Ken Epstein
New YorkSenior Investment Manager and Legal Counsel
Ken Epstein is a Senior Investment Manager and Legal Counsel at Omni Bridgeway, responsible for leading the company’s US initiatives in bankruptcy and insolvency-related matters. For over 20 years, he has successfully combined legal and finance expertise to help solve problems and add value for companies, lenders, and investors.
Ken works closely with individuals, corporations, and law firms to provide funding and risk management strategies for distinct claims or claim portfolios. Ken has extensive experience advising chapter 11 debtors, creditors and estate representatives in complex debt restructurings and insolvency disputes. Many of Ken’s current matters involve cross-border judgment enforcement and monetization for creditors.
Ken joined Omni Bridgeway in 2017 from MBIA where he was managing director and a cross-disciplinary executive tasked with leading workout/turnaround projects in the restructuring and remediation group. He successfully led numerous high-profile, financially and legally complex, creditor-side restructurings including the bankruptcy of the City of Detroit. These cases often involved novel legal issues, were precedent setting and required litigation, negotiation, and other value-enhancing strategies to resolve. He began his career as a lawyer in the financial restructuring group of Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft, where he also envisioned and led a first-of-its-kind program to connect families of 9-11 victims with pro bono legal representation.
Ken has taught bankruptcy law as an adjunct professor at Cardozo Law School and has served as a panelist and author on bankruptcy-related topics. He has an undergraduate accounting degree and earned his J.D. from Brooklyn Law School in 2000, where he graduated cum laude. Ken is recognized in the Who’s Who Legal: Thought Leaders – Third Party Funding Guide (2020 - 2021) and LawDragon Global Restructuring Advisors & Consultants Guide (2020).
Publications
- Co-Author. Third Party Litigation Finance and its Impact on the Bankruptcy Industry. AIRA Journal. Vol 37: No.3. August 29, 2024.
- Co-Author. Litigation Funding for Insolvent Companies. INSOL World. Q2 2023 edition. June 2023.
- The Evolutionary War: Overcoming the ABA’s Inertia and Closing the Justice Gap. Omni Bridgeway Blog. January 4, 2023.
- Co-Author. Law Firm Funding & Work Product Doctrine. Bloomberg Law. April 11, 2022.
- Co-Author. Fifth Circuit Rejects a Challenge to Litigation Funding Agreement for Lack of Standing. Omni Bridgeway Blog. January 26, 2022.
- New Law Increases Incentives for Anti-Money Laundering Whistleblowers -- and Prospects for Funding. Omni Bridgeway Blog. November 10, 2021.
- Co-Author. Portfolio Litigation Funding. NAFER. March 16, 2021.
- Co-Author. The Cayman Islands Confirms its Commitment to Disputes Funding. Omni Bridgeway Blog. January 19, 2021.
- Co-Author. Litigation Finance for Lawyers Advising Corporate Boards. Bloomberg Law. November 2020.
- The Exential Case and Litigation Funding in the BVIs. Omni Bridgeway Blog. October 28, 2020.
- Co-Author. A Trustee's Choice: Hire Contingency Counsel or Use Litigation Funding. LexisNexis: A Practical Guidance Article. October 2020.
- Co-Author. Third-Party Financing and the Ability to Recover Fees from an Opposing Party. LexisNexis: A Lexis Practice Advisor Practice Note. August 2020.
- Co-Author. Portfolio Litigation Funding and its Use by Insolvent Estates. LexisNexis: A Lexis Practice Advisor Practice Note. December 2018.
- Funding the Post-Confirmation Trust When the Well Runs Dry. TMA Journal of Corporate Renewal. April 2018.
- Co-Author. Litigation Funding: An Essential Tool for Maximizing the Value of the Debtor’s Estate. New York Law Journal. March 15, 2018.
Press
- Outside Funders Fuel Bankruptcy Lawsuit. The Wall Street Journal. August 23, 2023.
- Litigation Funders See Growing Opportunities in Bankruptcy Boom. Bloomberg Law. July 31, 2023.
- Litigation Finance: Advantages and Ethical Considerations. Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP. October 29, 2024. New York, NY.
- Litigation Finance: Advantages and Ethical Considerations. Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP. March 07, 2024. New York, NY.
- Is litigation financing reshaping the dynamics of restructurings? Debtwire Restructuring Forum. December 6, 2023. Miami, FL.
- Bankruptcy Litigation Finance: Practical Guidance for Getting Your Deal Approved. Practising Law Institute (PLI). May 16, 2023. Webinar.
- Litigation Funding in Bankruptcy. Chambers and Partners. September 28, 2022. Webinar.
- Using Litigation Finance to Maximize Value in Distressed Situations. AIRA's 38th Annual Bankruptcy and Restructuring Conference. June 10, 2022. Cleveland, OH.
- Litigation Investing: ILOs & Other Developments. OffshoreAlert. April 26, 2022. Miami, FL.
- Litigation Finance in Bankruptcy: A Potential Game-Changer. NCBJ. October 7, 2021. Indianapolis, IN.
- Forecasting the Future of Litigation Funding - Episode #5: Part 2. Turnaround Management Association (TMA) Podcast. April 5, 2021. New York, NY.
- Forecasting the Future of Litigation Funding - Episode #5: Part 1. Turnaround Management Association (TMA) Podcast. November 9, 2020. New York, NY.
- How Litigation Funding Works in Bankruptcy. Practicing Law Institute (PLI). September 24, 2020. Webinar.
- Liquidity Stress and Monetizing Legal Assets during the Great Shutdown. Offshore Alert. April 28, 2020. Webinar.
- Bankruptcy Funding. PLI Studio Briefing. October 29, 2019. Webinar.
- Complex Litigation Issues. NAFER Annual Conference. October 18, 2019. Scottsdale, AZ.
- Litigation Funding for Corporations. Association of Corporate Counsel. September 25, 2019, Darien, CT.
- Third-Party Litigation Financing. 26th Annual ABI Southwest Bankruptcy Conference. September 6, 2019, Las Vegas, NV.
- Panel Discussion: 14th Annual Credit, Restructuring, Distressed Investing & Turnaround Conference. Chicago Booth School of Business. March 8, 2019, Chicago, IL.
- Panel Discussion: Litigation Finance.14TH Annual NYIC/AIRA Joint Bankruptcy and Restructuring Event. January 22, 2019, New York, NY.
- Panel Discussion: Financial and Ethical Aspects of Litigation Funding. District of Connecticut Bench-Bar Conference. October 26, 2018. Portland, CT.
- Post Confirmation Liquidating and Litigation Trusts. American Bankruptcy Institute 26th Annual Southwest Bankruptcy Conference. September 7, 2018, Las Vegas, NV.
- Third Party Financing of Litigation Seminar. Association of Commercial Finance Attorneys 2018 Continuing Legal Education Weekend. June 10, 2018. Newport, RI.
- Litigation Funding in the Bankruptcy Space. American Bankruptcy Institute 12th Annual Credit & Bankruptcy Symposium. April 27, 2018, Uncasville, CT.
- Use of Litigation Finance in Insolvency Proceedings. American Bankruptcy Institute 36th Annual Spring Meeting. April 21, 2018, Washington, D.C.
- Litigation Funding in Bankruptcy. Connecticut Bar Association Commercial Law and Bankruptcy Section Meeting. April 11, 2018, New Haven, CT.
- Litigation Finance for Distressed Companies. Wharton Restructuring and Distressed Investment Conference. February 23, 2018, New York, NY.
