Bite-Sized Business Law
Looking for the latest in legal business news?
Get a breakdown of the top stories in business law from industry leaders on the front lines with Bite-Sized Business Law. Host Amy Martella takes a closer look at the latest corporate happenings through interviews with the attorneys, legal experts, public figures, and scholars behind the news to distill business law’s biggest stories into bite-sized portions.
This is your chance to go further into the world of business law and stay up to date with legal cases and industry trends.
Corporations impact us all, leading changes that extend far beyond business to shape the economy, public policy, technology, and beyond. Looking at the big picture, Amy discusses not only the underlying issues in business ethics and legal cases leading the biggest stories but also sparks thought-provoking discussions on where the law should be headed.
Amy is the Executive Director of the Corporate Law Center at Fordham University School of Law. Her background ranges from big law to government to tech startups, allowing her to offer an insider’s perspective of the issues that shape corporate actions, large and small. Covering crypto regulation to securities fraud, AI’s impact to Elon Musk’s pay package, Bite-Sized Business Law covers it all with guests of varying viewpoints to provide the nuanced analysis needed to tackle complex problems.
Whether you're looking for the latest in legal insight on intellectual property, mergers and acquisitions, business ethics or legal cases in the business law world, you’ll find it here. Enjoying a thoughtful perspective on the news stories of the moment, Bite-Sized Business Law examines big issues and delivers them in small doses.
Bite-Sized Business Law is a project by the Corporate Law Center at Fordham Law. The Center serves as a hub for scholars, professionals, policymakers, and students to engage in the study, discussion, and debate of current issues in corporate law. The Center focuses on aspects of corporate law, corporate compliance, antitrust law, and securities regulation. Through initiatives like the Mergers and Acquisitions seminar and the Securities Litigation and Arbitration Clinic, students actively engage in real-world research and cases, bridging the gap between classroom learning and practical application in the legal field.
Bite-Sized Business Law
Leading the Legal Finance Revolution: A Conversation with the President of Burford Capital
Litigation finance is a fast-growing industry that promises to level the playing field, promote access to justice, and serve as a new source of legal funding. In this episode, we welcome Aviva Will, President of Burford Capital, the leader in legal finance. To kick off our conversation, Aviva shares her journey, from graduating from Fordham Law to working at Cravath and Time Warner before taking the leap into the emerging field of litigation finance with Burford. She reflects on her role as President, balancing strategic leadership with the responsibilities of an industry-leading company. Next, Aviva dives into Burford’s unique business model, discusses the challenges that come with navigating the pace of the court system, and shares how Burford’s diverse portfolio allowed it to weather the pandemic. Aviva also outlines the essential questions Burford considers before investing in new clients, underscoring the company’s thoughtful approach. She addresses the debates over disclosure, regulation, and attorney independence. Finally, Aviva highlights Burford’s commitment to industry transparency and progress, discussing how she strives to move the industry forward with clearer standards and ethical practices. Thanks for tuning in!
Key Points From This Episode:
- Welcome to Aviva Will, President of leading legal finance company: Burford Capital.
- Graduating from Fordham Law, clerking, working at Cravath and Time Warner, and joining Burford Capital.
- What motivated her to take the risk of working in the emergent field of litigation finance.
- How Aviva sees her role as president at Burford and what an average day looks like for her.
- An overview of Burford’s basic business model.
- The weight of responsibility the company carries as an industry leader.
- A more granular description of the world of legal finance.
- Navigating the challenge of the pace of the court system.
- What emerged for Burford during the pandemic and how this was supported by a diverse portfolio.
- Essential questions the company considers before investing in a new client.
- Why Burford’s case selection process is not affected by size.
- Considering the importance of staying aware of other aspects of the industry.
- The segmented nature of the industry.
- Unpacking the concept of disclosure and its end goal as well as regulation.
- Why Burford is committed to moving the industry in a particular direction.
- Launching The Equity Project in 2018: the motivation and inception of the program.
- Aviva’s belief that having a diversity of voices around the table leads to better decisions.
Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode: