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Woodsford Litigation Funding bolsters its presence in Asia with the appointment of former head of the Hong Kong office of Latham & Watkins to its Investment Advisory Panel (IAP)

LONDON, SINGAPORE, HONG KONG, PHILADELPHIA 30 January 2019, Woodsford Litigation Funding, the global provider of litigation financing solutions for businesses, individuals and law firms, has announced that Hong Kong based Simon Powell has joined its Investment Advisory Panel.

Simon is an independent arbitrator in Asia. Prior to this he was a senior partner in a number of leading global law firms, including most recently Latham & Watkins, where he managed the Hong Kong office for a number of years and built and then led the disputes and arbitration practice across Asia. Simon has spent the last 27 years of his life as an arbitration and dispute resolution lawyer in Asia, focusing on complex commercial and corporate disputes. This experience will be invaluable for Woodsford in assessing the increasing number of investment opportunities emanating from the region, particularly now that Hong Kong has changed its law to permit funding of arbitration.

“As various countries across Asia have liberalised their funding regimes, we have seen a significant increase in the number of requests for funding. We expect this growth to continue apace and the need for a dedicated Asian arbitration expert on our IAP has become increasingly apparent. We are delighted to have somebody of Simon’s calibre on board.” said Charlie Morris, Woodsford’s Chief Investment Officer, EMEA & APAC.

Simon Powell commented, “I’m delighted to be joining Woodsford at this time. With Hong Kong permitting arbitration funding from February 1st and a continuing increase in interest in funding for Singapore-based arbitrations, I look forward to playing my part in establishing Woodsford as the leading funder in the region.”

Woodsford recently announced a wave of executive appointments in the US and is currently recruiting for a number of other posts, including a Business Development Manager (Singapore), Director of Business Development (London) and Commercial Manager (London or Philadelphia). [Ends]

About Woodsford Litigation Funding

Founded in 2010 and with offices in London, Philadelphia and Singapore, Woodsford Litigation Funding provides tailored litigation financing solutions for businesses, individuals, and law firms. This includes both single case and portfolio litigation funding and arbitration funding.

Woodsford’s Executive team blends extensive business experience with world-class legal expertise. Woodsford is a founder member of the Association of Litigation Funders of England and Wales.

Interviews, photos and biographies available on request.

Media contact Steven Savage Head of Marketing & Business Development ssavage@woodsfordlf.com UK +44 (0)20 7985 8410

For further information visit http://www.woodsfordlitigationfunding.com or follow on Twitter @WoodsfordLF.

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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.  

The dinner will be accompanied by the inaugural Legal Finance Awards.  The awards are designed to recognize and honor excellence across the legal finance ecosystem. They will spotlight the achievements of funders, law firms, brokers, advisors, and other key contributors to the continued growth and innovation of the industry. Nominations for the awards are now open, with the nomination form available here. 

“The Gala Dinner is a chance for our members and guests to gather in person and celebrate the progress we've made over the year,” said Rupert Cunningham, Global Director of Growth and Membership Engagement at ILFA. “We are especially excited to launch the Legal Finance Awards, which will shine a light on the outstanding work and impact of professionals across our field.”

Tickets for the Gala are on sale now, with discounted pricing available for ILFA members.  More information can be found here.

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.