Alternative Litigation Strategies

What do three of Yale Law School's sharpest new graduates actually think about the future of the legal profession?

I recently sat down with Sam Haddad — Student Body President at YLS, clinical fellow in both the Entrepreneurship and Innovation Clinic and Community and Economic Development Clinic, Certum Group's summer fellow, and now an incoming associate at Latham & Watkins — along with Sharon Du (Executive Editor for Articles at the Yale Journal for International Law, formerly a James C. Gaither Junior Fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and now an Equal Justice Works Fellow at the ACLU of Southern California,) and Christian Aviles (Executive Editor for the Yale Law & Policy Review, Yale Journal on Regulation, Fellow in the Chae Initiative for Private Sector Leadership; Hurst Horizon Scholar, joining Simpson Thacher & Bartlett) for a candid conversation about law school, career expectations, and what comes after graduation.

We covered: ▪️ The biggest surprises and challenges of law school — academic, professional, and social ▪️ Whether the traditional firm-to-partnership path is still the "ideal legal career" in the eyes of today's graduates ▪️ Whether law schools do enough to expose students to litigation finance, insurance, legal tech, consulting, and business ▪️ What genuinely worries this class — the billable hour or the rise of artificial intelligence in the practice of law, and ▪️ The advice they'd give an undergraduate considering law school today

Sam's summer with us was a reminder of why we invest in the fellowship: the questions this generation is asking about the profession are sharper than the ones we were asking and the vast careers a law degree can provide outside the practice of law is squarely among them.

On the latest episode of the Alternative Litigation Strategies podcast, I had the privilege to sit down with Paul Kong, Executive Director of the International Legal Finance Association, and Eric Schuller, President of the Alliance for Responsible Consumer Legal Funding, to talk through a regulatory landscape that is moving fast in both Washington D.C. and the states. We discussed why conflating consumer legal funding with commercial litigation finance leads to bad legislation, the Litigation Funding Transparency Act of 2026, the parallel push to amend Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26 through the Judicial Conference, the fight over the proposed 41% tax on funder profits, what is and isn't a real national security concern around foreign funding, how the industry is trying to keep a 50-state patchwork coherent, and what Paul and Eric expect over the next 12 to 18 months. For anyone in the litigation finance industry you don't want to miss this episode!

Video segments:

• 0:00 – 9:07: The Current State of Affairs in Consumer and Commercial Finance
• 9:14-12:56: Federal Front – Litigation Funding Transparency Act of 2026
• 12:57-17:22: The Courts vs. Congress – FRCP Rule 26
• 17:23-22:12: The Tax Fight
• 22:13-26:22: National Security & Foreign Funding
• 26:23-33:13: The Wave of State Laws
• 38:30-45:52: What to Expect in the Next 12-18 Months

I recently had the opportunity to sit down with Seth Deutsch, founder of Samson Partners Group, author of The Owner's Manual: Why, When, and How to Sell Your Business to Private Equity, and creator of the EVRS (Exit Value Realization System), for a fascinating conversation on the rapidly evolving M&A landscape for personal injury law firms. Our discussion explores what separates highly valuable firms from the rest of the market.

According to Seth, the firms attracting serious attention are those that reduce founder dependency, create durable and diversified revenue streams, maintain strong operational systems, and understand their financials through an investor lens—not just a legal one. We also discussed why private equity activity in the PI space is accelerating so quickly and how the industry may ultimately consolidate into a handful of dominant national holding companies over the next decade. Seth also shared a critical warning for founders: pursuing a sale before properly preparing the business and understanding "why" you want to sell can damage a firm's reputation with buyers for years.

For law firm owners, legal industry professionals, and investors alike, this episode provides a rare insider perspective on where the personal injury market is heading and what firms must do now to remain competitive in the next era of legal services.

Explore the conversation by topic:

• "2:58 – What does Samson Partner's Group offer through their legal industry vertical?
• "15:15 – How do you counsel law firm founders who are considering an exit strategy to prepare them for sale?
• "25:52 – Will PE acquisition of personal injury firms be individual transactions or could they ultimately roll up into peer industry groups?
• "38:23 – What increases law firm saleability, what red flags detract buyers, and how can automation and the use of AI increase value?

Additional Resource Links:

• The Owner's Manual: https://a.co/d/fcc3hiL
• The EVRS Toolkit: https://www.samsonpartnersgroup.com/resources
• Please reach out to Seth and Kevin if you would like access to more resources such as The EVRS Explainer Video or the Private Equity Legal Alliance White Paper

To learn more, visit: certumgroup.com

Class action settlement administration is no longer a back-office function - it's a risk management function.

In class action practice, the difference between a smooth settlement that is approved by the court and a problematic one often comes down to the experience of the claims administrator. In the latest episode of Alternative Litigation Strategies, Kevin sat down with Jim Prutsman – veteran class action settlement administrator and CEO of Fidexis.

Jim and Kevin covered:

• "04:30 – What separates a true partner from a low-cost vendor
• "17:08 – Practical strategies to combat fraudulent and abusive claims, including the limits of relying on IP data alone
• "33:28 – Why notice programs need to evolve beyond traditional mail—and how to actually measure effectiveness
• "48:52 – The growing role of AI in claims administration and call center operations
• "1:04:08 – Key ethical and financial considerations, including transparency in billing and handling of settlement funds

If you're litigating or settling class action matters, this is a conversation worth your time.

In the latest episode of the Alternative Litigation Strategies podcast, Kevin had the privilege of interviewing Settlement Counsel and Mediator, Christopher Nolland. They discuss Christopher's career as a pioneer as settlement counsel, including recovering over $800 million for plaintiffs and saving tens of millions on the defense side, along with recognition from The American Lawyer, Texas Lawyer, and the National Law Journal.

They discuss how Christopher's interest in negotiation evolved into a full-time ADR and settlement counsel practice, and what differentiates the role from litigators and mediators, namely, a singular focus on resolution strategy. Christopher explains why litigators often struggle with settlement due to cognitive bias and over-advocacy, and why early involvement of settlement counsel can significantly improve outcomes by shaping strategy and avoiding stalled negotiations.

They also touch on the internal dynamics between litigation and settlement teams, and how a coordinated approach can drive better results, before reflecting on the growing adoption of settlement counsel in high-stakes disputes. You don't want to miss this episode!

In this episode of Alternative Litigation Strategies, host Kevin Skrzysowski is joined by Asim Badaruzzaman, CEO of Certum Legal Solutions, to discuss how managed services organizations are emerging as a critical response to the growing operational complexity of mass tort and personal injury litigation.

Kevin and Asim explore how Certum Legal Solutions was built inside of a working mass torts practice and produced their first go-to-market solution – an end-to-end operational platform for high-volume group claims and single event litigation that was built by trial lawyers for trial lawyers.

Demystifying Multidistrict Litigations with Alex Parkinson of Kellogg Hansen

Kevin Skrzysowski sits down with Alex A. Parkinson, partner at Kellogg Hansen and author of the new Practising Law Institute (PLI) treatise on multidistrict litigation. Alex shares how he became immersed in the world of MDLs, what inspired him to compile decades of JPML decisions, and how lawyers can use this resource to proactively manage complex litigation.

Their conversation covers how MDLs mirror real-time societal and commercial trends, what attorneys need to know before centralization motions are filed, and why this area of law is both highly impactful and surprisingly manageable. Alex also offers a behind-the-scenes look at the process of partnering with PLI and balancing a full-time law practice while writing a comprehensive legal treatise.

AI, IP, and the Future of Litigation Funding

Kevin Skrzysowski spoke with Certum Group colleague Bryce Barcelo, Director of IP Strategy and professor of patent litigation at the University of Houston Law Center, about the evolving landscape of artificial intelligence, intellectual property, and litigation funding. They discussed how lawyers are using (and misusing) AI tools, the legal risks tied to data training and copyright, the booming demand for IP funding, and what upcoming changes at the USPTO could mean for patent holders. Whether you're navigating AI adoption, exploring funding options, or just curious about what's next in litigation strategy, this episode offers a fresh look at where the industry is headed.

Settlement Counsel: A Unique and Powerful Asset to Control Litigation Risk. It was a great pleasure to speak with my latest guest, Mike Connery, a Partner in the Philadelphia office of the law firm Maron Marvel and leader of the firm's Settlement Counsel Practice Group. Mike is a trailblazer in redesigning the litigation risk landscape for clients by providing this innovative and transformative service. Don't miss this episode!

In this episode of the Alternative Litigation Strategies podcast, host Kevin Skrzysowski interviews Brian Beckcom, an AI expert, trial lawyer, and computer scientist, about the impact of artificial intelligence on the legal profession and beyond. Brian, who leads VB Attorneys and has earned hundreds of millions of dollars for his clients, shares his insights on AI's evolution from the early 1990s to today. He explains how modern AI, particularly self-learning neural networks, differ fundamentally from earlier technology. Kevin and Brian also discuss current practical applications of AI on the practice of law, including discovery requests, depositions, and brief writing, emphasizing that while AI can process vast amounts of information quickly, human judgment remains crucial in interpreting and applying that information. This episode also covers concerns about AI's potential to create misinformation and the challenges of regulating this rapidly evolving technology.