RD Legal, an investment management firm focussed on post-settlement litigation finance, has appointed Amy B Hirsch to the additional role of Portfolio Manager for the firm’s strategies. Hirsch joined RD Legal in 2016 as Co-Chief Investment Officer and Chief Operating Officer.
RD Legal also announced that it is expanding its data analytics and engineering functions under Dr Joanne Chen, Chief Analytics Officer since joining the firm in 2016. Dr. Chen has designed a proprietary methodology for analysing litigation data.
The moves come as the litigation finance sector sees explosive growth. According to a recent report, litigation finance is now as much as a USD100 billion market from its earliest beginnings in the 1990s. Declining returns in traditional investments and a high level of litigation cases are factors behind this growth.
“We are delighted to recognise Amy’s growing role at RD Legal and to continue to invest in our data and market intelligence technology that enhances our ability to acquire known cashflows linked to settled litigation,” says Roni Dersovitz, Founder & CEO. “The growth of RD Legal and of the litigation finance sector comes as institutional investors of all sizes recognise and value the asset class for offering attractive, uncorrelated returns.”
In her expanded role, Hirsch will have day-to-day oversight on all aspects of the firm’s onshore strategies including asset allocation, new investments and risk management.
Prior to joining full-time, she was an advisor to the firm. Hirsch also serves as CEO of Paradigm Consulting Services, which provides litigation related expert witness support in the alternative investment space. Hirsch has nearly four decades of experience in alternative investments and hedge funds including asset management, due diligence, marketing, and operations.
Chen directs the RD Legal data science group, which is aggressively expanding the analytic and data capabilities of the firm. Chen has helped create a proprietary methodology for analysing litigation data. Using technology that has never been applied in this way before, Chen and her group are able to process the large amount of data that is required to source, screen, and analyse litigation finance opportunities.
Chen is responsible for leading the engineering and data analytics function of the RD Legal companies. Prior to joining the firm, Chen was Vice President of Data Science at Truveris, Inc, a healthcare SaaS company where she was responsible for data science and product development.