanova, Investment Manager, Senior Legal Counsel who joined Omni Bridgeway in 2020. Prior to Omni Bridgeway, Nevena gained over a decade of experience in a French boutique law firm where she specialised in fraud, insolvency, asset recovery and international private law litigation. She has deep experience in the enforcement of EU and non-EU judgments and arbitral awards, and regarding the ex-parte authorisations and challenge of various asset attachments, including real estate.

“Omni Bridgeway has been successfully funding and supporting clients with legal proceedings in France for more than 30 years, including litigation, arbitration, and judgment enforcement proceedings,” notes Raymond van Hulst, Executive Director, MD and CIO for EMEA. “We are very pleased to deepen our commitment to our clients in France with Leon joining us in Paris. Leon’s excellent track record is based on his deep international arbitration experience and business perspective, gained in leading law firm and corporate in-house roles across various jurisdictions. He is very well positioned to advise law firms, companies, and individuals in France and across borders regarding dispute funding, legal risk management and specialist recovery solutions.”

Leon Ioannou commented, “I am extremely happy to join Omni Bridgeway, the most respected legal finance provider in the industry with the most experienced team. As international disputes become more complex and require novel financing and legal solutions, we are well-equipped to help our clients manage risk, and provide both legal and financial support. This includes advising and supporting law firms and companies whether they are large established corporations, or small and emerging businesses who operate in our local market.” 

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Announcements Comercial Legal Innovation

Sentry Expands Free Funding Market Search for Litigators

By John Freund |

Sentry Funding’s free tool enabling litigators to instantly search the funding market on behalf of clients has been expanded.

Sentry’s free ‘decision in principle’ feature enables lawyers to evidence to clients that they have conducted a broad market search, even if funding is not ultimately taken out.

Having deployed £125m in funding across a range of case types, Sentry now has access to an even broader funding marketplace, covering 34 global jurisdictions. Finance is provided by 13 funders, five of which are members of the Association of Litigation Funders.

With the recent addition of Sentry’s first US-based funder, the US offering will now be expanding over the next few months. 

A faster process

Sentry has deployed the latest technology to make the search for funding even easier. 

  • The intuitive application process now only asks questions relevant to previous answers, saving lawyers time.
  • The commercial marketplace has been redeveloped with 63 new data points added to the funder criteria matrix - improving the accuracy of case / funder matching
  • Sentry has also begun building out its AI capabilities, starting with an automated auditing tool for live case progression audits. 

Tom Webster, chief executive officer at Sentry Funding, said:

‘By broadening our reach and speeding up the process, we’re making it even easier for lawyers to raise funding. We’re also giving litigators an easy way to show clients they have fully researched the market, rather than just approaching one or two funders. 

‘The service is free to use, so even if clients decide they do not ultimately want funding or if none is available for that case, for the lawyer, it makes sense to use our “decision in principle” feature, so they can put evidence on file that they did check the market.’

Sentry Funding is an SaaS (software as a service) technology provider that gives solicitors access to a diverse marketplace of litigation funders. It works with solicitors, funders and third-party providers to ensure claimants are getting the most efficient service for their funding needs. 

The Sentry Portal also acts as a case management system that runs a transparent digital case file for solicitors, funders, after-the-event insurance providers, barristers, cost lawyers and other relevant third parties.

Announcements Comercial

NorthWall Capital Hits €2.9 B AUM on Private Credit Momentum

By John Freund |

NorthWall Capital has rocketed past €2.9 billion in assets under management after pulling in an additional €1.6 billion of institutional capital in 2025 alone. The London-based alternative credit manager says the surge reflects allocators’ intensifying hunt for scaled, multi-strategy platforms as Europe’s banks retrench and borrowers seek bespoke sources of credit.

A press release from NorthWall Capital details first-close totals across four distinct strategies. The flagship Credit Opportunities fund secured €731 million—already eclipsing its prior vintage—while the newly launched Senior Lending vehicle raised $503 million, translating to roughly $750 million of deployable firepower once leverage is applied. Asset-Backed Opportunities collected €252 million for collateral-rich loans in sectors underserved by traditional lenders, and the specialist Legal Assets platform locked down $169 million to extend the firm’s law-firm lending programme.

Founder and CIO Fabian Chrobog said the fundraising validates “the consistency of our approach” and NorthWall’s ability to craft solutions that resonate with investors and counterparties alike. With headcount slated to hit 40 by year-end, the firm plans to lean further into complex, situational credit born of bank deleveraging, regulatory shifts and sponsors’ need for certainty of execution.

Announcements Comercial People Moves

Victory Park Expands Legal Credit Leadership with Maleson Promotion

By John Freund |

Victory Park Capital (VPC), a global alternative asset manager specializing in private credit, has announced that Justin Maleson will expand his role to Managing Director, co-heading the firm’s legal credit investment strategy. The promotion underscores VPC’s ongoing investment in its legal finance capabilities and follows Maleson’s initial appointment in 2024 as Assistant General Counsel.

An announcement from Victory Park Capital details Maleson’s new responsibilities, which include sourcing, analyzing, and managing investments across legal assets, while maintaining oversight of the firm’s legal operations. He joins Chad Clamage in co-leading the strategy, working alongside team members Hugo Lestiboudois and Andrew Pascal, under the continued oversight of VPC CEO and founder Richard Levy.

Maleson brings a strong background in litigation finance and commercial law to the position. Before joining VPC, he served as a director at Longford Capital, where he specialized in originating and managing litigation funding transactions. His earlier tenure as a litigation partner at Jenner & Block further deepened his exposure to complex legal matters, equipping him with the expertise needed to navigate the nuanced legal credit space.

VPC’s legal credit team emphasizes an asset-backed lending model, prioritizing downside protection and predictable income streams. The firm aims to capitalize on inefficiencies within the legal funding market by leveraging its internal expertise and broad network of relationships. With Maleson’s appointment, VPC signals its intent to further scale its legal credit strategy, positioning itself as a key player in the evolving legal finance sector.

Maleson’s elevation comes at a time of increasing sophistication in litigation finance, where experienced legal minds are playing a pivotal role in portfolio construction and risk management. As VPC bolsters its leadership, the move may foreshadow further institutionalization of legal asset investing and heightened competition in a maturing market segment.