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Woodsford announces further international expansion, with a number of key strategic hires

November 17, 2021

Woodsford announces further international expansion, with a number of key strategic hires

Woodsford, the global litigation finance and ESG business, has announced further expansion with the appointment of Hon. Michael Barker QC to its Investment Advisory Panel and Deborah Mazer, Hugh Tait, Diane Chisomu and Oscar Moore to its global executive team.

Michael Barker was a Judge of the Supreme Court of Western Australia from 2002 – 2009 and the President of the State Administrative Tribunal of Western Australia from its foundation in 2005 until 2009. From 2009 – 2019, he was a Judge of the Federal Court of Australia.

Deborah Mazer is a U.S. lawyer and former litigator with a broad range of trial and appellate experience.  Her expertise includes complex commercial, bankruptcy, mass tort, securities, tax controversy, and IP litigation. Before joining Woodsford as an Investment Officer, Deborah worked at Davis Polk & Wardwell in New York. She is a graduate of Yale Law School.

Hugh Tait is an Australian qualified lawyer who has worked on a diverse range of complex, large-scale disputes, including class/collective actions in both Australia and England. Before joining Woodsford as an Investment Officer, Hugh was employed at Hausfeld in London, and before coming to England, was employed at one of Australia’s leading law firms, HWL Ebsworth.

Diane Chisomu and Oscar Moore have both joined Woodsford’s London team as Junior Investment Associates.

“From our foundation as a third party funder that helps level the playing field in David v Goliath litigation, Woodsford has grown into a successful ESG business, holding major corporates to account when wrongdoing occurs.  Whether it is helping consumers achieve collective redress, ensuring that inventors are properly compensated when Big Tech infringes intellectual property rights, or helping shareholders in escalated engagement with listed companies, our team is committed to access to justice. These exceptional appointments will help support continued growth in our key international markets.” said Steven Friel, Woodsford’s CEO.

Michael Barker commented, “I’m excited to have joined a flourishing business that has ambitious future plans, particularly in Australia, my home turf. I hope my expertise will facilitate further growth both here and beyond.”

About Woodsford  

Founded in 2010 and with a presence in London, New York, Philadelphia, Minneapolis, Toronto, Singapore, Brisbane and Tel Aviv, Woodsford’s team blends extensive business experience with world-class legal expertise.

Woodsford is a founder member of both the International Legal Finance Association (ILFA) and the Association of Litigation Funders of England & Wales (ALF). Woodsford’s Chief Operating Officer, Jonathan Barnes, sits on the board of both organisations.

Woodsford is continuing to grow, and we welcome approaches from experienced litigation lawyers and other professionals who are interested in joining our team.

Interviews, photos and biographies available on request.

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Burford’s Q2 Profits Surge on New Capital

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The stellar quarter follows a lightning-quick, two-day debt offering in July that raised $500 million—capital Burford says will be deployed across a growing roster of commercial litigations, international arbitrations, and asset-recovery campaigns. Management also highlighted significant progress in portfolio rotations, underscoring the firm’s ability to monetise older positions while writing new ones at scale. Investors will get a deeper dive when Burford hosts its earnings call today at 9 a.m. EDT.

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Announcements Commercial

International Legal Finance Association (ILFA) Announces End of Year Gala and Inaugural Legal Finance Awards

By John Freund |

 The International Legal Finance Association is pleased to announce its annual End-of-Year Gala Dinner on November 13, 2025.  The event will take place at The Law Society in London, bringing together leading figures from across the legal finance industry for an evening of celebration and reflection on the year’s achievements.  

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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.