Award-winning legal industry entrepreneurs David Perla and Greg McPolin join world’s largest litigation finance provider
Following a record-setting 2017 in which it committed $1.3 billion to commercial litigation and arbitration, Burford Capital is announcing two senior origination and marketing hires with track records of growth acceleration and entrepreneurialism in the business of law.
David Perla—named a Top 50 Innovator of the Last 50 Years by American Lawyer—joins Burford as Managing Director responsible for overseeing origination and marketing on a global basis. Greg McPolin joins Burford as Managing Director focused on originating new business with law firms and companies based in the US—drawing on his almost two-decade track record of generating growth for innovative legal brands.
The hires augment the world’s largest legal finance team and position Burford for further growth. Already the leading global finance and investment management firm focused on law and the world’s largest provider of litigation finance, Burford has more than 100 staff, including 50 experienced lawyers.
An entrepreneur and legal industry leader with expertise in building high-growth legal and technology-driven businesses, Perla co-founded and as co-CEO led Pangea3, the top-ranked legal process outsourcing provider worldwide, from 2004 to 2012. Pangea3 was acquired by Thomson Reuters in 2010 and grew to over 1,000 employees during his leadership. In addition to launching and leading Pangea3, Perla was also President of Bloomberg BNA’s Legal Division/Bloomberg Law from 2014 to 2016. From early 1999 to 2004, he was Vice President of Business & Legal Affairs for Monster.com. He began his career in the New York office of Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP, and earned BA and JD degrees from the University of Pennsylvania.
McPolin previously worked with Perla, having been recruited by him to Pangea3, where from 2007 to 2015 he served in leadership positions through its transition from pre-profit startup and following its acquisition by Thomson Reuters. McPolin became Pangea3’s General Manager in 2012 and in 2015 COO of Thomson Reuters’s combined Legal Managed Services business. From 2002 to 2007 he was a senior member of the sales team for Applied Discovery, an early entrant in the e-discovery market that was later acquired by LexisNexis. He began his career in the antitrust practice group at Howrey LLP in Washington, DC. Most recently, McPolin was Managing Director of Kenyon Group, an M&A advisory firm specializing in the legal and risk technology sectors. He earned his BS from SUNY Oneonta and his JD from Vermont Law School.
Christopher Bogart, Burford’s CEO, commented: “In addition to building the industry’s premier brand over the nine years we’ve been in business, Burford has consistently grown by expanding our clients’ understanding of all the ways we can help them unlock the value of their legal assets. Hiring David and Greg is a sign of our commitment to continue accelerating that growth. We’re delighted to welcome David and Greg to help us take Burford to the next level, leveraging their energy, their reputations and relationships, and their success as innovators in the business of law.”
Both Perla and McPolin join Burford effective May 7th and are based in its New York office.
Contact
North America: Emma Murphy, The Neibart Group, (718) 875 4545, [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 asset management firm focused on law. Its businesses include litigation finance and risk management, asset recovery and a wide range of legal finance and advisory activities. Burford is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: BUR) and the London Stock Exchange (LSE: BUR), and it works with law firms and clients around the world from its principal offices in New York, London, Chicago, Washington, Singapore and Sydney.
For more information, please visit www.burfordcapital.com.
