Pravati Capital Completes Expansion to Key Markets and Adds Accomplished New Hires to its Distinguished Leadership Team

NEW YORK, July 29, 2020 — Pravati Capital, leading litigation finance pioneer and consulting firm, today announced four new members to its esteemed leadership team, each complementing the firm’s outstanding services and legal insight. Joining Pravati Capital, Bruce Cohen, Douglas Smith, Scott Potter and Shane Ham will bolster the company’s litigation practice with specialized experience to better serve clients.

Pravati Capital announced four new members to its esteemed leadership team, each complementing the firm’s outstanding services and legal insight. Joining Pravati Capital, Bruce Cohen, Douglas Smith, Scott Potter and Shane Ham will bolster the company’s litigation practice with specialized experience to better serve clients.

The accomplished new additions bring a wealth of knowledge in areas such as debtor-in-possession financing, complex litigation and commercial litigation, and will help steer and strengthen the firm’s plans for growth, while expanding its footprint to key markets including New York, Los Angeles and Dallas. As Pravati Capital continues to grow and scale, the strategy will remain on developing attractive alternative investment funds that offer solid returns at a low risk given that assets are not related to the economic cycle. The established focus combined with the specialized experience will allow the industry leader to explore new and existing opportunities within the dynamic and growing field.

“We are thrilled to welcome these accomplished individuals and look forward to the value they will add to our insight and practice,” said Alex Chucri, CEO at Pravati Capital. “Our clients are our top priority and we are confident these additions will enhance our company as we continue to grow and offer exceptional service as we expand our practice of finance litigation.”

New additions to Pravati Capital’s leadership includes:

Pravati Capital welcomes Bruce Cohen as Director of Business Development in the Dallas office. Cohen’s 30 years of well-rounded background add extreme value to the firm and his past positions include Senior Legal Director at PepsiCo, Inc., where he was responsible for sales and antitrust matters in its Frito-Lay subsidiary and Associate General Counsel of Verizon Communications Inc. A former U.S. Army Field Artillery Officer, he is a Distinguished Graduate with Honors of the Virginia Military Institute and received his Juris Doctor summa cum laude from the University of Georgia School of Law. Cohen was a litigation partner at a prominent Atlanta law firm and has appeared in trials, regulatory proceedings and appeals in over three dozen states. He holds advanced degrees in history and law from Michigan State, the University of North Texas, and King’s College London. He previously served as a Special Assistant to the Attorney General of Texas, and as a judicial law clerk for a judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.

“I’ve really enjoyed the challenge of learning about litigation finance and explaining it to law firms and legal departments, many of whom really didn’t know it existed, let alone the ways it could help their practice and their teams,” said Cohen. “It’s still a nascent business in many respects, and I look forward to helping it grow.”

Doug Smith serves as Senior Commercial Lending Advisor in the Scottsdale, AZ office. With a 30-year background managing corporate and commercial real estate lending, Smith focused primarily on structured finance transactions, Debtor-In-Possession bankruptcy restructuring, and distressed loan portfolios. Prior to the private sector, he worked for Congressman John Rhodes, Minority Leader of the U.S. House of Representatives during the Carter and Reagan administrations. Currently, he is a member of the Arizona board of directors for a commercial bank and President of the private non-profit Phoenician II Foundation. In the past, he has served as a member of the Board of Directors for the Maricopa County Industrial Development Authority, the Board of Directors for the Arizona Chamber of Commerce, the Maricopa County Community Development Advisory Committee and the Arizona Republican Party Finance Committee.

“The economy is experiencing major dislocation and businesses will need debtor-in-possession and debt restructuring services for some time to come,” said Smith. “Pravati is uniquely positioned to provide these financial services in an efficient and creative manner to middle market enterprises.”

Scott Potter joins as Director of Business Development in Pravati Capital’s home office in Scottsdale, AZ. Potter honed both his legal and client relations skills through a decade long commercial litigation career and an additional four years of in-house counsel experience. He was the corporate counsel and global client relations manager for an international manufacturing firm and the vice president of legal affairs for a national lien company. Scott is a graduate of both the Marriott School of Management and the J. Reuben Clark Law School at Brigham Young University. He has practiced at the administrative, trial and appellate levels in both real estate and commercial litigation and represented both billion-dollar corporations and impoverished individuals. Scott has served on the Arizona State Bar’s alternative Dispute Resolution committee and been named a Southwest Super Lawyer Rising Star.

“My parents always said I could excel at anything that I wanted to do.  What I always wanted to do was help people to be happy,” said Potter. “Pravati gives me the chance to lift financial burdens from others as they seek greater peace in their lives.”

Shane Ham joins as a Legal Investment Analyst in Pravati Capital’s home office in Scottsdale, Arizona. Formerly a litigation partner at Osborn Maledon, he focused on complex commercial and personal injury matters. His practice spanned a broad variety of topic areas, from constitutional law to medical marijuana compliance. Prior to attending law school, Shane spent nearly a decade in Washington, D.C. where he worked as a producer on a political talk show and a technology policy analyst for a prominent think tank. Shane received both his Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and Juris Doctorate (magna cum laude) from the University of Arizona, and he clerked for then-Vice Chief Justice Andrew D. Hurwitz at the Arizona Supreme Court.

“As a litigator I saw too many cases that were strong on the merits but had to be abandoned because the plaintiff did not have the funds to fight for years against a deep-pocket defendant,” said Ham. “At Pravati I get to help level the playing field, and give people who have been wronged a chance to have their day in court.”

“The new additions to our leadership team will continue to support our vision of transformation and innovation, which together with leading and breakthrough insight and practices within our industry, will allow us to continue serving our clients as we grow in the future,” added Pravati Capital’s CEO Chucri.

About Pravati Capital

As a leader in the litigation financing field, Pravati Capital has changed how companies and law firms envision their future. For more than a decade, we have been at the forefront of litigation financing solutions, creating innovative sources for bridge capital. It is our mission to provide innovative, efficient capital solutions for law firms, compassionate assistance to plaintiffs, and a secure alternative investment option for accredited investors.

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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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