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Validity Welcomes Marlon Becerra and Shao-Jia Chang for the 2021 Equal Access Fellowship

Validity Finance is pleased to welcome Harvard law students Marlon Becerra and Shao-Jia Chang for its 2021 Equal Access Fellowship. The program, in its third year, provides a 10-week paid summer fellowship to first-year law students of diverse backgrounds.

The Equal Access Fellows spend the first half of their summer at Validity learning basic principles of litigation funding, and the second half working at a legal non-profit of their choice. Validity, which covers Fellows’ salary for the entire 10-week program, is one of the only litigation funders to provide such a program for first-year law students.

Mr. Becerra and Ms. Chang will both work at Validity for the first five weeks of their fellowship, from June 1 through July 3. They will assist in analyzing potential case investments, participating in meetings with claimants and lawyers, and conducting legal research on topics related to litigation and dispute funding. Like many major law firms, Validity is introducing a hybrid return to work, mixing in-person visits to its New York office with remote work, as the rest of its team has been doing in recent months.

“We’re proud to have Marlon and Shao join us as Equal Access Fellows for the summer of 2021,” said Validity Finance founder and CEO Ralph Sutton. “Both have outstanding backgrounds, including personal histories that may not have suggested they’d end up at one of the nation’s top law schools. We’re also pleased to have arrived at a point in the pandemic where we can offer an in-person experience for Marlon and Shao.”

The two Fellows were chosen from a pool of 36 applicants from 18 top-tier law schools. Candidates submitted academic transcripts and essays addressing their interest in litigation funding and describing how they have overcome personal challenges.

Mr. Sutton commented, “Given the past year’s events — pandemic-related and in terms of social justice — there is a heightened need for young lawyers interested in helping to expand equal access to the civil justice system, which is one of Validity’s core mandates as a litigation funder.”

About Equal Access Fellow Marlon Becerra

A native of Jackson Heights, New York, Marlon was the first member of his family to attend college. He obtained his B.A. in Economics from Political Science from Hampshire College and is now a rising second year student at Harvard Law.

Having to return to New York in the middle of his first year of law school, Marlon created an initiative called Civic Engagement and Social Justice for Legal Outreach, Inc. The non-profit teaches New York City high school students of color how to be more proactive leaders in addressing social issues. “As many of the students come from the inner-city, they are particularly interested in addressing the obstacles preventing them from having an equal opportunity to succeed in high school and in college,” he wrote in his personal statement. “I partnered with attorneys from firms across the city to support the students’ efforts to develop and implement campaigns to address their social justice issues.”

During the summer of 2020, Marlon worked for the NYC Department of Social Services’ Employment Law Division. As he notes, “I had the opportunity to write a memorandum recommending how COVID-19 guidelines will impact the agencies’ accommodation policies. I saw the importance of considering people’s access to resources and justice, as we focused on urgent issues impacting one of the city’s largest agencies that both hires and serves primarily minority communities.”

At Harvard, Marlon is a member and Section Representative of the law school’s chapter of the American Constitutional Society for Law and Policy, which promotes progressive legal change in order to realize economic and social justice. He is also a member of La Alianza, a student-run organization composed of Latinx and Latin American students interested in issues affecting the Latinx community at Harvard Law, and a member of HLS First Class, a student affinity group for first generation law students.

About Equal Access Fellow Shao Chang

Shao Chang grew up in a rural Northern California town of only 4,500 residents, where she notes, “few families lock their front doors, and many people proudly leave their keys in the ignition.” She writes of frequent bias against her own parents and her own early struggles with proficiency in English.

Shao obtained her B.A. in Psychology and Legal Studies from the University of California, Berkeley, in 2017. She received Dean’s Honors and Highest Honors in Legal Studies, and is a member of Phi Beta Kappa.

Following college, Shao spent several years as a field representative and aide for Napa-area Congressman Mike Thompson. She recalled taking on projects and facing circumstances that were considered too difficult to accomplish in rural parts of the district, which included her hometown. Motivated by a desire to increase equity and access, she asserts, “I did not believe that infeasibility is a reason not to try, especially when it came to the neediest area in the district.”

At Harvard Law, Shao is the External Vice President of the school’s Mock Trial Association and Willem C. Vis Moot Team, and is a sub-citer for the Harvard Journal on Legislation and the Harvard Negotiation Law Review. She is also a member of the Social Committee of the Asian Pacific American Law Students Association at Harvard, a member of the Reproductive Justice Team of the Mississippi Delta Project at Harvard, and serves on the board of the Women’s Law Association.

About Validity

Validity is a commercial litigation finance company that provides non-recourse investments for a wide variety of commercial disputes. Validity’s mission is to make a meaningful difference in our clients’ experience of the legal system. We focus on fairness, innovation, and clarity. For more, visit www.validityfinance.com.

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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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