Commercial Disputes Underwriter

Burford Capital LLC; London; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading global finance and asset management firm focuses on law is seeking an Underwriter in London. This role involves analyzing claims for financing and managing risks for commercial disputes. Successful candidates will have substantial legal and financial expertise, proactive communication skills, and the ability to drive business development initiatives.

Qualifications

• At least six years of contentious experience from a first-rate law firm in the UK.
• Experience in large and complex English law commercial disputes.

Responsibilities

• Analyse claim merits, legal risks, and financial implications.
• Price legal risks and structure tailored financing solutions.
• Support management and monitoring of active investments.

Skills

Analytical skills

Legal risk assessment

Negotiation

Commercial instinct

Financial literacy

Communication

Education

Admitted to practice law in England and Wales

Job description

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

Burford is expanding its team in London to support its growing legal finance business in the United Kingdom and throughout Europe, with a particular emphasis on complex commercial disputes. The role will involve analysing the risk profile of cases Burford considers for financing, providing oversight on matters in which Burford has invested, and originating new potential investments.

This role is at the core of Burford’s mission. Underwriters stand on the front line in identifying, analysing, pricing, and negotiating Burford’s investments; they are actively involved in monitoring cases post-investment, including providing strategic support to counsel from the start of a case through its resolution; and they frequently serve as the face of Burford to the market, both through their counsel relationships and through formal business development activities such as panels and publications. This position provides a unique opportunity to apply litigation skills and experience in the finance sector, and in doing so, to join the market leader in legal finance and participate in the exciting growth of the broader industry.

This is an exciting opportunity to join the leading team at the forefront of legal finance innovation. It provides a unique path for an ambitious candidate to develop in a revenue-generating role in an entrepreneurial environment, involving close liaison with law firms, in-house counsel, corporate clients, and internal stakeholders across Burford’s global platform.

The role will report to Burford’s Head of Europe and will be based in Burford’s London office.

Burford Capital is the largest and most experienced provider of commercial finance to the legal sector in the world, with a core expertise in identifying and optimizing the value of legal assets for companies and law firms. Since its founding in 2009, Burford has worked with hundreds of law firms and corporations, including 94 of the AmLaw 100 and 92 of the Global 100 largest law firms. Our team has grown from five people at the end of 2009 to over 150 people today, including over 45 lawyers.

Burford possesses the resources and expertise of a large company while retaining the flexibility and creativity of a startup. Team members are smart, creative, collaborative, curious, and confident. Everyone rolls up their sleeves to perform and engage collectively for the overall success of the business. Burford values rigorous thinking, clear communication, and efficient execution. Burford is an “always on” environment in which everyone needs to be accessible by email when outside the office, including during evenings and weekends

Burford pays base salaries consistent with the financial services industry and favors incentive compensation to reward performance. Burford Capital is committed to increasing diversity and maintaining an inclusive workplace culture. We welcome applications from all qualified candidates regardless of their ethnicity, race, gender, religious beliefs, sexual orientation, age, marital status, whether or not they have a disability.

POSITION REQUIREMENTS

Role & Responsibilities

• Analyse the merits of claims, legal risks, financial implications, and dispute strategy.
• Price legal risk and structure tailored financing solutions, including drafting and negotiating investment documentation.
• Support the management and monitoring of active investments, including liaising with counsel and assessing developments during the dispute lifecycle.
• Represent Burford externally in law firm and client meetings, at industry conferences, and through thought-leadership initiatives.
• Collaborate closely with Burford’s business development and marketing teams to support efforts to identify and secure new investment opportunities.

SKILLS DESIRED

Qualifications & Experience

• At least six years of contentious experience from a first-rate law firm in the UK.
• Wide-ranging experience in large and complex English law commercial disputes, including matters with a cross-border element or involving laws similar to or derived from English law.
• Admitted to practice law in England and Wales or another common law jurisdiction.

Core Competencies & Skills / Personal Attributes & Fit

• A thoughtful and analytical contentious lawyer with a sharp commercial instinct and an intuitive sense of claim merits, value, and risk;
• Financially literate and capable of engaging in detailed economic analyses of legal matters;
• A team player who can work collegially with all members of Burford’s global underwriting and business development teams;

• Strong written and verbal communication skills—an outgoing individual who is comfortable presenting to senior stakeholders internally and externally, and who will seek out speaking roles at relevant events along with other business development opportunities;
• Entrepreneurial, proactive, and able to independently manage multiple workstreams; and
• Ambitious and ready to work in a fast-paced environment where legal skills and financial acumen will be fully utilised.
• Minimal travel (<10%) may be required.