Vice President, Patent Underwriting (Chicago)

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, and Dubai.

The Firm has created a Vice President – Patent Underwriting position who will be responsible for evaluating patent cases Burford considers for financing, and for providing oversight to cases once Burford has invested.

We are seeking an experienced litigator with success in all phases of complex patent cases. This person will be a team player who contributes actively in a collaborative environment. He/she will have the ability to quickly evaluate the merits of claims, assess and price risks associated with the litigation, evaluate litigation budgets, and negotiate financing deals from start to finish. Ideally this person will have worked with litigation funding, on a contingency/AFA basis, and/or on patent monetization, so as to have a strong grounding in the economics of patent matters.

This position will involve close liaison with law firms, in-house counsel, and corporate representatives, as well as Burford’s global team, which spans offices in New York and Chicago in addition to London. There are also frequent opportunities to write and speak on IP matters on behalf of Burford.

The role will report to the Managing Director of Burford’s Intellectual Property business and may be based in our Chicago or New York office.

Company Overview

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 provides competitive health care benefits and a 401k matching program. 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

• Quickly evaluate the merits of patent infringement claims, including validity, infringement, damages and other common substantive patent litigation issues.
• Assess and price risks associated with the litigation, evaluate litigation budgets, and negotiate financing deals from start to finish.
• Work closely with Burford’s legal, finance and tax teams effectively to structure, model, negotiate and close financing transactions, while minimising legal and operational risks and building strong client relationships.
• Actively monitor ongoing patent investments, regularly interacting with clients and counsel as the litigation proceeds in order to facilitate successful resolution.
• Represent Burford at IP industry conferences and networking events, to build client relationships and originate patent finance opportunities.

Skills Desired

• At least four years of patent litigation experience with a top US law firm or established litigation boutique. Litigation experience should include substantial briefing, deposition and expert discovery, and oral argument/trial work.
• Familiarity with litigation funding, working on a contingency/AFA basis, and/or on patent monetization is strongly desired.
• Additional in-house experience, particularly managing litigation dockets, evaluating litigation budgets and negotiating counsel engagements will also be useful.
• An undergraduate or graduate degree in engineering or science is preferred but not required.
• Licensed to practice law in any U.S jurisdiction. Registered patent attorney helpful but not required.

Core Competencies & Skills / Personal Attributes & Fit

• Superior writing and analytical ability.
• Numerate and deal-savvy, with the ability to price risk and explain (both internally and externally) the value of a deal.
• Excellent interpersonal/people skills, including the ability to build consensus with highly sophisticated internal clients and to interact effectively at all levels of the organization.
• A polished speaker, capable of representing Burford while participating on panels, attending industry conferences, and other client-facing business development activities.
• Highly organized, with committed work ethic and strong attention to detail; able to work independently and prioritize and manage multiple projects and deadlines simultaneously.
• Enterprising, highly intelligent, creative and proactive, and willing and eager to learn.

Other Requirements

• Some amount of business travel may be required.

Notice of Collection of Personal Information:

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.