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Validity Finance Adds Experienced Dispute Funder Ronit Cohen to Investment Team, Secures Additional $50 Million in Capital Commitments

NEW YORK (September 18, 2019) – Litigation funder Validity Finance continues to build its U.S. investment team while expanding its capital base. The firm announced the arrival of Ronit Cohen, who joins Validity as portfolio counsel. A former trial lawyer who practiced at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett and O’Melveny, Ms. Cohen transitioned to litigation finance in 2012 and spent the past seven years as an investment professional at Bentham IMF.

As dispute funding has gained acceptance in the U.S., Ms. Cohen has overseen investments in a wide span of commercial litigation matters, reviewing many hundreds of cases in the process. She’s helped clients secure funding in disputes involving breach of contract, fraud, insurance coverage disputes, patent infringement and large arbitrations. She’s also helped vet and manage investments in portfolios of cases for law firms.

In coming to Validity, Ms. Cohen reunites with firm founder and CEO Ralph Sutton, who formerly was chief investment officer at Bentham and originally recruited Ms. Cohen. She is the third former Bentham manager to join Validity this year, following the arrivals of David Kerstein and Julia Gewolb. Mr. Kerstein now serves as Validity’s Chief Risk Officer; Ms. Gewolb is Director of Underwriting. Added to the firm’s other senior staff, Validity has built a team with the most tenured investment professionals focused on disputes in the U.S.

“We could not be happier having Ronit join us and round out the team,” Mr. Sutton said. “She was one of our first hires out of Big Law at Bentham and her industry experience is almost unrivaled. Ronit conducted due diligence on hundreds of prospective cases and assisted in bringing dozens to strong conclusions. Her experience will be a great benefit to our current and growing roster of funding clients.”

Validity launched in June 2018 with $250 million in committed capital and the backing of leading private equity investor TowerBrook Capital. The firm recently raised another $50 million in commitments from additional investors and has committed more than $50 million in its first year of operations to clients across a range of litigation matters and jurisdictions.

The firm recently partnered with American Lawyer Media to survey 330 lawyers at law firms and businesses about their experience with litigation finance. Just under 100% of those surveyed who have used third-party funding said they planned to do so again. And 98% of respondents said that trusted relationships are the most important factor in choosing a funder.

“It’s a great pleasure to be working again with Ralph, Dave Kerstein and Julia Gewolb, and to connect with the superb professionals that Validity has assembled in the past year,” Ms. Cohen said. “The firm has created a unique market position with its focus on client-centric service. Fortunately, there is zero learning curve for me in getting started and I’m excited to be part of a team dedicated to innovative dispute funding on a national scale.”

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About Validity: Validity is a commercial litigation finance company that provides businesses, law firms and individuals with non-recourse financing for a wide variety of commercial disputes. Founded in 2018 with $250 million in financing, Validity believes that capital and legal expertise combine to help solve legal problems on behalf of clients. Validity’s’ mission is to make a meaningful difference for clients by focusing on fairness, ethics, innovation, and clarity.  For more, visit www.validity-finance.com.

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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.

Announcements Commercial

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 Commercial 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.