(Left to right) Adam Gill, Jamison Lynch and David Spiegel of GLS Capital (courtesy photo)

Chicago-based GLS Capital is the latest entrant in the burgeoning litigation finance field after launching publicly this week with a $345 million inaugural fund.

That money will finance both complex commercial cases and intellectual property litigation, including disputes related to patents and pharmaceuticals, said David Spiegel, a managing director and the "S" of GLS Capital.

Spiegel, a former Kirkland & Ellis partner, added that GLS Capital has made several litigation bets already since it began making initial investments in 2018. Its investors include financial institutions, endowments, foundations and family offices, though Spiegel declined to name investors or clients. And the trio is also eager to work with large law firms.

"We've seen more acceptance of our product among the Am Law 100 and 200 in the past two or three years, because of the growth of the market and the awareness of the product."

GLS Capital's announcement comes two months after a report from Westfleet Advisors  suggested U.S. litigation financiers were sitting on more capital than they could invest: out of the $9.5 billion they raised, financing firms had deployed $2.3 billion.

Spiegel rejected the notion that these numbers mean the litigation financing market is saturated.

"We don't believe the market is saturated, or else we wouldn't have gone the route that we did," he said. "I think we've sized our fund correctly to ensure the right amount of capital deployment for our investors."

GLS Capital is the brainchild of Adam Gill, Jamison Lynch and Spiegel, all former litigators-turned-financiers who worked for Gerchen Keller Capital, another Chicago-based litigation funder.

Both Gill and Spiegel are former Kirkland lawyers, with Gill being a partner in the firm's patent litigation group. Lynch co-led the global patent litigation team at Gilead Sciences, a biotech company based in California, and was also a former partner at Mayer Brown.

The trio was with Gerchen Keller when it announced in January 2016 that it had more than $1.4 billion in assets. When Gerchen Keller was acquired by competitor Burford Capital in late 2016, the trio moved over to Burford and worked there for several months before departing to form GLS Capital.

"We believe, given our experience in the industry, there aren't many teams out there with the experience we can bring," Spiegel said.

GLS Capital spokesman Ameet Sachdev added that Spiegel and his colleagues have evaluated "hundreds of cases" before deciding whether to invest in them or not. GLS Capital, like other litigation financiers, doesn't see a return on the lawsuits it backs until settlements materialize or verdicts are awarded.

GLS Capital has the authority to make all of its investment decisions in-house, without seeking approval from its capital backers. Spiegel said this allows the team to be flexible, fast and transparent with the law firms and litigants they work with.

GLS Capital currently employs six people overall; Spiegel said it will expand as its needs require. The group is currently working out of the River Point building at 444 West Lake St.; DLA Piper and McDermott Will & Emery have offices in the same building. Spiegel added that GLS Capital is moving soon.

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