As Client Expectations For Legal Finance Rise, Burford Enhances Its Team Of Experts

NEW YORK, March 24, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Burford Capital, the leading global finance and asset management firm focused on law, today announces enhancements of its team of legal finance experts, including senior leader moves in London and new hires in Hong Kong and Houston.

Christopher Bogart, CEO of Burford Capital, said, "Just as Burford's $4.5 billion portfolio of legal finance assets continues to grow, so too does its high quality team.  We have not only added resources and recognized achievement in our legal finance business, but we also continue to expand our robust finance, risk and compliance functions given our institutional quality offerings to investors."

Growth and professionalization of the gold standard team focused on commercial litigation risk

With 136 employees, Burford's team is the gold standard for quantifying and financing commercial litigation and arbitration risk worldwide:

• 50% of Burford's team are lawyers, many of them veterans of AmLaw 100 and Global 100 firms and Fortune 500 companies.
• Of those who joined in the last five years, the majority are focused on serving clients through Burford's core offerings (41%) as well as legal, compliance and finance functions (24%)—equipping Burford to give its clients the institutional quality processes they would expect of their corporate finance partners.
• 50% of Burford's team are women, racial minorities or self-identify as LGBTQ.

Burford's investment in its team reflects and reinforces what clients say matters most to them. According to the latest research on litigation finance, in-house and law firm lawyers choose legal finance partners on the basis of their access to significant and reliable capital, their reputation in the marketplace, the scale of their business and the quality of their teams. As a partner at an AmLaw 100 law firm put it, "[Legal finance partners] help the legal teams see around the corners.... [It] does end up being a long-term relationship."

John Lazar moves into senior role in Burford's London office; Michael Redman and Daniel Hall are promoted

John Lazar, a Managing Director who joined Burford in 2015 in New York, has relocated to Burford's London office to further develop its strategy and market opportunity. In this capacity, he will oversee the growth of Burford's substantial business in the UK and Europe.

Mr. Lazar, who in his prior role overseeing Burford's global commercial litigation and international arbitration investment pipeline has assessed hundreds of billions of dollars' worth of commercial disputes, assumes his senior post in London at a time when use of legal finance in the UK and Europe, especially its use by large corporations, is growing and maturing. Since first opening an office in London in 2012, Burford has built a Chambers Band 1-ranked commercial legal finance team.

Prior to joining Burford, Mr. Lazar was a litigator at Cravath, Swaine & Moore and at Wollmuth Maher & Deutsch.

Mr. Lazar commented, "In my six years based in Burford's New York office, I've worked with hundreds of in-house and law firm lawyers in the UK and Europe given Burford's significant European business—and I'm delighted to now have the opportunity to work with them from closer quarters on the Strand."

Additional senior promotions in London include those of Michael Redman and Daniel Hall to Managing Directors. 

Mr. Redman and Mr. Hall have co-led Burford's asset recovery and judgment enforcement team since joining Burford in 2015 through its acquisition of their business intelligence firm, Focus Intelligence Ltd. Along with this promotion and in line with clients' increasing demand for a fully integrated offering, Burford is further integrating asset recovery with its core legal finance business. In addition to its top ranking as a legal finance provider, Burford is Chambers Band-1 ranked for business intelligence.

Emily Tillett joins Burford in Hong Kong

Emily Tillett has joined Burford as a Vice President to lead its investment activity and operations in Hong Kong. Although Burford has been active in the Hong Kong market for some time from its Asian base in Singapore, Ms. Tillett's joining reflects Burford's continued growth in client interest in financing in Hong Kong-based arbitration and insolvency.

A Hong Kong, Australian and New Zealand qualified lawyer, Ms. Tillett has multijurisdictional expertise in complex commercial disputes, and was previously Of Counsel at Allen & Overy in Hong Kong.

Reda Hicks joins Burford in Houston

Reda Hicks has joined Burford as a Vice President to develop new business with US-based law firms and companies. While she is its first full time hire in Houston, Burford has a long track record of financing commercial litigants and law firms in Texas, and her move enhances its opportunity for growth.

Ms. Hicks brings significant experience as an in-house and law firm lawyer. Prior to joining Burford, she was a partner at Diamond McCarthy LLP and Senior Counsel for deugro (USA), a global freight forwarding and project logistics solutions organization, where she led legal and government affairs in the Americas region.

About Burford Capital

About Burford Capital Burford Capital is the leading global finance and asset management firm focused on law. Its businesses include litigation finance and risk management, asset recovery and a wide range of legal finance and advisory activities. Burford is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: BUR) and the London Stock Exchange (LSE: BUR), and it works with companies and law firms around the world from its principal offices in New York, London, Chicago, Washington, Singapore and Sydney. For more information, please visit www.burfordcapital.com.

This communication shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any ordinary shares or other securities of Burford.

SOURCE Burford Capital