Background:

Approximately a trillion dollars every year is stolen through illicit financial flows with a significant proportion from newly democratic, post-conflict and/or emerging market governments through “the architecture of corruption”. Redress for victims has traditionally focused on criminal prosecution, leaving billions of dollars of potential civil claims on the table. In this session, Katherine and Elizabeth will explain firstly why newly democratic, post-conflict and transparency-focused governments have not leveraged existing litigation funding solutions.

Secondly, they will discuss how Restitution Capital, as the first litigation impact asset manager, is meeting this untapped need, working with government partners to develop and monetize claims portfolios worth billions of US dollars.

Finally, they will discuss how the funds are structured to ensure that recovered assets are used transparently and accountably and with impact, which can include anything from combatting climate change, to setting up stabilization funds, to helping countries get a better deal on sovereign debt restructuring.

Speakers:

Katherine Mulhern is a senior lawyer and former law firm partner with significant transactional, development and investigations experience. Katherine was an investigator for an African TRC, was a senior law firm partner and head of practice in private practice and was the Chief Executive Officer of three leading development organizations based in West Africa, the UK and the United States. Katherine has advised on transactions for governments both as a law firm partner and as CEO of development organizations. In her various roles, Katherine has advised on transactions worth upward of US$ 40 bn.

The many headline transactions in her career include:

•Advising the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation Pte Ltd (GIC) in connection with its pre- IPO investment in Travelport and in connection with its role as underwriter in the rights issue of Prudential plc

•Advising a Singapore sovereign wealth fund in its acquisition of shares of Barclays PLC as part of the funding of Barclays' proposed public tender offer for all of the outstanding securities of ABN AMRO

•Advising on the privatization of a Kazakh utility company in relation to the government of Kazakhstan’s People’s IPO program

•Advising on the privatization of KMG, the national oil and gas company of Kazakhstan

•Advising on the privatization of Alstom S.A., a French marine and rail company by the Republic of France

•Advising on the privatization of Public Power Corporation by the Government of the Hellenic Republic

•Advising The African Export-Import Bank on various transactions

•Advising various governments on issues relating to governance and accountability, including the governments of The Gambia, Kenya, Iraq and Afghanistan

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Elizabeth Fisher is a senior growth-focused commercial executive and qualified lawyer with 30 years’ experience in professional and financial services and a multi-disciplinary skillset spanning law, litigation finance and commercial leadership.

Elizabeth spent the first decade of her professional life as a corporate finance lawyer, having trained and qualified at Hogan Lovells, advising private equity houses and management teams on national and cross-border transactions including management buy-outs, joint ventures, acquisitions, disposals and refinancings.

After obtaining an MBA from London Business School with a focus on finance, Elizabeth transitioned into commercial leadership roles, primarily at innovative industry-disrupting companies within legal services and consulting. In each role, she had strategic and operational responsibility for the commercial growth of the relevant region, structuring the go-to-market strategy and building and managing teams towards aggressive growth goals. This included at Burford Capital, the world's largest litigation financier, where as Head of Origination for Europe, she led a team responsible for the origination and initial assessment of legal finance opportunities. Elizabeth personally reviewed hundreds of arbitration and litigation cases both from a legal merits and commercial standpoint, progressing a number of these cases to investment as part of a multi-disciplinary team. She also developed an extensive professional network (law firms, barristers, damages experts etc.) in the dispute resolution market.

Over her career, Elizabeth has gained extensive experience leading and managing cross-disciplinary teams (including external advisers) to drive results, leveraging her legal and commercial skillsets. This includes in her role as EMEA Head of Regulatory at Axiom (a global alternative legal services provider which was later sold to Permira) where she led one of the derivative industry's largest and most complex repaperings of trading documentation for a global bank, managing a negotiation team of 50+ .

Elizabeth will bring to Restitution extensive experience in assessing litigation cases both from a legal and commercial perspective and a track record in managing complex legal projects including the management of law firms and other external advisers. She also brings a unique perspective from having enjoyed roles both in well-established and early-stage growth companies.