Burford Capital announces new senior hires and promotions

October 11, 2019

With team of 113, Burford maintains industry-leading legal finance capacity

March 8, 2019 — Burford Capital, the preeminent global finance and investment management firm focused on law, has grown significantly over its nearly ten-year history due in part to its industry-leading team of legal finance professionals. After closing 2018 with news of its next $1.6 billion in available capital, Burford is announcing senior hires and promotions—a foundation for future growth and a reflection of Burford’s achievements as it approaches its 10^th anniversary.

Burford’s CEO, Christopher Bogart, commented: “We look forward to continued growth with our new hires and we’re proud to promote colleagues who’ve led Burford’s first decade. Our team truly sets standards for others to follow.”

Worldwide staff grows with senior hires in 2018 and 2019

With a team now numbering 113 people and 55 experienced lawyers, Burford has an unmatched capacity to originate and invest in legal finance opportunities. Burford’s investment in building its team in 2018 and 2019 further positions it to augment or develop key areas of market leadership and opportunity.

For example, to enhance its origination effort it made six new hires, including new roles such as an origination lead for the UK and EU, origination professionals focused on developing corporate relationships in the US, UK and EU, and a newly created strategic alliances role. Burford further expanded its market-leading investment team with seven new hires drawn from leading global law firms such as Paul, Weiss, Freshfields and Kirkland & Ellis. Finally, Burford added to its corporate team with new roles including a director of global public policy.

Key 2018 and 2019 new hires not previously announced include:

Christine Azar, Director, joins Burford’s origination team in New York and works with US law firms. Ms. Azar was previously Managing Partner of Labaton Sucharow’s Wilmington office and an attorney with Grant & Eisenhofer and Blank Rome. She has been recognized as a leading litigator by numerous organizations and was named one of the 25 Most Influential Women in Securities Law by Law360.
Danielle Cutrona, Director, Global Public Policy, joins Burford’s Washington office and leads Burford’s policy and lobbying efforts at the global and US federal and state levels. She previously worked for the US Department of Justice as the Senior Counselor to the US Attorney General, and for the US Senate Committee on the Judiciary as Chief Counsel. Prior to that she was a Deputy Counsel to the New Jersey State Legislature and a Skadden litigator.
Connor Murphy, Director, joins Burford’s origination team in New York, where he works with law firms and legal departments. He was previously the Managing Director of BDO Advisory USA and has held senior roles at Capstone Advisory Group and Navigant Consulting. Prior to that he was a financial consultant with Merrill Lynch.
Elizabeth Fisher, Senior Vice President, joins Burford’s origination team in London to lead its growth in the UK and EU. Prior to joining Burford, Ms. Fisher held several executive roles at Axiom Law, where she led a team which developed tech-enabled legal contracts and solutions to enable F500/FTSE100 clients to meet regulatory deadlines. She also served as Head of Client Development at Hogan Lovells, where she began her career.
Edward Farkas, Corporate Counsel, joins Burford’s legal and compliance team in its New York office. Mr. Farkas was previously a corporate lawyer at Hahn & Hessen, where he represented major commercial banks and financial institutions in all aspects of secured commercial lending transactions.
Dane Lund, Investment Management Principal, Complex Strategies, joins Burford’s Chicago office, where he focuses on Strategic Value Funds and related strategies. Mr. Lund joins Burford from Intermediate Capital Group and Barclays and began his legal career as a litigator at Willkie Farr & Gallagher.
Andrew Bodnar, Vice President, joins Burford’s London office as a member of its global corporate intelligence, asset tracing and enforcement business. Mr. Bodnar was a barrister for more than two decades, most recently at Matrix Chambers. In practice he was recommended by Chambers and Partners, the Legal 500 and Who’s Who Legal Global.
Rufus Caine, Vice President, joins Burford’s Washington office and works with in-house legal and finance teams to optimize corporate legal assets while reducing cost and risk. He was previously a Director at Axiom Law, a litigator at Willkie Farr & Gallagher and Legislative Counsel in the US Senate. Before beginning his legal career, Mr. Caine was a Rhodes Scholar finalist.
Chad Clamage, Vice President, joins Burford’s investment team in Chicago. He was previously a litigation counsel at Mayer Brown, where he practiced before the US Supreme Court. He clerked for the Honorable Diane S. Sykes of the US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.
Christiane Deniger, Vice President, joins Burford’s investment team in London. Ms. Deniger was previously with litigation funder Calunius Capital. She previously practiced with Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson and Dewey & LeBoeuf. She is a contributing author to various publications on international arbitration and third-party financing.
Christopher Freeman, Vice President, joins Burford’s investment team in Chicago. He was previously Vice President and Head of Litigation at Blackbird Technologies, where he built and managed one of the most prominent patent acquisition and licensing entities in the US, and an IP Partner at Kirkland & Ellis. He practiced with Latham & Watkins and Quinn Emmanuel Urquhart & Sullivan.
Evan Meyerson, Vice President, joins Burford’s investment team in New York. He was previously an associate at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, and clerked for The Honorable Royce C. Lamberth on the US District Court for Washington, DC. He began his career as an analyst at Bain Capital.
Alyx Pattison, Vice President, joins Burford’s Chicago office, where she works with law firms and corporate legal departments. Before joining Burford, she founded a political consulting business and was a litigation partner at Akerman and Katten Muchin Rosenman.
Giulia Previti, Vice President, joins Burford’s investment team in New York. She began her career at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP, where she specialized in international arbitration. She clerked for Senior District Judge Jack B. Weinstein for the Eastern District of New York. She is the recipient of the Legal Aid Society Pro Bono Publico Award in October 2013 and October 2018.
James Sexton, Vice President, joins Burford’s London origination team to work with in-house legal teams in the UK and EU. He was previously a banker at J.P. Morgan Chase and served as an Infantry Captain with the Princess of Wales’ Royal Regiment in the British Army, including two operational combat tours of Afghanistan.
Jessica Woodhouse, Vice President, joins Burford’s New York office with a focus on strategic alliances. Previously Vice President of Business Development for LicenseLogix. Prior to that, she was counsel for Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, a management consultant for PricewaterhouseCoopers, and an associate at Latham & Watkins LLP.

Key promotions announced

As Burford continues to build its ranks, it also remains committed to supporting its next generation of leaders by promoting from within, and announces the following senior promotions:

Christopher Catalano will become a Managing Director on Burford’s investment team, expanding his role in managing Burford’s US litigation portfolio and expanding Burford’s already significant use of proprietary data and analytics.
Melissa Sobel will become Deputy General Counsel, expanding her role in Burford’s corporate legal function.
Andrew Cohen will become a Senior Vice President on Burford’s investment team, adding to his substantive role in Burford’s US underwriting.
Maxwell Egan will become a Senior Vice President, focusing on investment analysis, risk management and data analytics.
Christina Yue will become Senior Vice President, Finance, continuing to play a pivotal role in accounting for Burford’s investment portfolio.
Patrick Wackerly and Nicholas Cooper will become Co-Portfolio Managers of BAIF, Burford’s post-settlement fund.
Robert Capper will become Vice President, Advisory, building on his role in Burford’s asset recovery advisory business.
Phillipa Rogers-Nash will become a Vice President, Marketing, focusing on service delivery across the function.

Christopher Bogart said of the promotions: “The maturation of Burford’s business as it enters its 10^th year is especially evident in light of the continued development of our internal talent. We’re thrilled to see those within our ranks flourish, and we expect that this trend will continue as Burford’s business continues to grow around the world.”

END

Contact:

North America:

Christina Dillon, Weber Shandwick, 212-445-8492, [email protected]

UK/Europe/Asia-Pacific:

Neil McLeod, PHA Media, 020 7440 0811, [email protected]

About Burford Capital

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