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Validity Finance Welcomes University of Chicago Law Student for 2020 Equal Access Fellowship

NEW YORK (June 24, 2020) – Leading litigation funder Validity Finance has selected University of Chicago Law School law student Amber S. Stewart for its 2020 Equal Access Fellowship. The program, launched last year, provides a 10-week paid summer fellowship to first-year law students of diverse backgrounds to spend the first half of their summer at Validity learning the basic principles of litigation funding before spending the second half working at the non-profit of their choice. Validity is one of the only funders to provide such a program for first-year law students.


Validity elected to maintain its full 10-week summer program, notwithstanding the logistical difficulties presented by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ms. Stewart will work with the team at Validity for the first five weeks of her fellowship, beginning mid-July. She will assist in analyzing potential case investments, participating in meetings with claimants and lawyers, drafting articles and conducting legal research on topics related to litigation and dispute funding. Like the rest of the Validity team, she expects to be working remotely during these five weeks.

For the second part of her fellowship Ms. Stewart has elected to work at the Corporate Accountability Lab, a Chicago-based international human rights organization that develops legal tools for holding corporations accountable when they commit human rights and environmental violations.

“We’re looking forward to having Amber join us this summer as our 2020 Equal Access Fellow,” said Validity founder and CEO Ralph Sutton. “Despite constraints the pandemic has placed on businesses across the country, we’re happy to convene our program for a second year. Our team is enthusiastic about working closely with Amber, who has a remarkable academic resumé and background.”

A Florida native, Ms. Stewart had stiff competition from over three dozen applicants from top-tier U.S. law schools. Candidates were asked to submit academic transcripts, and submit essays addressing their interest in litigation funding and describing how they have overcome personal challenges.

As a rising 2L, Ms. Stewart is part of the University of Chicago Law School’s Doctoroff Business Leadership Program — a certificate-granting track for high-achieving students that blends an MBA curriculum into a three-year law school degree. She is also Vice President of the school’s Black Law Students Association (Earl B. Dickerson Chapter). Ms. Stewart obtained an A.B. in Art History and Gender & Sexuality Studies from Princeton University in 2015.

“I was motivated to apply for the fellowship program in part because of Validity’s mission of making the civil justice system more accessible and equitable, which especially resonated with me,” said Ms. Stewart. “I’m hoping the summer will help me better understand the economic and business case for litigation funding, and what kinds of disputes can best benefit from third-party finance solutions.”

Equal Access Fellows work an initial five weeks at Validity and have the option of spending the balance of the summer at the firm or a public service organization of their choice. Validity pays the fellows’ salary for the entire 10-week program.

Last year’s inaugural fellows, Jarrett Lewis and Amanda Gonzalez Burton, remain in touch with the Validity Finance team, and will be connecting with Ms. Stewart as part of her orientation. Mr. Lewis is a rising 3L at Georgetown University Law School and managing editor of operations for the Georgetown Journal of Legal Ethics; he will be participating in Debevoise & Plimpton LLP’s summer associate program. Ms. Burton, a rising 3L at the NYU School of Law, will be summering at Cooley LLP. For more on last year’s fellows, visit: https://validity-finance.com/news/summer_fellowship_2019/

Mr. Sutton commented, “As our corner of the legal profession continues to evolve, we want to draw new entrants from diverse communities, who can bring important perspective on disparities in access to justice. Our fellowship program provides law students an excellent grounding in the fundamental best practices of litigation funding and an opportunity for our team to maintain a mentoring relationship as the fellows continue their path in the legal profession.”

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. Validity was founded in 2018 with $250 million in committed capital, one of the largest first-round capital raises in the U.S. market. The firm announced an additional $50 million in committed capital in 2019. 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, innovation, and clarity.

Validity is committed to developing a diverse and inclusive workforce in its own offices and within the legal profession as a whole. Validity embraces a broad definition of diversity, encompassing race, gender, ethnicity, disability, and LGBTQ background, as well as individuals from underrepresented social, economic, religious, and geographic backgrounds.

Equal access to justice; equal access to opportunity— this is what Validity believes is fair and right.

For more, visit www.validity-finance.com.

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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.