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Palisade Insurance Partners Expands Senior Leadership Team

September 28, 2023

Palisade Insurance Partners Expands Senior Leadership Team

Palisade Insurance Partners, LLC (“Palisade” or the “Company”), a specialty managing general underwriter (“MGU”), today announced the appointments of two seasoned industry executives across its business geography. Scott Stevenson has joined Palisade Insurance Partners LLC in New York as Head of US Risk, from Aon Special Opportunities Group where he served as Senior Vice President. Mark de la Haye has joined Palisade Risk Solutions Ltd in London as Head of UK and Europe Risk, from Augusta Ventures Limited, where he served as Head of Resolutions. Headquartered in New York, Palisade specializes in underwriting insurance for litigation and other contingent legal risks, and transaction insurance. John McNally, President and Head of Underwriting at Palisade, said, “We are pleased to welcome Scott and Mark, two highly regarded professionals with extensive experience within the legal, litigation finance and insurance industries. For the last three years, Scott has been a leading underwriter of contingent legal risks in the insurance market, after practicing at a premier US law firm. Mark has considerable experience managing litigation investment portfolios, including a focus on insurance requirements. Scott and Mark will broaden and strengthen Palisade’s capabilities to provide comprehensive risk transfer solutions and detailed litigation underwriting for our clients and partners.” Mr. Stevenson commented, “Palisade has an impressive capability to solve complex insurance issues. I look forward to combining my litigation and insurance underwriting experience to strengthen Palisade’s unique platform and pursue creative solutions for specialized insurance matters across the legal spectrum.” Mr. de la Haye added, “Palisade has created a strong platform to deliver innovative litigation and transactional insurance solutions for a wide variety of clients. I am excited to apply my legal background together with my litigation finance experience to further develop Palisade’s offering and strategic direction during this exciting period of growth.” Mr. McNally concluded, “Palisade is ideally positioned to serve the fast-growing demand for contingent legal risk insurance, including from corporate clients, law firms, asset management funds, and specialty finance vehicles. The addition of these executives will greatly enhance operations as we continue scaling Palisade’s growing network of insurance partners.” Scott Stevenson Biography Mr. Stevenson brings more than twelve years of experience from all sides of the legal industry. Before joining Palisade, he was Senior Vice President at Aon’s Special Opportunities Group, where he led a team specializing in underwriting contingent legal and related risks. Previously, Mr. Stevenson worked at Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, where he handled complex transactions, and advised on strategic investments and corporate governance matters. Mr. Stevenson began his career as a Law Clerk, first at The United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida and then at The United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. Mr. Stevenson gained a B.A. from University of Pennsylvania, a B.S. at The Wharton School of Business, and a J.D. from Stetson University College of Law. Mark de la Haye Biography Mr. de la Haye boasts almost two decades of experience of dispute resolution and litigation fund and investment management. While at Augusta Ventures Limited, he helped oversee both underwriting and insurance requirements for a range of investments, and strategically collaborated with lawyers and clients to manage legal disputes. He was a permanent member of Augusta’s New Business Committee and its Investment Committee. Previously, Mr. de la Haye served in private practice, most recently as a Solicitor at Clyde & Co. During his time in private practice, Mr. de la Haye represented clients around the world in high value, complex and often multi-jurisdictional litigation and arbitration. Mr. de la Haye received an LLB from the University of Exeter and an LPC from The University of Law. About Palisade Insurance Partners Palisade Insurance Partners (“Palisade”) is an MGU that specializes in underwriting litigation-related insurance, transaction liability products, and contingent legal risk solutions. Palisade is dedicated to providing clients with access to specialty insurance while applying the highest standards of underwriting and upholding its core values of integrity and independence. To learn more, please visit https://palisadeinsurance.com/.
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Announcements Commercial

Burford’s Q2 Profits Surge on New Capital

By John Freund |

Burford Capital has delivered its strongest quarterly performance in two years, buoyed by a swelling pipeline of high-value disputes and a fresh infusion of investor cash.

A press release in PR Newswire reveals that the New York- and London-listed funder more than doubled revenue and profitability in the three months to 30 June 2025. CEO Christopher Bogart credited “very substantial levels of new business” for the uptick, noting that demand for non-recourse financing remains “as strong as we’ve ever seen.”

The stellar quarter follows a lightning-quick, two-day debt offering in July that raised $500 million—capital Burford says will be deployed across a growing roster of commercial litigations, international arbitrations, and asset-recovery campaigns. Management also highlighted significant progress in portfolio rotations, underscoring the firm’s ability to monetise older positions while writing new ones at scale. Investors will get a deeper dive when Burford hosts its earnings call today at 9 a.m. EDT.

Burford’s results arrive amid heightened regulatory chatter in Washington and Westminster, yet the numbers suggest the industry’s largest player is unfazed—for now—by talk of disclosure mandates and tax levies. The firm emphasised that its legal-finance, risk-management and asset-recovery businesses remain uncorrelated to broader markets, a pitch that continues to resonate with pension funds and endowments hunting for alternative yield.

For litigation-finance insiders, Burford’s capital-raising prowess and improving margins could have ripple effects: rival funders may face stiffer competition for marquee cases, while law-firm partners might leverage the firm’s deeper pockets to negotiate richer portfolio deals.

Announcements Commercial

International Legal Finance Association (ILFA) Announces End of Year Gala and Inaugural Legal Finance Awards

By John Freund |

 The International Legal Finance Association is pleased to announce its annual End-of-Year Gala Dinner on November 13, 2025.  The event will take place at The Law Society in London, bringing together leading figures from across the legal finance industry for an evening of celebration and reflection on the year’s achievements.  

The dinner will be accompanied by the inaugural Legal Finance Awards.  The awards are designed to recognize and honor excellence across the legal finance ecosystem. They will spotlight the achievements of funders, law firms, brokers, advisors, and other key contributors to the continued growth and innovation of the industry. Nominations for the awards are now open, with the nomination form available here. 

“The Gala Dinner is a chance for our members and guests to gather in person and celebrate the progress we've made over the year,” said Rupert Cunningham, Global Director of Growth and Membership Engagement at ILFA. “We are especially excited to launch the Legal Finance Awards, which will shine a light on the outstanding work and impact of professionals across our field.”

Tickets for the Gala are on sale now, with discounted pricing available for ILFA members.  More information can be found here.

Announcements Commercial 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.