Dealmakers Forums

European Edition
2024-04-18 08:00 - 2024-04-19 17:00 UTC | London, London, United Kingdom
2nd annual

LF Dealmakers

MASS TORTS

SEPTEMBER 16-17, 2025

NEW YORK CITY

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BRIDGING MASS TORTS & LITIGATION FINANCE

Back by Popular Demand: The 2nd Annual LF Dealmakers Mass Torts Returns to NYC Following the powerful debut of last year’s inaugural event, which brought together 200+ industry leaders for a first-of-its-kind forum at the crossroads of litigation funding and mass torts, LF Dealmakers Mass Torts returns this fall—bigger and better than ever. Join us September 16-17 at the expanded Kimpton Hotel Eventi & SECOND in New York City, where the industry’s top funders, plaintiffs’ firms, strategic advisors, and stakeholders will reconvene to explore this fast-evolving space. This two-day forum is your gateway to: Actionable content and bold thinking from the field’s sharpest mindsA-list speakers driving innovation across mass torts and litigation financeHigh-impact one-to-one meetings for productive business discussionsCarefully curated audience of senior decision-makers across mass torts and fundingAs part of the signature Dealmakers experience, this event is co-located with the 8th Annual LF Dealmakers Forum, focused on commercial litigation finance, creating even more opportunities to connect, collaborate, and stay ahead of the curve.

98Percent

Overall networking was rated very good to excellent

97Percent

Program quality was rated very good to excellent

98Percent

1:1 Meetings were rated very good to excellent

STATS FROM OUR INAUGURAL MASS TORTS

LF Dealmakers by the numbers

200+

DecisionMakers

50+

one to onemettings

32

expertSPEAKERS

7

INTERACTIVESESSIONS

WHAT PEOPLE SAY

THE DEALMAKERS EXPERIENCE

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"LF Dealmakers is our must attend litigation finance conference in New York each year. The attendees are well-curated, the speakers are experienced and compelling, and the event is impeccably organized."

— Molly Pease | Curiam Capital

"I had been told that LF Dealmakers is the best litigation finance conferences there is. After having spent two days listening to panels of experts and conveniently meeting with folks, I can understand why. I plan to be back next year."

— Marc Carmel | McDonald Hopkins

"LF Dealmakers is a go-to event for litigation finance. Dealmakers Forums runs an excellent program, which is always informative, well-organized, and attracts a good cross-section from the industry and beyond."

— Zachary Krug | NorthWall Capital

"LF Dealmakers is one of the very best conferences dedicated to the litigation finance industry. It is an incredibly well-run event, and brings together a broad range of attendees, including prominent litigation funders, law firms, investors, clients, academics, and media. The content is excellent, and the networking opportunities are second to none."

— Michael Nicolas | Longford Capital

"The Dealmakers team has put together yet another successful, informative, and productive litigation finance conference! LF Dealmakers continues to lead the industry in bringing together top talent and shaping the growth of this market."

— Rebecca Berrebi | Avenue 33, LLC

"As a first time attendee and speaker, I wasn’t sure what to expect, but LF Dealmakers exceeded my expectations. The room was full of relevant and high-level people and the conference was organized to make connections."

— Peter Buckley | Fox Rothschild

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2025 SPEAKERS

The program for the 2nd Annual LF Dealmakers Mass Torts is in development. Inquire about speaking in 2025 below.

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2025 KEYNOTE SPEAKER

U.S. Representative Vicente Gonzalez Jr. (TX-34)

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U.S. Representative Vicente Gonzalez Jr. (TX-34)

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U.S. REPRESENTATIVE (TX-34) Vicente Gonzalez is currently serving his fifth term in the United States Congress. He is the elected representative for the 34th District of Texas, which encompasses eastern Hidalgo County, and all of Cameron, Kenedy, Kleberg, and Willacy Counties. Congressman Gonzalez earned his GED in 1985 before attending Del Mar College where he received an Associate’s degree in Banking and Finance in 1990. He worked his way through college at Embry Riddle University where many of his classmates were active duty military personnel. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in Business Aviation in 1992 and later earned a Juris Doctorate degree from Texas Wesleyan University School of Law (now Texas A&M School of Law) in 1996. In 1997, Congressman Gonzalez opened his law practice, V. Gonzalez & Associates. Congressman Gonzalez is a member of the House Committee on Financial Services, where he sits on the Subcommittee on Capital Markets and the Subcommittee on National Security, Illicit Finance, and International Financial Institutions. He is also a member of the U.S. – Mexico Interparliamentary Group. Congressman Gonzalez is the current Communications and Outreach Co-Chair for the Blue Dog Coalition. A lifetime resident of South Texas, Congressman Gonzalez is married to Lorena Saenz Gonzalez, a former teacher and school administrator in Edinburg and McAllen. They reside in the Rio Grande Valley.

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Former U.S. Representative Filemón Vela Jr. (TX-34)Principal Valiant Strategies

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Former U.S. Representative Filemón Vela Jr. (TX-34)

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PRINCIPAL, VALIANT STRATEGIES He served as a member of Congress from 2013 to 2022, representing the 34th Congressional District of Texas, and was a member of the Armed Services, Homeland Security, and Agriculture Committees. From 2022 to 2024, he joined Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP as a Partner, where he helped clients leverage relationships and advance ambitious policy goals in areas such as commerce, energy, economic issues, agriculture, transportation, infrastructure, national security, and defense issues. In 2023, he launched the super PAC BOLD America, alongside New Mexico’s Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham and former California Representative Lucille Roybal-Allard to help elect Hispanic and Latino candidates to Congress. Vela was nominated by President Joe Biden in 2021 to serve as vice chair of the Democratic National Committee. He also served as vice chair of the U.S. Delegation to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization—NATO—Parliamentary Assembly in 2022. Prior to serving in Congress, Rep. Vela spent more than 20 years as a litigator in his private practice. He holds a bachelor’s degree in political science and government from Georgetown University and a J.D. from the University of Texas.

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2025 FORUM SPEAKERS

Salvatore C. BadalaPartner & GC Napoli Shkolnik

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Salvatore C. Badala

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PARTNER & GC, NAPOLI SHKOLNIK Mr. Badala represents clients in high-stakes disputes involving securities fraud, antitrust, RICO, business fraud, partnership and corporate liability, contracts, and trade secrets. He has extensive experience in regulatory enforcement and white-collar matters before agencies worldwide, including the SEC, CFTC, DOJ, and international financial regulators. His work spans complex investigations into foreign corrupt practices, securities offerings, market misconduct, and structured finance.

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Suneal BediAssociate Professor of Business Law and Ethics Indiana University

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Suneal Bedi

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ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF BUSINESS LAW AND ETHICS, INDIANA UNIVERSITY Suneal Bedi is an Associate Professor of Business Law & Ethics and the Jerome Bess Faculty Fellow at the Kelley School of Business, Indiana University. His work focuses on the intersection of law and business strategy. He seeks to analyze how corporate entities can utilize public institutions (e.g. courts, legislatures, social norms) to gain strategic advantages in marketplace transactions. Suneal has written extensively on litigation finance, intellectual property, and marketing ethics. His work has been published in leading law and business journals including Cornell Law Review, Vanderbilt Law Review, Southern California Law Review, and the Journal of Business Ethics, and has been featured in news outlets including The New York Times, Forbes, Washington Post, and US News. He has a PhD in Marketing and Business Ethics from The Wharton School and was formerly a private equity lawyer at Ropes & Gray, LLP.

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Roy Ben-AmiHead of Capital Markets Darrow AI

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Roy Ben-Ami

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HEAD OF CAPITAL MARKETS, DARROW AI Roy Ben-Ami is Head of Capital Markets at DarrowTM, the leading platform for legal intelligence, transforming fragmented legal data into actionable insights. Founded in 2020, Darrow combines advanced AI with legal expertise, to help legal professionals uncover hidden violations, assess risks, and drive faster, fairer resolutions. The company has 150 employees across offices in Tel Aviv, New York, Miami, and Arizona, and is trusted by top legal firms across the United States. Roy leads Darrow’s legal risk monetization with institutional partners across deal sourcing, execution, and investor relations. His team focuses on bridging the legal and financial markets to drive strategic growth and expand the company’s market reach. He previously served as Vice President at Barclays Corporate and Investment Bank in New York, where he led M&A, equity, and debt transactions exceeding $35B. Prior to this Roy worked for the Israeli Ministry of Finance and the IDF’s 8200 Intelligence Unit, where he served as a Project Manager. Roy holds an MBA in Finance from The Wharton Business School and a Masters Degree in International/Global Studies from the Lauder Institute – University of Pennsylvania. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics and International Relations from The Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

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Andy Birchfield, Jr.Mass Torts Section Head Beasley Allen

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Andy Birchfield, Jr.

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MASS TORTS SECTION HEAD, BEASLEY ALLEN Andy Birchfield graduated from Thomas Goode Jones School of Law magna cum laude in 1991. He has significant trial experience in both state and federal court, and his practice encompasses a wide range of legal matters including personal injury and civil rights cases. For the past 25 years, Andy’s practice has focused primarily on mass tort product liability litigation. Andy joined Beasley Allen Law Firm in 1996 and manages the firm’s Mass Torts Section, which has successfully resolved claims for thousands of clients in the Vioxx, Bextra/Celebrex, Actos, Xarelto, Baycol, Rezulin, PPA, Ephedra, Transvaginal mesh, and other litigations. Andy is also a member of the American Association for Justice and the Montgomery Trial Lawyers Associations. He has served as president of the the Alabama Young Lawyers, as well as on numerous task forces and committees of the Alabama State Bar. Andy has served on the Committee for Character and Fitness of Alabama, which assesses those attributes with respect to applicants for admission to the Bar.

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Marc CarmelMember McDonald Hopkins

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Marc Carmel

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MEMBER, MCDONALD HOPKINS Marc Carmel is a member of McDonald Hopkins’ Strategic Advisory and Restructuring Department and founder and Co-Head of McDonald Hopkins’ Litigation Finance Group. Marc has extensive experience in the litigation finance industry and Chambers ranked in the U.S. as Litigation Finance Deal Counsel. He represents clients in all aspects of the industry, including plaintiffs and law firms seeking litigation funding and related insurance, traditional and non-traditional funders and insurance companies, and investors who provide capital to litigation funders. Before joining McDonald Hopkins, he led a commercial litigation funder’s involvement in the distressed sector. While there, he was responsible for investment sourcing, due diligence, and monitoring investments. Marc frequently speaks on topics involving litigation funding and has been a guest lecturer on litigation finance at universities. Marc earned his Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School and his Masters of Accounting and Bachelor of Business Administration degrees from the University of Michigan.

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Nathaniel CatezExecutive Director Moelis & Company

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Nathaniel Catez

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EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, MOELIS & COMPANY Nathaniel Catez is an Executive Director specializing in Dispute Advisory at Moelis & Company, an international investment banking and financial advisory firm, and is based in New York. Mr. Catez has over fifteen years of trading and investment banking experience, focused on advising companies and / or their stakeholders in a wide range of risk advisory and dispute-related situations across a broad range of industries, including facilitating access to legal funding for single cases and portfolios of claims, assisting with litigation support, providing financial advice related to settlement negotiations and enforcement proceedings, and designing and executing claim monetization solutions. Mr. Catez received a B.S. degree in Applied Mathematics from Ecole Centrale Paris in France, and a M.S. degree in Mathematics in Finance from New York University in New York.

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Jeff CohenPartner & Managing Director Contingency Capital

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Jeff Cohen

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PARTNER & MANAGING DIRECTOR, CONTINGENCY CAPITAL Jeff Cohen is a Partner and Managing Director of Contingency Capital, which he joined at its inception in 2021. Prior to joining Contingency Capital, Jeff was formerly a Partner and Managing Director at Southpaw Asset Management, a distressed credit opportunity investment firm, which he joined at its inception in 2005. Prior to working at Southpaw, Jeff was a Vice President and Analyst in the distressed securities fund at Ramius Capital Group LLC. Jeff began his professional career as a bankruptcy and restructuring attorney in private practice and served as a Judicial Law Clerk for the Honorable Bruce I. Fox in the United States Bankruptcy Court, Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Jeff received a BA in Political Science from Columbia University and a JD from Temple University Beasley School of Law.

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Jayne ConroyShareholder Simmons Hanly Conroy

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Jayne Conroy

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SHAREHOLDER, SIMMONS HANLY CONROY Jayne Conroy is a nationally recognized trial attorney and named partner at Simmons Hanly Conroy, one of the largest plaintiff law firms in the U.S. With over three decades of experience, she is known for her strategic leadership in complex civil litigation, including mass torts, product liability, sexual abuse, environmental, and pharmaceutical cases. Jayne has held key roles in high-profile multidistrict litigations such as the National Prescription Opiate MDL, DePuy Pinnacle Hip Implants, and the East Palestine train derailment. She has also been instrumental in securing justice for survivors of sexual abuse through litigation against powerful institutions. Her work has helped recover billions of dollars in settlements for individuals and communities harmed by corporate negligence. Jayne’s dedication to justice has earned her numerous accolades, including induction into the Trial Lawyer Hall of Fame and recognition as one of the National Law Journal’s Outstanding Women Lawyers. She continues to lead with integrity, compassion, and resolve.

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Davis CooperFounding Partner Cooper Masterman

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Davis Cooper

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FOUNDING PARTNER, COOPER MASTERMAN Davis Cooper is the founding partner of Cooper Masterman PLLC, a Washington, D.C.–based litigation firm specializing in mass torts, appeals, and high-stakes briefing. He began his career at a nationally prominent litigation boutique with a constitutional focus, where he gained broad experience and notable success in commercial, regulatory, and constitutional disputes in both federal and state courts. That experience shaped his commitment to handling matters that combine legal complexity with broad public significance. Motivated to rethink how a modern law firm serves its clients and partners, Davis founded Cooper Masterman with a model built on responsiveness, transparency, and excellence in written and appellate advocacy. Under his leadership, the firm has grown into a national presence in mass torts. The firm leverages technology to deliver real-time communication, efficiency, and collaboration—driving exceptional outcomes for clients and co-counsel. Cooper Masterman is also a trusted partner to litigation funders, who regularly engage the firm for strategic consulting on portfolio design, case assessment, and risk management.

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Nick CooperPortfolio Manager Gerchen Capital Partners

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Nick Cooper

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PORTFOLIO MANAGER, GERCHEN CAPITAL PARTNERS Nick Cooper serves as a Portfolio Manager at Gerchen Capital Partners, where he is responsible for managing the firm’s investment process, including origination, investment analysis, execution, and monitoring, and overall portfolio management. Previously, Nick was a Portfolio Manager at Burford Capital (and before its acquisition by Burford, Gerchen Keller Capital). At Burford, Nick oversaw a $300 million managed vehicle that invested primarily in post-settlement litigation finance assets. Before joining GKC, Nick was an Associate at HIG Capital, where he focused on special situations credit investing. His work primarily included underwriting investments in secondary-market purchases of high-yield debt instruments, origination of BDC term loans, and equity of distressed companies. Nick also worked as an investment banking analyst at Credit Suisse, where he was a member of Global Industrials Group and served as a junior member of the firm’s U.S. Corporate Credit Underwriting Committee. Outside of his full-time roles, Nick has held board seats in sponsor-backed companies, including Bubbies Ice Cream & Desserts and Imperial Frozen Foods. Nick earned his undergraduate degree in mathematics and finance from the University of Notre Dame.

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Sindhu S. DanielPartner Scott+Scott

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Sindhu S. Daniel

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PARTNER, SCOTT+SCOTT Sindhu S. Daniel is a Senior Partner at Scott+Scott’s Delaware office and a nationally recognized leader in mass tort and complex litigation. With over 25 years of experience, she has secured billions of dollars in settlements for plaintiffs and has been appointed to leadership positions in numerous federal and state litigations, including Xarelto ($774M), Essure ($1.6B), and 3M Combat Arms Earplug ($6B). Known for her meticulous preparation and client-centered approach, Ms. Daniel combines fierce advocacy with strategic acumen to achieve meaningful results. Beyond the courtroom, she played a pivotal role in advancing legal protections against AI-generated deepfake technology, representing teenage clients whose courage helped drive groundbreaking reforms in New Jersey and at the federal level. Honored as one of the Top 100 Civil Plaintiff Trial Lawyers and featured in Lawdragon 500, she is also an accredited VA attorney and serves on Law360’s Consumer Protection Advisory Board.

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Diandra “Fu” DebrossePartner DiCello Levitt

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Diandra "Fu" Debrosse

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PARTNER, DICELLO LEVITT Diandra “Fu” Debrosse is a fearless plaintiffs’ attorney who fights unapologetically for individuals and public entities injured by wrongful conduct, whether by defective medical devices, drugs, or cosmetics, environmental contamination, corporate misconduct, or civil rights abuse. Nationally recognized as a powerhouse in mass torts, class actions, products liability, discrimination, and sexual assault claims, Fu has recovered nearly $1 billion in damages for her clients. Blending her exceptional talents in multidistrict and mass tort litigation with state-of-the-art tools, Fu uses sophisticated modeling to identify technology-based and other forms of discrimination, including environmental injustice, defective devices, and unfair insurance practices. As the managing partner of DiCello Levitt’s Birmingham office and co-chair of both the firm’s Mass Torts Litigation Practice Group and its Civil and Human Rights Litigation Practice Group, Fu holds prominent leadership positions in numerous multidistrict litigations. She is co-lead counsel in the massive products liability MDL against two of the world’s largest infant formula manufacturers, Abbott Laboratories and Mead Johnson, and in the MDL against L’Oréal and other makers of disease-causing hair relaxer products marketed primarily to Black and Latina women. Fu also holds leadership positions in several other significant MDLs, including the litigation against Chevron and Syngenta for their marketing and sale of the disease-causing herbicide paraquat, as well as the social media MDL in which the plaintiffs are seeking damages against Meta Platforms, TikTok, YouTube, and others for creating defective products that encourage addictive behavior, resulting in various emotional and physical harms, including death. Fu also leads many systematic civil rights and sexual assault cases; represents the City of Baltimore in legal actions addressing the catastrophic Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse; represents Attorneys General in various actions and investigations; and represents over 50 municipalities in two separate nationwide prescription opiate MDLs.

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Scott DeNardoEVP, Mass Torts ARCHER Systems

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Scott DeNardo

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EVP MASS TORTS, ARCHER SYSTEMS Scott DeNardo is a 30 year practicing attorney. He started out as a litigator and worked in the District Attorney and Public Defenders offices in Northampton County, PA. He also served as a County Solicitor with a concentration on representing the Children Youth and Families division. He was a corporate law litigator for several years and then became a Global General Counsel for a multi national company that he helped lead growth from 1000 to 12,000 employees in ten countries over 14 years. An international General Counsel for 24 plus years he then became CEO of an international corporate law conference company. Throughout much of this time he was also Of Counsel to a personal injury firm. For the last 11 years he has been an EVP for Mass Torts for Providio and now ARCHER leading settlement administration for most all major mass torts.

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Max DoyleChief Strategy Officer CAMG

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Max Doyle

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CHIEF STRATEGY OFFICER, CONSUMER ATTORNEY MARKETING GROUP Max recently joined CAMG as Chief Strategy Officer, where he oversees capital sourced from institutional partners, funders, and family offices. With a long track record in litigation finance and mass tort financing, Max was previously CEO of New York-based LexShares and Head of North America for London-based Augusta Ventures. He has over 20 years of experience as an international investor in alternative assets, including structured credit, private equity, and other non-traditional investments. Max has held senior roles at two large family offices in Canada and is a seasoned investor across multiple asset classes, with extensive experience in banking, securitization, and insurance markets. Originally from Dublin, Ireland, Max now resides in Toronto with his family. He holds a Master’s degree in Business Studies (Banking & Finance) from University College Dublin. In his spare time, he enjoys golf, fitness, and is a long-suffering Toronto Maple Leafs and Blue Jays fan.

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Paul Ellender Jr. Senior Product Manager VoterVoice

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Paul Ellender Jr.

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SENIOR PRODUCT MANAGER, VOTERVOICE Paul Ellender Jr. is a Senior Product Manager at VoterVoice with more than 15 years of experience in grassroots advocacy and civic engagement. He began his career at VoterVoice, where he helped organizations mobilize advocates, and continued with FiscalNote to expand his impact at the intersection of technology and policy. Today, he is part of the product team shaping PolicyNote, an AI-powered legislative assistant that equips advocacy professionals with faster insights and stronger tools to engage in the policy process. Drawing on his background in communications, design, and organizing, Paul brings a deep understanding of how people and organizations can influence change — and how technology can amplify that power.

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Ken EpsteinCo-founder and Principal Backlit Capital Solutions

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Ken Epstein

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CO-FOUNDER AND PRINCIPAL, BACKLIT CAPITAL SOLUTIONS Ken Epstein is a co-founder and principal of Backlit Capital Solutions and brings 25 years of experience in bankruptcy law, commercial litigation, restructuring and finance. Prior to co-founding Backlit, Ken was a Senior Investment manager and Legal Counsel at Omni Bridgeway, a legal finance and risk management company, where he led the company’s U.S. insolvency litigation finance platform. In this role, he originated, structured, and managed a diverse portfolio of legal assets. Prior to his tenure at Omni Bridgeway, he was a managing director at MBIA, a public financial services company, where he led large-scale initiatives and crisis management efforts. Ken started his career as a lawyer at Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft, where he specialized in financial restructuring and corporate bankruptcy law. Ken graduated from Brooklyn Law School (cum laude) and holds an accounting degree from the University of Maryland. Ken has also served as an adjunct professor of bankruptcy law at Cardozo Law School.

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Fred FabricantManaging Partner Fabricant

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Fred Fabricant

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MANAGING PARTNER, FABRICANT Alfred R. Fabricant (Fred) is an experienced first chair trial lawyer who focuses his practice on patent, copyright, trademark and unfair competition matters. Fred has litigated patent infringement cases in district courts throughout the United States for both patent owners and defendants including cases in the most active courts in Delaware, Texas, California, Illinois and Florida. His cases have involved a large variety of technologies including automotive, semiconductor, audio processing, LED lighting and displays, smartphone handsets, medical devices, electronic ratings systems, copy protection and anti-piracy technology, NFC and radio frequency identification systems, robotic systems, memory and storage devices, software, internet-related method and system patents, universal remote control devices, and optical systems and methods. According to “The World’s Leading Patent Practitioners” published by the IAM1000: “clients say they cannot imagine working with anyone better, hailing (Fabricant’s) outstanding skills of presentation and persuasion in the courtroom.” Fred has represented clients in patent matters before the International Trade Commission. He has also appeared in more than 100 inter partes review proceedings before the Patent Trial and Appeals Board. Fred has argued numerous appeals before the U.S. Courts of Appeal for the Federal, Second and Fourth Circuits where he has represented both appellants and appellees in a variety of matters. Since 2008. Fred has handled a large number of cases that have been financed, in whole or in part, by litigation funders. He has also represented litigation funds as outside diligence counsel and is frequently recommended by litigation funders to claimants for both lead counsel representation in litigation as well as for IPR work before the PTAB. In addition to his litigation experience, Fred routinely acts as a legal counselor and advisor in the negotiation and drafting of patent, trademark and copyright license agreements, joint venture and funding agreements, and other business contracts. Fred also specializes in IP due diligence, freedom to operate analyses and strategies for the management and monetization of IP portfolios, a topic on which he has lectured extensively over the past decade. He advises clients on portfolio acquisitions and development, licensing and enforcement strategies, and litigation financing options. Education The University of Illinois Chicago Law School, J.D. (with highest distinction) The University of Miami (magna cum laude) Admissions €New York€Arizona

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Joseph FantiniManaging Attorney, Mass Torts Department Rosen Injury Lawyers

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Joseph Fantini

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MANAGING ATTORNEY, MASS TORTS DEPARTMENT, ROSEN INJURY LAWYERS Joseph Fantini serves as the managing attorney of Rosen Injury Lawyers’ Mass Tort Department. His practice focuses on representing victims injured by dangerous pharmaceutical drugs, defective medical devices and unsafe consumer products. Joe’s background and understanding of complex medical, scientific and legal issues has positioned him to be a leader in national Mass Tort Litigations. Joe obtained his law degree from the esteemed Widener University School of Law in 2009. While earning his degree, Joe was already active in the legal community, serving as a law clerk in Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas for the Honorable Arnold L. New. While in law school, Joe was the recipient of the Certificate of Achievement in Food and Drug Law, which is awarded to the top student in each section. It was during this time that Joe was first exposed to the intricacies of FDA regulations and oversight. After learning of the devasting injuries suffered by consumers of defective products that were unsafe and inadequately tested, Joe knew he wanted to lend his voice to who were unable to fight these large corporations who placed profits over patient’s safety on their own. Joe began his career as a lawyer at an international insurance defense firm, where he represented clients in personal injury and product liability matters. After just a few years, Joe moved to a nationally recognized plaintiff’s law firm to representing plaintiffs mass torts and class actions. Joe found that his prior legal experience provided him with invaluable insight into how complex cases are handled from a defense and court perspective allowing him to use this knowledge to successfully obtain compensation for thousands of injured clients during his tenure with this firm. In 2018, Joe joined Rosen Injury Lawyers to manage the Mass Tort Department and oversee all product liability cases. Over the course of his career, Joe has played a significant role in helping to secure millions of dollars on behalf of his clients in mass tort and class action litigations. As a result of his achievements, Joe has been included in Pennsylvania Super Lawyers Publication as a Rising Star, a distinction given to only 2.5% of attorneys in each state who are forty years old or younger or have been practicing for 10 years or less, continuously since 2013. Joe has also been recognized as The National Trial Lawyers: Top 40 Under 40 and is a member of The National Trial Lawyers: Top 25 Mass Tort Trial Lawyers Association. Additionally, Joe is a member of the Pennsylvania Association for Justice, Philadelphia Bar Association, and the Philadelphia Trial Lawyers Association, where he serves as a member of the Young Lawyers executive committee.

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Steve FariesPartner Pulaski Kherkher

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Steve Faries

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PARTNER, PULASKI KHERKHER Steve Faries is a personal injury plaintiff attorney with experience in litigating mass tort product liability cases from intake to resolution. He has tried cases to jury verdicts in state and federal courts in Texas, Arkansas, Tennessee, and Pennsylvania, and worked up many cases that resolved before trial. Steve’s experience includes court appointment to the Plaintiff Steering Committee and direct support to the Plaintiff Executive Committees in mass tort proceedings. He helps create the liability and scientific strategies of the national case, conducts wide-ranging fact and expert discovery, and handles all types of case specific bellwether depositions. Steve’s efforts have contributed to successful settlements in multiple pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and product liability litigations. Currently at Pulaski Kherkher, Steve and his team are responsible for the firm’s Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune docket of thousands of veterans and civilians that suffered devastating injuries from exposure to toxic water on base. Steve insists on applying best practices strategies by integrating workflow processes and technology for efficient docket control. Before practicing law, Steve was a financial analyst and project manager in space, energy, and financial services industries.

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Mischa FeldsteinSVP, Litigation Investing The D. E. Shaw Group

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Mischa Feldstein

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SVP, LITIGATION INVESTING, D. E. SHAW & CO. Mischa Feldstein is a senior vice president of D. E. Shaw & Co., L.P. and a member of the Litigation Investing team within the D. E. Shaw group’s Private Credit investment unit. Prior to joining the firm in 2018, Mr. Feldstein was a litigation associate at Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz. He served as a law clerk to the Hon. Raymond J. Lohier, Jr. of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, the Hon. Pierre N. Leval of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, and the Hon. Katherine B. Forrest of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. Mr. Feldstein received an A.B. in social studies, cum laude, from Harvard University in 2007 and a J.D., magna cum laude, from Harvard Law School in 2012, where he served as a notes editor of the Harvard Law Review.

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Yvonne M. FlahertyPartner Lockridge Grindal Nauen

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Yvonne M. Flaherty

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PARTNER, LOCKRIDGE GRINDAL NAUEN Yvonne Flaherty is a partner at Lockridge Grindal Nauen and leads the firm’s national mass tort and product liability injury practice. Ms. Flaherty has held numerous court-appointed leadership positions in large-scale, complex litigation involving pharmaceuticals, medical devices, herbicides, and other products. She has served on trial teams for class action and complex, single-event cases and is nationally recognized for her experience navigating the nuances of complex litigation. She has also served as settlement counsel, successfully resolving thousands of claims for injured individuals throughout the United States, and on Court-appointed committees to determine the appropriateness of common benefit fees. Outside of the courtroom, Ms. Flaherty serves on the American Association for Justice Executive Committee and holds numerous leadership positions within AAJ.

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Amanda Fox PerryPartner Fox McKenna

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Amanda Fox Perry

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PARTNER, FOX MCKENNA Amanda Fox represents hostages and victims of terrorist attacks in lawsuits against foreign governments and organizations that provide material support to terrorist organizations including Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Taliban. She also brings claims against financial institutions and platforms that aid and abet terrorism in violation of sanctions and trade practices. Amanda’s clients include U.S. citizens and foreign nationals who were injured or killed in the U.S. Embassy bombings in Lebanon, Kenya, and Tanzania, as well as victims of the September 11th attacks and the 1983 Marines Barracks bombing in Beirut, Lebanon. She has secured judgments exceeding $300 million and has recovered significant proceeds of those judgments from the governments of Iran and Sudan through claims resolutions, enforcement actions, and the U.S. Victims of State Sponsors of Terrorism Fund. She spent the first decade of her professional career working for the U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs where she focused on border security, trans-national crime, and intelligence. Amanda’s political experience gives her a unique understanding of the legislative process and the wide range of geopolitical and diplomatic variables that often impact her terrorism cases. Her broad network in Washington, D.C. and access to relevant policymakers allows her to stay informed of key events and legislative developments that influence her cases and shape the landscape of future litigation.

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Edward GehresManaging Partner Invenio

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Edward Gehres

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MANAGING PARTNER, INVENIO Ed Gehres is Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Invenio LLP, where he leads the firm’s legal underwriting and distressed asset recovery practice. Drawing on over 25 years as a trial attorney and organizational leader, Ed brings a unique 360-degree marketplace perspective to litigation finance. His career spans roles as both defense and plaintiffs’ counsel in mass torts and complex commercial litigation, global legal department leadership at a major investment platform, and borrower-side representation in the most sophisticated legal asset transactions. Ed and the Invenio LLP team are among the only lawyers and advisors in the litigation finance marketplace who bring national counsel litigation leadership experience, decades of transactional execution, and operational leadership roles to bear for clients under one roof. A former political professional and strategist, Ed is a regular commentator on politics and strategy regarding regulatory and legislative challenges facing the litigation finance sector.

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Maria GloverCarmack Waterhouse Professor of Law Georgetown Law

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Maria Glover

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CARMACK WATERHOUSE PROFESSOR OF LAW, GEORGETOWN LAW Maria Glover is the Carmack Waterhouse Professor of Law at Georgetown University Law Center. Glover is a leading expert in the fields of civil procedure and civil justice; complex litigation; and private litigation and dispute resolution. Her writing has appeared in the Stanford Law Review, the Yale Law Journal, the N.Y.U. Law Review, the University of Pennsylvania Law Review, and elsewhere. She is an elected member of the American Law Institute. Her work has been quoted by numerous courts, including the United States Supreme Court. She has testified before Congressional committees regarding class actions, multi-district litigation, procedural justice reform measures, and litigation finance. Glover’s work on litigation finance appears in the NYU Law Review; Vanderbilt Law Review; the NYU Journal of Law and Business; and the Journal of Theoretical Inquiries in Law. Glover has been featured speaker about litigation finance at Yale Law School, the University of Chicago School of Law, the University of Pennsylvania School of Law, New York University School of Law, and Tel Aviv University. In 2026, Glover will co-host a symposium about the global legal finance industry with the New York University Law Review.

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M. Elizabeth “Beth” GrahamPartner Grant & Eisenhofer

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M. Elizabeth "Beth" Graham

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PARTNER, GRANT & EISENHOFER Elizabeth (“Beth”) Graham is a principal at Grant & Eisenhofer. She leads the firm’s complex and mass tort litigation practice and has spent most of her career as a plaintiffs’ lawyer advocating for the rights of individuals, families and small businesses harmed by large corporations. Ms. Graham’s expertise includes mass tort, consumer fraud, product liability, environmental, business torts, and sexual assault and retaliation claims. She has served as Lead Counsel in multi-million dollar cases such as In re Essure Product Cases; In re East Palestine Train Derailment Cases, Gilead Tenofovir Cases and Coordinated Actions, and In re Columbia Gas Explosion Cases, and has acted as a member of various Plaintiffs’ Executive Committees in complex actions. She has prior experience as national defense coordination counsel in product liability and environmental litigation. Ms. Graham is an accomplished speaker and author, and has been recognized for her achievements by Lawdragon, Law360, and America’s Top 100 Attorneys®.

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Alan E. GuyManaging Director of Underwriting and Value Optimization Kobre & Kim

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Alan E. Guy

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MANAGING DIRECTOR OF UNDERWRITING AND VALUE OPTIMIZATION, KOBRE & KIM Alan E. Guy is the Managing Director for Underwriting and Value Optimization and is based in the New York office. Mr. Guy has experience underwriting, negotiating, and managing litigation finance and alternative fee arrangements, developing strategic partnerships, and practicing as a litigator at Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer US LLP. He also clerked for the Honorable James R. Spencer in the United States Federal District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. Before joining Kobre & Kim, Mr. Guy was a Managing Director at Vannin Capital, where he helped to launch the US office of the global litigation funder. Mr. Guy earned his JD at Northwestern University and his BA at NYU.

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Jennifer HoekstraPartner Aylstock, Witkin, Kreis & Overholtz

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Jennifer Hoekstra

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PARTNER, AYLSTOCK, WITKIN, KREIS & OVERHOLTZ Jennifer Hoekstra is a partner with Aylstock, Witkin, Kreis & Overholtz, PLLC. She has been involved in complex litigation cases of all forms since 2007. Her passion and expertise lie in Electronically Stored Information and coordinating discovery across multiple defendant litigations. She has earned a solid reputation and plays an integral role in multiple complex litigation cases, practicing in the areas of Pharmaceutical Mass Torts, Defective Device Mass Torts, and other complex litigation. Jennifer is a passionate litigator and has been central to the successful outcome in dozens of MDL bellwether trials over the course of her career with more than $11 Billion in trial verdicts to her credit. Most recently in 2021 and 2022, she served as trial counsel and/or as an integral member of the trial team in all of the sixteen 3M Earplug trials securing more than $300 Million in compensatory damages for military veterans.

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Katherine HoffmannFounder & CEO SMART Reviews

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Katherine Hoffmann

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FOUNDER & CEO, SMART REVIEWS Katherine is a respected authority and innovator at the forefront of ensuring validity and viability in law firm dockets. With a background cutting across healthcare, defense, and plaintiff litigation, she brings a rare and comprehensive perspective on the challenges law firms face today. Over the past decade, she has built SMART Reviews into a trusted leader in the industry, ensuring the integrity of every case that moves forward. Her mission is to elevate standards, combat fraud, and build lasting transparency across the mass tort ecosystem.

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Jack KellyManaging Director American Legal Finance Association (ALFA)

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Jack Kelly

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MANAGING DIRECTOR, AMERICAN LEGAL FINANCE ASSOCIATION (ALFA) Jack Kelly serves as Managing Director of the American Legal Finance Association (ALFA), the leading trade association for consumer litigation funding companies. Mr. Kelly, a Partner in the McPherson Group LLP, is a highly regarded adviser on the management of public policy risk to national and multinational corporations. During the past two decades, he has been at the center of public policy, regulatory, and legal debates involving specialty finance products, including structured settlements, life settlements, and various factoring transactions. Mr. Kelly also serves as an adjunct professor for the Fordham School of Law, teaching Crisis Management in Litigation and Investigations. Previously, he has served as a political aide to two U.S. Presidents, served in professional staff positions in Congress, and in the New York and Federal courts. For 28 years until his retirement‚ Mr. Kelly served in active and reserve components of the U.S. Army and was the commander of a Special Forces unit. His awards and decorations include the Legion of Merit. From 2004 until 2018, he served as a member and Chairman of the U.S. Advisory Committee on National Cemeteries and Memorials, and later as a member of the U.S. Advisory Committee for Arlington National Cemetery.

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Robert KinsmanFounding Partner Krause & Kinsman

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Robert Kinsman

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FOUNDING PARTNER, KRAUSE & KINSMAN Robert L. Kinsman is devoted to bringing large-scale results to a wide arrange of clients. Robert has been at the forefront of some of the most unique cases in the country. Since his firm opened less than 10 years ago, almost one hundred thousand consumers have hired Krause & Kinsman as their attorneys. K&K has developed some of the most innovative client relations systems in the legal space. Aside from client engagement, Robert plays a significant leadership role in each of his cases, whether it be case investigation and development, science and expert development, bellwether selection, settlement negotiation and coordination, trial and trial preparation, or briefing case-defining motions and case management orders. Robert currently sits on the Plaintiffs Executive Committee in the Camp Lejeune litigation and the Plaintiffs Steering Committee in the Bard Hernia Mesh MDL.

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Paul KongExecutive Director International Legal Finance Association (ILFA)

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Paul Kong

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EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, INTERNATIONAL LEGAL FINANCE ASSOCIATION (ILFA) Paul Kong is the executive director of the International Legal Finance Association (ILFA), where he leads the industry association for global commercial litigation finance. Previous to ILFA, Paul worked as director for the International Division of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary and served as a senior aide to two U.S. Senators.

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Ashley LiuzzaPartner Stag Liuzza

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Ashley Liuzza

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PARTNER, STAG LIUZZA A leader in environmental and complex litigation, Ashley Liuzza serves as Chief Operating Officer / Partner at Stag Liuzza. Her distinguished career focuses on environmental pollution claims and toxic exposure cases. Ashley’s dedication to representing clients against major corporations has led to numerous successful resolutions and significant remediation efforts. She has represented thousands of individuals and landowners impacted by industrial air, water, and soil pollution. Ashley currently represents municipalities in 26 states for water contamination claims and thousands of personal injury claimants in the AFFF Litigation. Her roles in complex litigation have positioned her to provide unparalleled insight into navigating the challenges of communities facing increased threats from pollution and toxic exposures. Ashley combines her extensive legal acumen with compassionate representation to provide her clients justice. Her track record of success and commitment to advancing environmental law through teaching, publication, and leadership, reflects her dedication to safeguarding communities against environmental risks.

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Michael LondonFounding Partner Douglas & London

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Michael London

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FOUNDING PARTNER, DOUGLAS & LONDON Michael A. London is one of the founding partners of the law firm Douglas & London, P.C., located in downtown New York City. Mr. London obtained his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida, and his Juris Doctor degree from Brooklyn Law School in Brooklyn, New York. Mr. London is admitted and licensed to practice law in the States of New York and New Jersey, as well as in the United States District Courts for the Eastern District, Southern District, and Western District of New York, as well as the District of New Jersey. Since obtaining his law degree, he has devoted his entire career to representing consumers and injury victims, primarily in mass tort settings. His practice area in the law has always focused on and continues to focus on, products liability and complex litigation with an emphasis on pharmaceutical and medical device litigation. Mr. London has been privileged and honored to have been appointed to, and have served, as lead or liaison counsel in some of the largest national mass tort and complex litigations in recent years.

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Geoffrey LoudenState Affairs Counsel American Association for Justice (AAJ)

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Geoffrey Louden

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STATE AFFAIRS COUNSEL, AMERICAN ASSOCIATION FOR JUSTICE (AAJ) Geoffrey Louden is a State Affairs Counsel for the American Association for Justice. He received his J.D. from the University of Miami School of Law and B.A from the George Washington University.

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Craig C. MartinChairman, Americas Willkie Farr & Gallagher

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Craig C. Martin

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CHAIRMAN, MIDWEST, WILLKIE FARR & GALLAGHER Craig C. Martin is the Chairman, Americas of Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP and is a member of the firm’s Executive Committee. Prior to founding the Willkie Chicago office in 2020, Craig was the Chairman of a national law firm. Recognized as a “courtroom to boardroom” lawyer, Craig regularly represents clients in their most important strategic, reputational and economic matters in virtually every substantive area of the law. Craig’s role in representing the United Airlines Board of Directors was recently chronicled in “Turnaround Time,” written by Oscar Munoz, former United Airlines Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, and published in May 2023. Widely recognized in the media, Craig is listed in Chicago Magazine’s “Power 100,” a list of Chicago’s most powerful people and Crain’s Chicago Business “Who’s Who” in Chicago civic, professional, and cultural leaders. He is ranked in Chambers Global and USA, as well as a number of legal publications as one of the nation’s top lawyers. Chambers noted that: “He’s an outstanding, go-to attorney, especially for complex matters requiring commercial awareness and astute judgment.” He is consistently highly ranked in Chambers Global in the Litigation: Trial Lawyer category, which states “Juries love him. He’s concise, direct and to the point as well as being one of the most creative cross-examiners I have ever seen,” and in Chambers USA, which states that “he is great from the courtroom to boardroom, is unflappable in difficult situations and his skills as a trial lawyer are extraordinary.” Chambers has previously highlighted Craig’s “impressive intellect and great demeanor,” which are “very helpful in high-stakes contentious matters.” In the current edition, Craig is ranked as a leading lawyer in four areas: Litigation: Trial Lawyers (National); ERISA Litigation (National); Litigation: General Commercial (Illinois); and Intellectual Property (Illinois). A trial and investigations lawyer by training, Craig has tried approximately 50 cases across the country and arbitrations domestically and internationally, and has argued approximately 50 appeals. Over the course of his career, Craig has become one of the most trusted advisors to the Fortune 100, wealthy family offices and private investors as well as notable business, civic and political leaders. His practice ranges from advising corporate boards to trials to strategic, legal and business advice in transactions globally. Consistent with his professional roots, Craig is frequently asked to try cases of substantial economic, strategic and reputational substance, to represent boards of directors regarding investigations and sensitive matters, and asked to provide trusted advice to myriad prominent families and other private businesses. Craig teaches at the Harvard Law School and the Stanford Directors College. Appointed by the Illinois Supreme Court, Craig served a nine-year term as a Commissioner on Character & Fitness, the Committee which adjudicates whether individuals are fit to serve as attorneys in Illinois, where adjudicated and presided over trials of more than a hundred cases. He is a member of the American Law Institute, the American Bar Association, as well as many other legal organizations. Craig received the Judge Learned Hand Award for legal excellence form the American Jewish Committee. Craig is a member of the Board of Henry Crown & Company, which manages the investments of the Crown family, and also a member of the Aspen Institute (Executive Committee; Chair, Audit and Risk Committee), the Civic Committee, the Commercial Club of Chicago, the Economic Club of Chicago, and the National Association of Corporate Directors. He serves on the boards of the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, the Lyric Opera of Chicago (Executive Committee; Chair, Nominating and Governance Committee), the Chicago Urban League, the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, World Business Chicago, Henry Crown & Company, and the Arie and Ida Crown Memorial at Crown Family Philanthropies. For nearly two decades, he was a member of the Board of Directors of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Chicago, including serving as secretary, vice-chairman and as chairman from 2011 to 2014, where he Life Trustee. Craig represents a virtual who’s who of Fortune 100 corporations, boards, audit committees, private entities, wealthy families and prominent individuals, including the family offices. Craig earned his J.D. from the Harvard Law School and his B.A. from the University of Notre Dame.

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Andrew MutterEVP, Contingent Risk CAC Specialty

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Andrew Mutter

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EVP CONTINGENT RISK, CAC SPECIALTY Andrew is an Executive Vice President at CAC Specialty and Leader of its Contingent Risk Insurance Practice, which has placed more than $5 billion in insurance coverage in the contingent risk markets. The team has received various accolades, including most recently the Business Insurance Innovation award for its work developing new products to insure the core value of IP assets to reduce innovative companies’ cost of capital. Andrew’s practice focuses on crafting bespoke solutions for Contingent Risk Insurance, providing strategic certainty around both contingent legal assets and contingent legal liabilities. On the basis of these policies, the Contingent Risk team help clients obtain hundreds of millions of dollars in liquidity, release hundreds of millions of dollars from escrow, and facilitate hundreds of millions of dollars of debt restructuring and refinancing. As a lawyer at King & Spalding in Atlanta, Andrew gained significant insurance recovery experience successfully litigating over half a billion dollars in D&O and E&O claims on behalf of financial institutions. Andrew has extensive experience in consumer class actions, complex commercial litigation, business torts, and healthcare related investigations and business disputes. Andrew earned his J.D. from The University of Virginia School of Law. He received his B.A. from Vanderbilt University. He is also a former Teach For America teacher, with four years of experience in public education.

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Michael NicolasCo-Founder & Managing Director Longford Capital

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Michael Nicolas

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CO-FOUNDER & MANAGING DIRECTOR, LONGFORD CAPITAL Mike is responsible for the portfolio management of Longford Capital, including underwriting, investment selection, and overseeing the efforts of independent attorneys and other professionals as part of Longford Capital’s due diligence process. He is an accomplished attorney with more than 15 years of experience representing a wide array of corporate clients involved in complex litigation throughout the United States, including trial experience in the commercial litigation departments of two prominent national law firms, Neal, Gerber & Eisenberg, LLP and Gardner, Carton & Douglas, LLP (n/k/a Drinker, Biddle & Reath, LLP). Mike is a frequent speaker on commercial litigation finance, and has presented at numerous industry conferences and events. He is an honors graduate of Northern Illinois University College of Business and Chicago-Kent College of Law.

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Dan O’BrienHead of Licensing Quest Patent Research Corporation

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Dan O'Brien

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HEAD OF LICENSING, QUEST PATENT RESEARCH CORPORATION I am the Director of Licensing for Quest Patent Research Corporation. Prior to joining Quest Patent Research Corporation, I served as General Counsel for Ultravision International. In that role, I regularly provided advice regarding litigation strategy, case management, IP valuation, portfolio development, alternative dispute resolution, contracts, corporate governance, and risk assessment and mitigation. I spent 12 years in private practice representing leading technology companies involved in challenging litigation matters in district courts across the country, including 10 years in the intellectual property department of Jones Day. I have represented a wide array of clients involved in complex litigation matters related to patent infringement and validity, trade secret misappropriation, breach of contract, breach of joint venture and partnership agreements, and employment disputes.

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William OrganekAssistant Professor Zicklin School of Business, Baruch College

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William Organek

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ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, ZICKLIN SCHOOL OF BUSINESS, BARUCH COLLEGE William Organek is an Assistant Professor of Law at the Zicklin School of Business, and is the Managing Editor of the Harvard Law School Bankruptcy Roundtable. His research investigates bankruptcy’s operation as a system of public law regulation and private law ordering. His scholarship blends case studies, empirical analysis, and insights from law and economics, and draws on his decade of legal and real estate business experience. Previously, William was a Program Fellow with the Bankruptcy Project at Harvard Law School. Before that, he practiced law in the New York offices of two international law firms, and he clerked for Judge Michael Wiles on the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, S.D.N.Y. Earlier in his career, he started a real estate business in China and lived in Shanghai for more than two years. He holds a J.D., cum laude, from Harvard Law School, and a B.A. in Economics-Philosophy from Columbia University.

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Kenneth PriceManaging Director, Asset-Backed Securities Nuveen

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Kenneth Price

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MANAGING DIRECTOR, ASSET-BACKED SECURITIES, NUVEEN Ken Price is a Managing Director on Nuveen’s private placements team where he is focused on the origination and portfolio management of the Private ABS portfolio. Ken has held several roles at the firm since joining in 2010. Prior to his current role he held various roles in TIAA/Nuveen’s Risk Management group. He moved into the private placements group in 2017. Ken graduated with a B.S. in Financial Economics from Binghamton University and is also a CFA charterholder.

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Christopher PrincisManaging Director CAMG

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Christopher Princis

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MANAGING DIRECTOR, CONSUMER ATTORNEY MARKETING GROUP Chris Princis is Managing Director at Consumer Attorney Marketing Group (CAMG), where he leads investor and law firm partnerships through the firm’s Capital Connect Program. He specializes in bridging elite plaintiff firms with family offices, hedge funds, litigation funders, etc. structuring high-value opportunities across mass torts and single-event litigation.

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Ellen RelkinPartner & Chair of Defective Drugs and Devices Weitz & Luxenberg

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Ellen Relkin

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PARTNER & CHAIR OF DEFECTIVE DRUGS AND DEVICES, WEITZ & LUXENBERG Ellen Relkin is a partner at Weitz & Luxenberg, P.C. in New York City. She has represented Plaintiffs in complex medical product and toxic tort cases for forty years. She is certified by the New Jersey Supreme Court as a Certified Civil Trial Attorney. She is a graduate of Cornell University and Rutgers School of Law. She has served in many federal and state leadership roles in product liability cases including serving as co-lead counsel in the Exactech Polyethylene MDL, the In Re: JUUL Labs MDL, and the DePuy Orthopedics ASR MDL. She serves on the Executive Committee in the National Prescription Opiate Litigation, MDL. She was lead and liaison counsel in the New Jersey MCL In Re: Stryker Rejuvenate/ABG II Modular Hip Litigation where she was a member of the negotiating team for a one billion + settlement compensating 3,000 plaintiffs. Ms. Relkin is an elected member of the American Law Institute and serves as an Adviser to the Restatement of the Law Third, Torts Miscellaneous Provisions. She serves Board of Governors of the New Jersey Association for Justice and she is Co-Chair of the Mass Tort Law Section and an active member of the American Association of Justice.

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Michael W. RobinsonChairman & CEO Montgomery Strategies Group

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Michael W. Robinson

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CHAIRMAN & CEO, MONTGOMERY STRATEGIES GROUP Michael W. Robinson draws on four decades in advocacy communications as a trusted public affairs, government relations, and political counselor with deep expertise in high-stakes corporate, financial, and litigation campaigns. Based on his experience at The White House; Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC); The Department of Justice; FINRA; The NASDAQ Stock Market; a leading investment bank; in-house senior roles at several Fortune 100 companies and global consultancies; and national media, he has driven hundreds of winning integrated communications, lobbying, and grassroots efforts. Michael has been recognized as Public Affairs Executive of the Year by PR News, a leader in crisis communications by Provoke Media, and at The New York Times in the 1980s worked with the team that won the Pulitzer Prize for its coverage of the Space Shuttle Challenger explosion. He has a Bachelor of Arts from Syracuse University with degrees in Newspaper Journalism and Political Science.

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Etia Rottman FrandVP of Litigation Partnerships Darrow AI

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Etia Rottman Frand

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VP OF LITIGATION PARTNERSHIPS, DARROW AI Etia is the Head of Litigation Partnerships at Darrow. She is an attorney and has previously worked at Kirkland & Ellis as a litigator. Etia holds two law degrees from both Columbia Law School and Tel Aviv University, and clerked for the Deputy Chief Justice in the Supreme Court of Israel.

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Shayna E. SacksPartner Napoli Shkolnik

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Shayna E. Sacks

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PARTNER, NAPOLI SHKOLNIK Ms. Sacks provides experienced representation to individuals, communities, local and state governments in multiple mass torts, including healthcare litigation, defective pharmaceutical and medical device litigation, the opioid crisis, and complex environmental & emerging contaminant litigation. She has served as Plaintiffs’ Liaison Counsel and a member of the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee on product liability multi-district litigations.

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Ed ScanlanFounder & CEO Bridge Legal

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Ed Scanlan

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FOUNDER & CEO, BRIDGE LEGAL Ed Scanlan is a serial entrepreneur and litigation technology pioneer who transforms plaintiff-side legal portfolios into scalable, high-yield, risk-adjusted investments for capital partners. As Founder & CEO of Bridge Legal, Ed built a proprietary, AI-driven operating system that gives law firms and funders complete transparency from lead inception to filing—integrating case validation, workflow automation, and analytics to deliver 10x productivity gains and faster time-to-liquidity on funded matters. The platform empowers firms to capture market share at scale while enabling funders to deploy capital with unprecedented precision and control. Previously, Ed founded Total Attorneys, scaling it from startup to $30M+ recurring revenue without outside capital, earning spots on the Inc. 500, Crain’s Fast 50, and induction into the Chicagoland Entrepreneurship Hall of Fame. His work has been featured in The New York Times and Inc.. Ed partners with leading litigation funders to co-create portfolios with exceptional merit profiles, predictable outcomes, and durable returns—aligning capital efficiency with access to justice.

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Eric SchullerPresident Alliance for Responsible Consumer Legal Funding (ARC)

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Eric Schuller

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PRESIDENT, ALLIANCE FOR RESPONSIBLE CONSUMER LEGAL FUNDING (ARC) Eric K. Schuller serves as President of the Alliance for Responsible Consumer Legal Funding (ARC), a national trade association representing companies that provide consumer legal funding. Mr. Schuller is a former member of the Board of Directors for the State Government Affairs Council (SGAC) and currently chairs its Public Outreach Committee. He also serves on the Advisory Board of the Dispute Financing Library at the Center on Civil Justice at New York University School of Law and has been actively engaged with the Council of State Governments (CSG), the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), the Attorney General Alliance (AGA), and the National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG). Mr. Schuller is a retired veteran of the United States Army, with a background in military intelligence, counterintelligence, and military police operations.

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Emily SiegelSenior Reporter Bloomberg Law

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Emily Siegel

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SENIOR REPORTER, BLOOMBERG LAW Emily Siegel is a senior reporter with Bloomberg Law. She covers litigation finance and writes about anything affecting or intersecting with the industry. She previously worked for NBC News as an investigative reporter. She earned a master’s degree from the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism.

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Shai SilvermanSVP, Contingent Risk CAC Specialty

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Shai Silverman

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SVP, CONTINGENT RISK, CAC SPECIALTY Shai is a Senior Vice President on the Contingent Risk Insurance Practice at CAC Specialty, where he helps clients procure insurance solutions for a wide array of litigation-related risks. Prior to joining CAC Specialty, Shai practiced as an appellate litigator at several large law firms in the northeast, including Sullivan & Cromwell and Mayer Brown. Shai also clerked on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in New Orleans. He received his J.D. from Yale Law School, where he was Senior Editor of the Yale Law & Policy Review, after receiving his B.A. from Columbia University and an M.A. in Talmud and Jewish Law from the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York.

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John SirisSenior Managing Director, Co-Head of Esoteric & Energy Banking Cantor Fitzgerald & Co

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John Siris

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SENIOR MANAGING DIRECTOR, CO-HEAD OF ESOTERIC & ENERGY BANKING, CANTOR FITZGERALD & CO John Siris has 25 years of experience in the structured products space working on a number of non-traditional ABS transactions. Mr. Siris specializes in creating new asset classes and bringing first time issuers to market with transactional experience including power & energy, intellectual property, commercial real estate, agriculture, entertainment, equipment, receivable financing, consumer and business loans and other financial assets. Prior to joining Cantor in 2022, Mr. Siris was a Senior Managing Director at Guggenheim Securities and led esoteric origination efforts at Citigroup. Mr. Siris began his career as a lawyer at Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft and has a JD from Fordham Law School and BA from Bucknell University.

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Ryan StephenManaging Partner Pine Valley Capital Partners

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Ryan Stephen

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MANAGING PARTNER, PINE VALLEY CAPITAL PARTNERS Mr. Stephen has led, originated, and managed more than $2.5B in private financing transactions since 2009. Prior to co-founding Pine Valley Capital Partners, he served as Chief Financial Officer of Trinity Environmental Services, an oilfield waste management company operating across Texas and New Mexico. Earlier in his career, he originated, structured, and managed private credit investments in the energy sector with Guggenheim Partners in Houston. Mr. Stephen holds a Bachelor’s degree in Finance from Abilene Christian University and has extensive experience structuring complex transactions across multiple industries.

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Kelsey StokesSenior Attorney The Lanier Law Firm

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Kelsey Stokes

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SENIOR ATTORNEY, THE LANIER LAW FIRM Kelsey Stokes is recognized as a national leader in mass personal injury litigation. Kelsey practices primarily in the areas of mass tort litigation, products liability, and complex commercial litigation. As Co-Lead Counsel for the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee in multiple Hernia Mesh MDLs (Multi-District Litigation) at the federal level and 3 MCLs (Multi-County Litigation) in New Jersey, the home of Johnson & Johnson, Kelsey has spent countless hours fighting for victims of defective medical devices, ensuring their voices are heard and their suffering acknowledged. Her leadership in the litigation against C.R. Bard and Johnson & Johnson has not only changed lives but has also set a precedent for women in leadership roles within the legal industry. Kelsey is currently serving as Co-Lead Counsel for the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee for the second largest MDL in the country (MDL No. 2846, In re Davol, Inc./C.R. Bard, Inc., Polypropylene Hernia Mesh Products Liability Litigation in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio). Appointed as Co-Lead Counsel in 2018, the MDL has over 23,000 cases consolidated there. Kelsey served as lead trial counsel for the three bellwether cases tried in MDL 2846. In 2024, as Lead Settlement Counsel for the Bard Hernia Mesh MDL, Kelsey Stokes successfully negotiated a path to resolution for over 30,000 plaintiffs. Kelsey currently serves as Administering Counsel for the Bard resolution and spends countless hours guiding plaintiffs’ lawyers across the country. In addition to her leadership roles at the federal level, Kelsey Stokes was appointed to lead three New Jersey state court consolidated actions against Johnson & Johnson and Ethicon, Inc.: MCL 627, In re Physiomesh Litigation; MCL 630, In Re: Proceed Mesh Litigation; and MCL 633, In re Prolene Hernia System Mesh Litigation. Kelsey was also elected Co‑Chair of the American Association for Justice Hernia Mesh Litigation Group by her peers, where she has served for over seven years. In addition to her responsibilities with the hernia mesh litigation, Kelsey was also appointed to the Phenylephrine Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee. She serves as Science & Expert Committee Co-Chair, as well as a Discovery Co-Chair for the litigation. Prior to leading the hernia mesh docket, Attorney Kelsey Stokes played an integral role in litigating transvaginal mesh cases to a successful resolution. Her work in the various transvaginal mesh MDLs gave her a wealth of knowledge overlapping with the knowledge required to successfully litigate hernia mesh cases. Kelsey has regular speaking engagements, sharing the knowledge she has gained managing MDLs as well as studying the science and legal issues applicable to medical device and pharmaceutical litigation. Through the course of her career, Kelsey has taken hundreds of depositions, including depositions of corporate witnesses, expert witnesses, and treating physicians. Kelsey has also defended the leading experts in their fields as well as hundreds of plaintiffs injured by various medical devices and pharmaceutical drugs. She regularly argues at hearings throughout the country and coordinates large-scale briefing on behalf of the MDLs she leads. Early in her career, Kelsey managed a large GranuFlo docket from case filing to resolution, successfully navigating clients through the settlement claims process. In addition to the above litigations, Kelsey Stokes performed considerable work on the Wright Hip and Accutane Litigations as well as Testosterone Replacement Therapy (TRT), in which she was trial counsel in the first TRT trial in Cook County, Illinois in 2017. Kelsey’s practice also includes complex commercial litigation in federal and state court, and arbitration, resulting in multimillion-dollar settlements and verdicts. Examples include arbitrations where she represented healthcare providers in contractual and payment disputes with insurers; a massive Ponzi scheme; and an off-shore commercial oil dispute. Attorney Kelsey Stokes’s experience also extends to catastrophic aviation accidents. Education & Memberships Kelsey Stokes earned a Bachelor of Science in Actuarial Mathematics and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of Texas at Austin. She received her law degree from the University of Houston Law Center, where she served as Chief Managing Editor of the Journal of Consumer & Commercial Law. Kelsey is a member of the State Bar of Texas and is admitted to practice in the United States District Courts for the Northern, Western, Eastern, and Southern Districts of Texas, as well as the United States Courts of Appeals for the Second, Third, Fourth, and Sixth Circuits. She is a member of the American Association for Justice, Texas Trial Lawyers Association, and Houston Trial Lawyers Association.

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Larry TaylorManaging Partner The Cochran Firm

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Larry Taylor

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MANAGING PARTNER, THE COCHRAN FIRM Larry F. Taylor, Jr., the Co-Managing Partner of The Cochran Law Firm, oversees the Mass Torts, Criminal, Employment, and Civil Rights practices of the Firm. Larry currently serves as one of the lead attorneys representing Dallas County in the first Texas opioid multidistrict bellwether trial. Larry has served as a mentor and Advisor for a multitude of young lawyers throughout the country, in his various leadership roles in the Texas Trial Lawyers Association and the American Association of Justice. As Larry ascended to the leadership role in the MDL litigation, he recognized that he was often the only one who looked like him at the table. In an attempt to rectify the lack of diversity in this area of litigation, Larry partnered with five mass tort attorneys of color to form Shades of Mass. Larry has served in leadership roles with American Association of Justice (“AAJ”), a national trial lawyer organization, and the Texas Trial Lawyers Association (“TTLA”) as a mentor to young lawyers and to increase diversity in the membership that has historically been predominantly Caucasian. Because of his efforts in both organizations, Larry has been recognized with the 2022 Minority Caucus Stalwart Award and the American Association of Justice Distinguished Service Award. Attorney Taylor has been recognized for his professionalism, ethical conduct, and his advocacy to civil justice. In 2021, Larry was honored to be presented with the David S. Shrager President’s Award from American Association of Justice (AAJ). The award recognizes an AAJ member who has demonstrated former AAJ President David Shrager’s passion for the law and trial bar, and who has made an outstanding contribution to civil justice. Larry was the first person of color to receive the award. Additionally, he was recognized as the National Trial Lawyers Top 100.

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Eamon WalshPresident, Americas Advoc8se

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Eamon Walsh

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PRESIDENT, AMERICAS, ADVOC8SE Eamon Walsh serves as the President, Americas at Advoc8se.io, where he leads the growth team for the Claimant Docket Surveillance Technology platform. In this role, he drives client capital maximization across alternative asset classes, focusing on litigation finance, distressed debt, and special situations, with an emphasis on complex and private illiquid investments. Walsh is responsible for the full litigation life cycle of investment activities from investment initiation to investment realization. Further, he has oversight realization of investor and litigation partners communications and portfolio company support as well as management of the financial and administrative functions of the firm. In addition to his leadership at Advoc8se.io, Walsh is the Managing Partner at LevelSeven, an interdisciplinary firm at the intersection of legal and finance. Here, he guides clients in developing first-party claimant data strategies, building comprehensive back-office case management systems, and spearheading data visualization initiatives for firms focused on securitizing litigation as an asset class. Prior to founding LevelSeven, Walsh held senior positions at JPMorgan Chase & Co., Publicis Group, and IBM, where he led complex data, digital, and collaboration programs. With over 15 years of experience in Fortune 100 system architecture, his career has consistently fused data, technology, and analytics to drive innovation in product development and data monetization. Walsh holds an MBA from the Babson Olin School of Business and a Bachelor of Science in Marketing from Bentley University.

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Simon WarrLead Underwriter, Legal Expenses AmTrust International

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Simon Warr

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LEAD UNDERWRITER, LEGAL EXPENSES, AMTRUST INTERNATIONAL Simon has been working in legal expenses insurance since 1989, building extensive expertise across underwriting, business development, and management in both insurer and Lloyd’s syndicate environments. Since 2010, he has brought strategic leadership and innovation to AmTrust, where he continues to drive progress in the sector. Prior to joining AmTrust, Simon held senior positions at Brit Insurance, Capita Insurance Services, Eastgate Assistance, and Hambro Legal Protection. He also served as President of Legal Protection International (LPI) for seven years, fostering international collaboration and advocating for regulatory improvements. During his tenure, LPI led major initiatives on UK market data and EU-level lobbying around legal expenses insurance. Simon’s career reflects a lasting commitment to advancing the industry through knowledge, partnership, and purposeful change.

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Leanne WilsonManaging Director Contingency Capital

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Leanne Wilson

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MANAGING DIRECTOR, CONTINGENCY CAPITAL Leanne Wilson is a Managing Director at Contingency Capital and member of the Investment Committee. Contingency Capital applies a credit focused approach to investing in legal assets, looking for downside and duration protection across diversified pools of assets. Contingency focuses on four main verticals: priming and rescue finance, law firm lending, special situations, and portfolio finance. Leanne sources, underwrites, and manages investments across all of Contingency’s business lines. She joined Contingency Capital in 2021 from Sculptor Capital (formerly known as Och-Ziff), where she was an analyst on the litigation-finance desk. Prior to Sculptor, Leanne practiced securities law, representing investors in litigation related to residential mortgage-backed securities and other structured products. Leanne has a JD from Columbia University, an MBA from McMaster University, and a BSc from Queen’s University.

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R. Brent WisnerManaging Partner Wisner Baum

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R. Brent Wisner

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MANAGING PARTNER, WISNER BAUM Brent Wisner is the managing partner and lead trial attorney at Wisner Baum. Recognized as one of America’s 50 Most Influential Trial Lawyers by Trial Lawyer Magazine, Brent has built a reputation for taking on large corporations in high stakes litigation and winning significant verdicts and settlements for his clients. Over the last several years, Brent has served on the plaintiff’s leadership for multiple mass torts, earned jury verdicts worth a combined $2.427 billion, and helped negotiate settlements in excess of $1 billion—all before the age of 40. While success in the courtroom is often measured exclusively by dollars and cents, Brent’s legal work has led to changes in business practices that will protect people and the environment for generations. Hundreds of media publications across the globe have asked for his perspective on a variety of pressing legal issues.

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Tiana ZhangPartner & Head of International Business Hozu Capital

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Tiana Zang

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PARTNER & HEAD OF INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS, HOZU CAPITAL Ms. Tianjing (Tiana) Zhang is Head of International Business at HOZU Capital, a litigation funder based in Asia. Prior to joining the litigation funding industry, Ms. Zhang served as managing partner of the Shanghai office of Kirkland & Ellis International for many years and led the firm’s Asia cross-border dispute resolution practice. Ms. Zhang’s career in private practice focused on complex multi-jurisdictional litigation and investigations involving financial fraud, antitrust, white-collar defense, mass tort, and crisis management. Ms. Zhang has been consistently recognized by Chambers & Partners, The Legal 500, Benchmark Litigation, and the LawDragon 500 as a leading practitioner in Asia-related cross-border disputes and global government investigations.

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Boris ZiserGlobal Head of Structured Finance, CLOs and Alternative Assets McDermott Will & Schulte

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Boris Ziser

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GLOBAL HEAD OF STRUCTURED FINANCE, CLOS AND ALTERNATIVE ASSETS, MCDERMOTT WILL & SCHULTE Boris advises on asset-backed lending and securitization, warehouse facilities, secured financings, specialty finance lending and esoteric finance transactions across a diverse array of asset classes. With more than 30 years of experience, Boris works on a variety of asset classes, including life settlements, litigation funding, equipment leases, structured settlements, lottery receivables, timeshare loans, merchant cash advances and cell towers, in addition to other esoteric asset classes such as intellectual property, various insurance-related cash flows and other cash flow producing assets. He also represents investors, lenders, hedge funds, private equity funds and finance companies in acquisitions and dispositions of portfolios of assets and financings secured by those portfolios. Recognized as a leading lawyer in the industry, Boris is ranked in Chambers Global, Chambers USA and The Legal 500 US for his work in structured finance. He serves as outside general counsel to the Institutional Longevity Markets Association (ILMA) and is a member of the Structured Finance Committee of the New York City Bar Association, the New York State Bar Association and the Esoteric Assets Committee and Risk Retention Task Force of the Structured Finance Association. Boris has been interviewed for the article “Attorneys Must Tread Carefully in Litigation Funding’s Next Stage,” published in Law360, and the articles “SRZ’s Leading Litigation Finance Practice: Holistic Expertise for a Booming Asset Class” and “Life Settlements and Longevity Swaps: Opportunities for Investors, Individuals, Insurers and Pension Funds,” both published in The Hedge Fund Journal. Boris has also been featured on Bloomberg’s “Wall Street Week” and Nasdaq’s “TradeTalks.”

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2025 agenda

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Please note: This event will be co-located and integrated with the 8th Annual LF Dealmakers Forum. The last day of the annual forum on September 18 is not included with the 2nd Annual LF Dealmakers Mass Torts registration. If you would like to attend both events, including all 3 days of content and meetings during September 16-18, register with an all access ticket.

DAY ONE: TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 16TH

Kick off with a full day dedicated to Mass Torts, followed by a combined Opening Reception, bringing both LF Dealmakers event audiences together.

8:00 AM - 8:50 AM: Registration & Breakfast

8:50 AM - 9:00 AM: WELCOME & OPENING REMARKS

9:00 AM - 9:50 AM: MASS TORTS FUNDING IN 2025: MARKET TRENDS AND CAPITAL FLOWS

Key developments shaping case pipeline, timelines, and valuationsWho’s funding which torts, how structures are evolving, and where new money is entering – or exiting – the spaceOpportunities and pressure points in a distressed marketSpeakers: William Organek, Assistant Professor, Zicklin School of Business, Baruch College (moderator) Jayne Conroy, Shareholder, Simmons Hanly ConroyYvonne M. Flaherty, Partner, Lockridge Grindal NauenRyan Stephen, Managing Partner, Pine Valley Capital Partners

9:50 – 10:40 AM: 5 CRITICAL QUESTIONS EVERY FUNDER MUST ASK BEFORE COMMITTING CAPITAL

Identifying red flags in law firm partners, case portfolios, and deal structuresAssessing reputation, credibility, and alignment of interests between funder and firmKnowing what “walk away” looks like — and when to act on itSpeakers: Nick Cooper, Portfolio Manager, Gerchen Capital Partners (moderator)Jeff Cohen, Partner & Managing Director, Contingency CapitalMischa Feldstein, SVP, Litigation Investing, The D. E. Shaw GroupAmanda Fox Perry, Partner, Fox McKennaLarry Taylor, Managing Partner, The Cochran Firm

10:40 – 11:10 AM: Networking Break

11:20 – 12:10 PM: FROM DOCKETS TO DATA: HOW TECH AND AI ARE IMPROVING TRANSPARENCY

Applying AI to improve quality control in client acquisition and advertising spendTurning intake, dockets, and case-level data into actionable insights for fundersIncreasing transparency in plaintiff and case pipelines through tech-driven systemsSpeakers: Salvatore C. Badala, Partner & GC, Napoli Shkolnik (moderator)Max Doyle, Chief Strategy Officer, CAMGEtia Rottman Frand, VP of Litigation Partnerships, Darrow AIR. Brent Wisner, Managing Partner, Wisner Baum

12:10 – 2:00 PM: Networking Luncheon & Roundtable Discussions

2:10 – 3:00 PM: OPTIMIZING THE INVESTMENT: MONITORING FIRM OPERATIONS AND PERFORMANCE

Tracking firm execution across marketing, intake, and quality control after fundingEvaluating operational health: staffing, case management, and workflow bottlenecksEstablishing reporting frameworks to ensure accountability and course correctionSpeakers: Edward Gehres, Managing Partner, Invenio (moderator)Steve Faries, Partner, Pulaski KherkherAshley Liuzza, Partner, Stag LiuzzaEamon Walsh, President, Advoc8se

3:00 – 3:30 PM: Networking Break

3:30 – 4:30 PM: DECODING SETTLEMENTS: WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT TIMING, STRUCTURE, AND PAYOUTS

How new settlement structures are reshaping duration, opportunity, and returnsTimelines, milestones, and payout priorities – where conflicts ariseWhich settlement events should trigger investment — and which shouldn’tSpeakers: Scott DeNardo, EVP, Mass Torts, ARCHER Systems (moderator)Andy Birchfield, Mass Torts Section Head, Beasley AllenJennifer Hoekstra, Partner, Aylstock, Witkin, Kreis & OverholtzMichael London, Founding Partner, Douglas & LondonEllen Relkin, Partner & Chair of Defective Drugs and Devices, Weitz & Luxenberg

4:30 – 5:20 PM: THE FUTURE OF LAW FIRM FINANCING: NEW MODELS AND INNOVATIONS

Will new hybrid financing models replace traditional case-by-case deals in mass torts?Are innovative structures and tools driving efficiency – or just adding complexity and cost?Is law firm financing fueling growth or creating overreliance on funders — and what does that mean for claimants?Speakers: Andrew Mutter, EVP, Contingent Risk, CAC Specialty (moderator)Sindhu S. Daniel, Partner, Scott+ScottRobert Kinsman, Founding Partner, Krause & Kinsman

9:00 AM – 5:30 PM: ONE-TO-ONE MEETINGS

Participants have the option to schedule 30-minute meetings utilizing our desktop or mobile app. Registered attendees will receive an invitation to login to the app the week prior to the event.

5:30 – 7:30 PM: Networking Reception

DAY TWO: WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 17TH

Experience the crossover day—the final day of Mass Torts and the opening day of the Annual Forum. A shared morning program focused on policy and advocacy leads into two targeted afternoon tracks so you can customize your experience.

7:30 – 9:00 AM: Registration & Breakfast

9:00 – 9:15 AM: WELCOME & OPENING REMARKS

9:15 – 10:00 AM: STATE OF THE INDUSTRY PART ONE: MARKET UPDATE

How litigation finance funds performed over the past year, and where capital is flowingThe evolution of fund structures and deal terms in response to investor and market pressuresOutlook for growth: sectors, geographies, and macro trends that will define the next phaseSpeakers: Emily Siegel, Senior Reporter, Bloomberg Law (moderator)Nathaniel Catez, Executive Director, Moelis & CompanyCraig C. Martin, Chairman, Americas, Willkie, Farr & GallagherMichael Nicolas, Co-Founder & Managing Director, Longford CapitalSimon Warr, Lead Underwriter, AmTrust International

10:00 – 10:30 AM: KEYNOTE SESSION - WHAT CONGRESS REALLY THINKS ABOUT LITIGATION FUNDING

Understand why litigation finance has drawn increased scrutiny on Capitol Hill and what kinds of policy challenges could emerge nextLearn from insiders how congressional priorities are shaped—and where litigation funding may become a targetTake away strategies to identify blind spots early and mount effective defenses before the next bill landsSpeakers: U.S. Representative Vicente Gonzalez Jr. (TX-34)In Conversation with: Former U.S. Representative Filemón Vela Jr (TX-34)., Principal, Valiant Strategies

10:30 – 11:00 AM: Networking Break

11:10 – 11:55 AM: STATE OF THE INDUSTRY PART TWO: POLICY UPDATE

For the first time, leading industry organizations will share a stage to explore what’s happening now—and how the sector is responding. This session brings a “big-tent” perspective to the discussion, tackling where alignment exists, where differences remain, and how the industry can position itself for long-term growth and credibility. Speakers: Boris Ziser, Partner & Co-Head of Structured Finance and Derivatives, McDermott Will & Schulte (moderator)Jack Kelly, Executive Director, American Legal Finance Association (ALFA)Paul Kong, Executive Director, International Legal Finance Association (ILFA)Geoffrey Louden, State Affairs Counsel, American Association for Justice (AAJ)Eric Schuller, President, Alliance for Responsible Consumer Legal Funding (ARC)

11:55 – 1:00 PM: GRASS ROOTS ADVOCACY WORKSHOP

MOBILIZING POLITICAL POWER: HOW LITIGATION FINANCE CAN BUILD AND DEPLOY EFFECTIVE GRASSROOTS CAMPAIGNS Political engagement is no longer optional for litigation finance—it’s essential. This interactive workshop will move beyond awareness to action, equipping litigation funders and law firm leaders with the practical tools to design and deploy effective grassroots campaigns. Building on the LF Dealmakers x Invenio Advocacy Toolkit, this interactive workshop will provide both litigation finance professionals and law firm leaders with essential training on grassroots advocacy strategy, tactics, and execution. Speakers: Edward Gehres, Managing Partner, Invenio (moderator)Paul Ellender Jr., Senior Product Manager, VoterVoiceMichael W. Robinson, Chairman & CEO, Montgomery Strategies Group

1:00 – 2:30 PM: Networking Luncheon & Roundtable Discussions

2:30 – 3:15 PM: BREAKOUT SESSIONS

9:00 AM – 2:30 PM: ONE-TO-ONE MEETINGS

Participants have the option to schedule 30-minute meetings utilizing our desktop or mobile app. Registered attendees will receive an invitation to login to the app the week prior to the event.

MASS TORTS BREAKOUT

Focused on the intersection of mass torts and litigation funding, offering practical insights for professionals navigating this evolving field.

2:30 PM - 3:15 PM: LEAD GENERATION WITHOUT LANDMINES: CHOOSING THE RIGHT MARKETING PARTNER

Driving effective client acquisition while avoiding ethical and regulatory pitfallsBalancing high-volume intakeHow to evaluate and select marketing partners who can deliverSpeakers: Christopher Princis, Managing Director, CAMG (moderator)Davis Cooper, Founding Partner, Cooper MastermanJoseph Fantini, Managing Attorney, Mass Torts Department, Rosen Injury LawyersKatherine Hoffmann, Founder & CEO, SMART Reviews

DEALMAKING BREAKOUT

Focused on the structure of funding deals, key strategies for successful execution, and valuable lessons from real-world experience.

2:30 – 3:15 PM: MANAGING THE MULTIPARTITE RELATIONSHIP AND INVESTMENT

Balancing and protecting the interests of all stakeholdersWhere do things fall through the cracks?What to do when relationships break downSpeakers: Suneal Bedi, Associate Professor of Business Law and Ethics, Indiana University (moderator)Fred Fabricant, Managing Partner, FabricantDan O’Brien, Head of Licensing, Quest Patent Research CorporationLeanne Wilson, Managing Director, Contingency Capital

3:15 - 3:45 PM: Networking Break

3:55 – 5:25 PM: BREAKOUT SESSIONS

MASS TORTS BREAKOUT

Focused on the intersection of mass torts and litigation funding, offering practical insights for professionals navigating this evolving field.

3:55 - 4:40 PM: SECURITIZATION UNLOCKED: HOW IT WORKS AND WHEN IT MAKES SENSE

How to package mass tort receivables into securitized productsThe strategic drivers for securitizationWhen securitization is right or wrong: The prerequisites and viabilitySpeakers: Ed Scanlan, Founder & CEO, Bridge Legal (moderator)Kenneth Price, Managing Director, Asset-Backed Securities, NuveenShayna E. Sacks, Partner, Napoli ShkolnikJohn Siris, Senior Managing Director, Co-Head of Esoteric/Energy Banking, Cantor Fitzgerald

4:40 – 5:25 PM: DEAR FUNDER: STRAIGHT TALK FROM MASS TORTS LEADERS

When funders look at mass torts, what you don’t know can cost you. In this candid conversation, seasoned leaders on the plaintiffs’ side share their best advice on how funders can succeed in one of the most complex and dynamic areas of litigation. This discussion will cover: Untangling Complexity: Why mass torts aren’t a monolith—how aggregation mechanisms, case types, and leadership structures impact outcomes.Smarter Diligence: Key factors funders must weigh before investing, from scientific underpinnings and claimant populations to judicial oversight and leadership credibility.Practical Guidance: How to evaluate risk the way tort lawyers do, anticipate timelines, and align investment strategy with real-world litigation dynamics.Speakers: Maria Glover, Carmack Waterhouse Professor of Law, Georgetown Law (moderator)Diandra “Fu” Debrosse, Partner, DiCello LevittM. Elizabeth “Beth” Graham, Partner, Grant & EisenhoferKelsey Stokes, Attorney, Fleming, Nolen & Jez

DEALMAKING BREAKOUT

Focused on the structure of funding deals, key strategies for successful execution, and valuable lessons from real-world experience.

3:55 - 4:40 PM: BEYOND BORDERS: WHERE US LITIGATION CAPITAL IS HEADED NEXT

Hot spot jurisdictions outside the U.S.Opportunities emerging in multi-jurisdictional disputes, collective redress, and global settlementsHow funders should be positioning to capture the next wave of global opportunitiesSpeakers: Alan E. Guy, Managing Director of Underwriting and Value Optimization, Kobre & Kim (moderator)Roy Ben-Ami, Head of Capital Markets, Darrow AI Quirijn Bongaerts, Advocaat, BirkwayDaniel Spendlove, Partner, Signature LitigationTiana Zhang, Partner & Head of International Business, Houzhu Capital

4:40 – 5:25 PM: BANKRUPTCY FUNDING DONE RIGHT

A recent decision by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Texas voiding a $2.3 million funding agreement has sent a clear message: litigation finance in bankruptcy is under the microscope. This conversation will unpack the implications of the ruling and offer practical guidance on entering into funding agreements that are enforceable, transparent, and aligned with both fiduciary duties of funded parties and the interests of their constituents. Speakers: Marc Carmel, Member, McDonald Hopkins (moderator)Ken Epstein, Principal, Backlit Capital Solutions

5:30 – 6:30 PM: Networking Reception

6:30 PM: Close Of LF Dealmakers Mass Torts

THANK YOU TO OUR

2025 SPONSORS & PARTNERS

The program for the 2nd Annual LF Dealmakers Mass Torts is in development. Inquire about sponsoring in 2025 below.

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Platinum sponsorS

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Silver Sponsors

BRONZE SPONSORS

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SUPPORTING ORGANIZATION

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2025 SPONSORS

Platinum sponsorS

Consumer Attorney Marketing Group (CAMG) is a full service Marketing Agency made up of experts in Direct Response Marketing. We are committed to helping law firms leverage this experience in order to create the most successful legal marketing campaigns possible. Our services include, but are not limited to, creative messaging, media buying, tracking and optimization, call intake services, and performance-based reporting.

Napoli Shkolnik is a law firm with an international presence providing representation in large-scale litigation primarily in the areas of class actions, product liability and pharmaceutical matters, complex commercial litigation, mass torts, and environmental law. With a client-focused approach, our dedicated team of attorneys and staff have a track record of success achieving results for individuals, as well as municipalities and governmental entities. Our lawyers are consistently industry recognized, notably by Super Lawyers®, The National Trial Lawyers, and Best Lawyers® in America and Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch® in America. Headquartered in New York, the firm has additional offices across the United States, as well as affiliate offices in Puerto Rico and Canada, affording the resources and reach to effectively pursue difficult cases and win favorable outcomes for our clients.

GOLD sponsorS

Advoc8se.io enhances asset visibility and provides investors with the tools to manage mass tort collateral with precision. Our platform offers comprehensive insights into the operational performance of law firms, ensuring that cases are rigorously documented, qualified, communicated, and compensable financial maturation is realized. By delivering enhanced collateral surveillance, Advoc8se.io helps you navigate the complexities of litigation finance, providing the clarity and control necessary to optimize your portfolio and drive better financial outcomes.

CAC Specialty’s Contingent & Litigation Risk Solutions Group is an integrated team of seasoned corporate litigators and senior investment bankers. Whether you are a litigation finance group, law firm, or corporate litigant, CAC’s industry-leading team can help you protect against downside litigation risk, lock in a core value to a legal asset, secure non-recourse financing to bring forward litigation proceeds, and decrease your cost of capital. CAC Specialty brings an innovative, proactive approach to insurance broking and structured solutions to solve your risk challenges – from the simple to the previously unsolvable.

SILVER sponsorS

ARCHER Systems, LLC (“ARCHER”) is the leading provider of comprehensive litigation-related settlement solutions including pre-settlement support, claims administration, healthcare lien resolution, and qualified settlement fund administration services to law firms across the United States. We have a particular focus on applying pre and post-settlement expertise to a broad range of mass torts, including product liability, pharmaceutical, medical device, mass disaster, and toxic tort/exposure cases.

Bridge Legal has developed the world's first global LitFinTech platform, Bridgify. With over a billion dollars in case assets on our platform, we empower industry-leading litigation funders by streamlining enhanced data management, fund administration, and intelligent outcome forecasting. Bridgify also improves ROI for high-volume law firms and ABSs through AI-enabled client acquisition and case maturation workflows. Bridge Legal and its technology are at the forefront of the rapidly evolving intersection of funders, firms, and clients.

Contingency Capital is a global asset management business focused on credit oriented legal assets. Contingency Capital invests in a broad spectrum of legal assets where the primary driver of value is related to a legal, tax or regulatory process. The firm’s investment strategy combines litigation expertise with a fundamental credit approach to build diversified pools of legal assets and structures them to create non-binary outcomes with sustainable credit-like returns.

Darrow is an AI-powered legal intelligence platform on a mission to fuel law firm growth and deliver justice for victims of class and mass action lawsuits. By leveraging generative AI and world-class legal experts and technologists, Darrow uncovers egregious violations across legal domains spanning privacy and data breach, consumer protection, securities and financial fraud, environment, and employment. Darrow is based out of New York City and Tel Aviv.

The D. E. Shaw group is a global investment and technology development firm with over $60 billion in investment and committed capital as of April 1, 2023. We have earned an international reputation for successful investing based on innovation, careful risk management, and the quality and depth of our staff.

Pine Valley Capital Partners is a global asset management firm focused on post-settlement and late-stage litigation finance. We deploy senior corporate loans to law firms using their fees receivable from settlements as collateral. Our differentiated approach seeks to eliminate principal risk, manage timing risk, and provide top-caliber risk adjusted returns through creative and aligned investment structures.

SMART Reviews developed an industry leading real-time fraud detection system that safeguards mass tort investments. Think of us as insurance for your capital. We operate within the agreed upon return window to maximize the number of real, compensable cases you get for your money. With more than a decade of expertise—including case validation, plaintiff fact sheets, record collection, metrics, and post-settlement reviews—we safeguard investments, strengthen outcomes, and deliver stronger returns. Invest SMARTer.

BRONZE SPONSORS

Armadillo's unwavering commitment to our clients' success sets us apart as a leading litigation finance company. We understand the complexities and challenges that arise when pursuing mass tort, PI, and civil litigation; we are here to serve as a trusted partner in navigating these highly specialized industries. Our mission is to empower you to make informed investment decisions, ensuring you can pursue cases with confidence while having access to the resources you need to market for cases and grow your firm. Your success is our success, and we are here to champion your firm every step of the way.

Founded in 2021, Gerchen Capital Partners is an investment adviser dedicated to legal finance, managing approximately $1.9B in assets. The firm’s investment team represents decades of combined experience across legal and financial services. GCP seeks to deliver customized capital solutions across the litigation lifecycle to unlock capital and mitigate risk.

Advocacy Workshop Sponsor

With decades of experience in legal and credit markets, we empower clients to navigate risk, seize opportunity, and realize superior results—whether investing in legal claims, executing structured finance transactions, or recovering value from challenged assets. Explore how we help clients transform potential into performance.

supporting organization

WOLF is a network that promotes, connects and advances the professional development of women in the field of third party dispute finance.

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VENUE & ACCOMMODATIONS

EVENTI & SECOND

The 2nd Annual LF Dealmakers Mass Torts will be held in Manhattan’s vibrant Chelsea neighborhood at the artful Kimpton Hotel Eventi, located 851 6th Avenue, and at the adjacent SECOND event space, located at 849 6th Avenue. Eventi & SECOND encompass a full New York City block and take advantage of the modern skyrise building with floor-to-ceiling windows offering stunning views of the city. We have reserved a limited number of rooms at the conference hotel, Kimpton Hotel Eventi, at a discounted rate of $599+ per night. To book one of these rooms, please contact registration@dealmakersforums.com for assistance.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

GENERAL FAQs

Where will the 2nd Annual LF Dealmakers Mass Torts conference be held?

The 2nd Annual LF Dealmakers Mass Torts will be held on September 16-17, 2025 at the Kimpton Hotel Eventi & SECOND event space. You may find additional information regarding the venue on our Venue page.

How do I register for the event?

Registration for the 2nd Annual LF Dealmakers Mass Torts will be open soon. Sign up for event updates to be among the first to know when registration becomes available.

Is this event included with the 8th Annual LF Dealmakers Forum registration?

No. When registration opens, you will have the option of registering for one or both events.

What's included with my registration?

All registered attendees will have access to the following: Admission to main conferenceNetworking functions including breaks, lunches, and receptionsOnline event platform and mobile app to schedule 1:1 meetings and direct messagingRecorded sessions after the event to view on-demand

Why does my registration need to be approved?

The LF Dealmakers Mass Torts brings together a select group of leaders in the business community to address critical issues impacting the litigation finance and mass torts sectors. In order to ensure the event has balanced representation from market leaders and to maintain an optimal networking dynamic, we have instituted an approval process for all registrations.

What criteria do you look for when reviewing registrations?

We actively seek thought leaders and senior executives with experience and decision-making power within their respective organizations. We review individual registrations based on organizational profile, level of seniority as represented by job title, biographical information, and referral source. We consider the type of organization, aiming to achieve a balanced representation of litigation funders, plaintiff’s firms, strategic advisors, and other key stakeholders. Additionally, we look to include perspectives from those that have not previously attended the event, as well as historically underrepresented groups.

How long will it take to review my registration?

Once you have completed your online registration, you will receive an email notification regarding the status of your application within 48 hours.

Why was my registration declined or waitlisted?

Due to capacity limits at our event venue, along with our aim to achieve optimal dynamics for discussion and networking, we must be selective with registration approvals. If your registration was declined, we may have reached venue capacity, or it’s possible that you did not meet the criteria for attendance. We encourage you to reapply the following year. Alternatively, you may be offered a place on the waiting list if we’ve reached our maximum capacity for your organization type (e.g., law firm, advisor, licensing company, etc.) Additionally, we limit the number of attendees per non-sponsoring organization to two individuals, so you may be offered a place on the waiting list if your organization has already registered two individuals.

How do I pay my registration fees?

Once you submit your registration, a hold will be placed on your card provided during registration. If your registration is approved, your payment will be processed using the credit card information you provide below. If your registration is declined or you are waitlisted, your credit card will not be charged.

How do I sponsor or get involved in the event?

We welcome sponsorship inquiries and discussions regarding how to get involved in the event. Please contact us directly at info(at)dealmakersforums.com to request our prospectus which includes detailed information regarding sponsorship packages and opportunities to get involved in the event. We look forward to hearing from you.

How do I submit a speaking proposal?

We welcome speaking proposals from industry thought leaders and senior executives. Feel free to submit your proposal via this form. Please include as much detail as possible regarding your interest and relevant experience. Please note that we do not accept sales pitches or allow them at our events.

How do you select topics and speakers?

Leveraging our experience examining complex markets, we engage in a rigorous market-based research process to develop our program content, including identification of session topics, discussion points, and speakers. We rely on the expertise and valuable insights of our community, including industry advisors, sponsors, and partners in this process.

How do I schedule my 1:1 meetings?

Registered participants will be invited to the 1:1 meetings platform via email approximately 1-2 weeks prior to the event start date, at which time all participants may begin scheduling their meetings.

Who can schedule 1:1 meetings?

Our 1-to-1 meetings feature is available to all registered attendees. You may request meetings with anyone attending the event, however, meetings are only confirmed and assigned a meeting location once the invited party accepts the request.

What is your refund policy if I need to cancel my registration?

Cancellations received before 30 days prior to the event start date will receive a full refund minus processing fees. Cancellations received after this time will receive a credit with Dealmakers Forums that can be used toward a future event. No-shows will not be issued a refund or a credit. To cancel your registration, contact us at registration(at)dealmakersforums.com with your request.

Can I send my colleague if I cannot make it?

Substitutions are allowed at any time prior to the start of the event, but the substituting individual must be approved for attendance. If the individual is not approved, the registration will be considered a cancellation subject to the cancellation policy above. Contact us at registration(at)dealmakersforums.com with your substitution request.

Who can I contact regarding a question or concern?

You may reach out to us at info(at)dealmakersforums.com or +1.914.365.7732. We look forward to hearing from you!
