As the legal funding market evolves, so too do the legal/ethical jurisprudence, strategic decisions inherent in utilizing funding, financial instruments used for funding, and nature of funder/funded relationship. In this webinar, a panel of experienced litigation funding professionals examine three live legal funding deals, and discuss how they impact considerations of (i) disclosure of litigation funding, (ii) fee-splitting and non-attorney ownership of law firms, and (iii) financial engineering of innovative funding deals.
Part of the webinar series: Commercial Litigation Funding 2021
See more at https://www.financialpoise.com/webinars/
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Practical and entertaining education for
attorneys, accountants, business owners and
executives, and investors.
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4. Disclaimer
The material in this webinar is for informational purposes only. It should not be considered
legal, financial or other professional advice. You should consult with an attorney or other
appropriate professional to determine what may be best for your individual needs. While
Financial Poise™ takes reasonable steps to ensure that information it publishes is accurate,
Financial Poise™ makes no guaranty in this regard.
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5. Meet the Faculty
MODERATOR:
Evan Fried - Greybridge Capital LLC
PANELISTS:
Dai Wai Chin Feman - Parabellum Capital
Christopher Freeman - Burford Capital
Jeffery Lula - GLS Capital, LLC
Jeremy Waitzman - Sugar Felsenthal Grais & Helsinger LLP
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6. About This Webinar
Three Case Studies
As the legal funding market evolves, so too do the legal/ethical jurisprudence, strategic
decisions inherent in utilizing funding, financial instruments used for funding, and nature of
funder/funded relationship. In this webinar, a panel of experienced litigation funding
professionals examine three live legal funding deals, and discuss how they impact
considerations of (i) disclosure of litigation funding, (ii) fee-splitting and non-attorney
ownership of law firms, and (iii) financial engineering of innovative funding deals.
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7. About This Series - Commercial Litigation Funding
This webinar series discusses advanced topics in the field of litigation funding. Once a fledgling
industry predominantly used in the Commonwealth nations, litigation funding has over the past ten
years become a well-accepted and prevalent practice in the United States. As the industry has
evolved, so too have the menu of available products, strategic decisions made by funders and
practitioners, and types of investors. This three-part series is geared towards educating attorneys
and clients on legal/ethical, strategic, and business decisions when considering litigation funding,
and investors seeking to learn about an increasingly mainstream asset class. Panelists include
preeminent experts in the field of litigation funding, including academics who have written on the
topic, investment managers at preeminent litigation funders, litigators who have used funding
products, and independent litigation funding advisors.
Each Financial Poise Webinar is delivered in Plain English, understandable to investors, business owners, and
executives without much background in these areas, yet is of primary value to attorneys, accountants, and other
seasoned professionals. Each episode brings you into engaging, sometimes humorous, conversations designed to
entertain as it teaches. Each episode in the series is designed to be viewed independently of the other episodes so that
participants will enhance their knowledge of this area whether they attend one, some, or all episodes.
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8. Episodes in this Series
#1: An Introduction to a New Yet Old Funding Alternative
Premiere date: 3/11/21
#2: A Menu of Products for Investors and Lawyers
Premiere date: 4/8/21
#3: Three Case Studies
Premiere date: 5/6/21
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10. Outline
• Background on litigation funding
• Three case studies
Disclosure of Litigation Funding Arrangements
Non-Attorney Ownership of Law Firms
Litigation Funding in COVID
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12. Litigation Funding: A Broad Definition
•Litigation or legal funding is the “funding of litigation activities by entities other than the
parties themselves, their counsel, or other entities with a pre-existing contractual relationship
with one of the parties.”
•Source: American Bar Association Commission on Ethics 20/20, “White Paper on Alternative
Litigation Finance.”
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13. Litigation Funding: Applications
• Single-case fundings
• Portfolios of law firm and plaintiff cases
• Other structures
o Law firm loans
o Equity ownership of law firms
o Defense funding
o Litigation insurance
o Special situations trades
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27. Case #2: PWC’s Law Firm/Non-Attorney Ownership of
Law Firms
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28. PWC’s Law Firm/Non-Attorney Ownership of
Law Firms
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• How has the non-attorney ownership of law
firms been historically prohibited?
29. Non-Attorney Ownership of Law Firms
• How does the UK differ from the US?
Endorsed litigation funding as a mechanism
for leveling the playing field
Ushered in alternative business structures
Reformed draconian fee shifting of legal fees,
expenses, and insurance premiums
Made available damages based fee
agreements
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38. About The Faculty
Evan Fried - efried@grbridge.com
Evan Fried is an attorney who has worked in litigation finance since 2007. He is currently a
Principal at Greybridge Capital LLC, a commercial litigation funding outfit, and Slarskey LLC,
a boutique commercial litigation firm. Mr. Fried was previously a partner at 1624 Capital, a
specialty finance company focused on investments in technology/intellectual property
litigation. He has written and spoken on ethical considerations of litigation finding. Mr. Fried
began his career in the New York office of Winston & Strawn LLP and a family office that was
an early player in litigation finance. Mr. Fried received his J.D. from New York University
School of Law and his B.S. in Industrial and Labor Relations from Cornell University.
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39. About The Faculty
Dai Wai Chin Feman - daiwai@parabellumcap.com
Dai Wai is responsible for the development and execution of Parabellum’s commercial litigation
investment strategies. Prior to joining Parabellum, Dai Wai was a litigation partner at Dorsey & Whitney
LLP, where he specialized in commercial and antitrust litigation. Dai Wai has broad experience in
complex disputes concerning breaches of contract, competition, tortious interference, trade secrets,
restrictive covenants, licensing, rights of first refusal, shareholder oppression, soft intellectual property,
and securities. He has advised and represented clients ranging from Fortune 100 companies to closely-
held family businesses through all phases of litigation, from case assessment through trial, appeal, and
enforcement proceedings. While in private practice, Dai Wai was named a Super Lawyers Rising Star in
Business Litigation for four consecutive years. Dai Wai received his A.B., cum laude, from Georgetown
University and his J.D. from New York University School of Law. He is active in the Asian American Bar
Association of New York, where he is a board member, Vice-Chair of the Judiciary Committee, and
former Co-Chair of the Litigation Committee. He is also a Fellow of the New York City Bar Association
Leadership Council on Legal Diversity, a member of the New York City Bar Association’s Litigation
Funding Working Group, and a member of the New York City Bar Association’s Professional Ethics
Committee.
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40. About The Faculty
Christopher Freeman - CFreeman@burfordcapital.com
Christopher Freeman is a Vice President with responsibility for assessing and underwriting
legal risk in patent matters. As part of Burford’s investment team, Christopher evaluates
intellectual property cases and patent monetization campaigns and crafts investment
structures that align incentives between funder, law firm and claimant. Prior to joining Burford,
Christopher was Vice President and Head of Litigation at Blackbird Technologies, a company
he co-founded in 2014. At Blackbird, Christopher oversaw all business operations and
successfully built and managed one of the most prominent patent acquisition and licensing
entities in the US, growing the firm to a dozen employees and a portfolio of over 100 patents
and applications. Earlier in his career, Christopher was an IP partner at Kirkland & Ellis and
practiced at Latham & Watkins and at Quinn Emanuel. Christopher graduated from the
Boston University School of Law and earned an undergraduate degree from Northwestern
University in Industrial Engineering and Economics.
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41. Jeffery Lula - jlula@glscap.com
Jeffery Lula serves as a Principal at GLS and is responsible for due diligence and monitoring of commercial
litigation and arbitration-related investments.
Prior to joining GLS, Jeff was a litigation partner at Kirkland & Ellis LLP in Chicago. During his nine years at
Kirkland, Jeff’s practice focused on a wide variety of complex commercial litigation, including contract
disputes, bankruptcy litigation, corporate mismanagement, fraudulent transfer litigation, and insurance
litigation. His experience extends to all stages of litigation and appeal, and he also counseled clients during
internal investigations prior to litigation or arbitration. He has represented clients in a variety of fields, including
private equity firms, insurance carriers, and large Chapter 11 debtors.
Jeff holds a J.D. from the University of Chicago Law School, where he served as an Articles’ Editor of the
University of Chicago Law Review, and a B.S. from University of Illinois.
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About The Faculty
42. About The Faculty
Jeremy Waitzman - jwaitzman@sfgh.com
Jeremy Waitzman advises his clients on significant transactions and operational issues in
their businesses. Described by clients as “an essential business advisor” and “a partner in the
success of my business,” Jeremy has substantial experience representing businesses of all
types and sizes from inception, guiding them through significant growth, and often through
ownership’s exit. His clients include privately-held middle market and emerging growth
companies, family offices/funds, investors, C-level executives, boards of directors, family-
owned businesses and entrepreneurs. Jeremy counsels clients in the areas of corporate law,
mergers & acquisitions, private placements, general contract law and often acts as outside
general counsel for his clients. Jeremy represents individuals, closely held businesses, start-
up companies and serves as outside counsel to several large corporations. His work with
companies often includes strategies for creation of enterprise value.
To read more, go to: https://www.financialpoise.com/webinar-faculty/jeremy-waitzman/
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43. Questions or Comments?
If you have any questions about this webinar that you did not get to ask during the live
premiere, or if you are watching this webinar On Demand, please do not hesitate to email us
at info@financialpoise.com with any questions or comments you may have. Please include
the name of the webinar in your email and we will do our best to provide a timely response.
IMPORTANT NOTE: The material in this presentation is for general educational purposes
only. It has been prepared primarily for attorneys and accountants for use in the pursuit of
their continuing legal education and continuing professional education.
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44. About Financial Poise
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