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Therium Access announces second round of grant awards to improve access to justice in the UK

Therium Group Holdings Limited, one of the world’s leading providers of litigation, arbitration and specialty legal finance, today announced the second recipients of grant awards by Therium Access, the firm’s not-for-profit arm dedicated to facilitating access to justice.

This follows the recent appointment of Lord John Thomas of Cwmgiedd to its Advisory Committee and Jeunesse Mensier as Grant Programme Director. 

The recipients of this grant round are:

The Child Poverty Action Group:  a grant for the employment of an additional solicitor to build the capacity of their award-winning legal team which conducts strategic litigation to end child poverty; The Bar Human Rights Committee: a grant for the employment of a legal and policy officer to support the Bar’s influential international human rights work; JUSTICE: a grant towards their core costs to support their work which seeks to effect systemic change within the UK justice system by producing in-depth reports and recommendations; Advocate: a grant for the employment of their volunteer manager who facilitates and supports the laudable pro bono efforts of the Bar by representing those who cannot afford legal representation; The Free Representation Unit: a grant for the employment of a legal officer to provide full casework and advocacy in the social security and employment tribunals; National Family Mediation: a grant for the employment of a call handler to provide early advice and arrange mediation for families going through divorce or separation; The Speakeasy Law Centre: a grant for the employment of a new trainee solicitor who will provide legal advice to vulnerable people in the Cardiff area and ultimately qualify as a solicitor with experience in legal aid and social welfare law; Project for Registration of Children as British Citizens: a grant for the employment of a legal administrator and towards their core costs to support the specialist advice and strategic litigation they conduct on complex children’s citizenship issues; and Central England Law Centre: a grant towards their Birmingham centre’s core costs to support the direct advice they provide to local people and to bring strategic litigation cases. In addition, Therium Access has approved grants for two strategic litigation cases. Further information on these grants will follow in due course.

Launched in March 2019, Therium Access has committed to providing grants worth a total sum of £900,000 to date. It is anticipated that tens of thousands of people will benefit from these grants, either by receiving direct advice and support or by the strategic litigation conducted by these organisations.

Therium Access is the first of its kind initiative in the litigation funding industry. Grants awarded by Therium Access are intended to promote access to justice for those who lack the funds necessary to pursue or defend claims, as well as supporting projects that seek to improve access to justice. 

John Byrne, Co-Founder and CEO of Therium Capital Management Limited, said: “We were overwhelmed by the number of worthy applications we received.  It is humbling to see the incredible work that so many organisations are doing every day to support the most vulnerable people in our society. Therium is proud to offer support to a number of these inspirational organisations and we look forward to building even more relationships in the advice sector.”

Lord Falconer, Chairman of Therium Access Advisory Committee, said: “These grants demonstrate the depth of the impact Therium Access has. Most of our grants have been made to organisations which provide direct advice to those most in need, but it is also critical to support organisations which seek to challenge, influence or change the law.”

About Therium Access

Therium Access is the primary expression of Therium’s corporate and social responsibility programme. Therium Access dispenses with the criteria of funding for profit and has the sole purpose of facilitating access to justice.  Therium Access is a mark of Therium’s wider commitment to the pursuit of justice and the rule of law.

Therium Access accepts applications from charities and other entities whose services and projects facilitate access to justice or from those seeking assistance to obtain legal representation on cases (including defence) which have strategic importance. The applicant’s need and the impact of the grant will be important factors in our review process. The deadline for the submission of the next round of grant applications is 30 April 2020. In addition, urgent applications may be considered on an ad hoc basis. Applications need to be made by legal representatives or the entity seeking a grant.  The board of Therium Access is assisted by an Advisory Committee which is chaired by Lord Falconer, former Lord Chancellor, Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs and Secretary of State for Justice.

Therium Access aims to support access to justice in the broadest terms and considers applications that further the following causes (in no particular order):

The right to legal representation or due process; The proper and efficient administration of justice; The advancement of human rights; The promotion of equality of rights and diversity; The protection of children, the elderly, the disabled, minorities, asylum seekers and other vulnerable or disadvantaged groups; The advancement of environmental protection or improvement; The promotion of legal education that furthers the causes listed above; and any other case or project in which a person, group, or entity will not have access to justice without financial assistance.

Therium Access is intended to be a global initiative. Its initial focus is on the UK and it will be rolled out in other jurisdictions in a number of planned phases.

About Therium

Therium is a leading global provider of litigation and arbitration and specialty legal finance. Over that period, Therium has funded claims with a total value exceeding £34 billion, including many of the largest and most high profile funded cases in the UK.  With investment teams in the UK, USA, Australia, Spain and Norway, Therium has established a track record of success in litigation finance in all forms, including single case litigation and arbitration funding, funding law firms and portfolios of litigation and arbitration claims.  Therium is also a founding member of the Association of Litigation Funders of England and Wales. 

Therium Access and its not-for-profit funding is the latest innovation from Therium which has consistently been at the forefront of innovation in litigation finance, pioneering the combined use of insurance tools alongside funding vehicles, and introducing portfolio funding products into the UK.  Therium’s ability to develop innovative funding arrangements and bespoke financial solutions for litigants and law firms complements its unmatched experience and rigorous approach to funding a wide range of commercial disputes throughout the world.

Chambers and Partners have ranked Therium as a Tier 1 litigation funder and Neil Purslow, the firm’s Chief Investment Officer, as a leading individual in the litigation funding industry, for the last two years.

In February this year, Therium Capital Management was top ranked as one of the two “Leading” litigation and arbitration funding firms in the UK by legal and business directory Leaders League, in their 2019 ranking of litigation funding. Therium was also ranked as “Excellent” in the 2019 US ranking. 

www.therium.com 

www.theriumaccess.org

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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.

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.

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.