BridgePoint Financial Services Inc. was established by Stephen Pauwels and John Rossos in 2005 to offer specialized financial services to the Canadian litigation market. As former investment bankers with established ties to several legal practices, BridgePoint’s Principals recognized that the unique funding needs of Plaintiffs, their Counsel and the Experts called upon to advance their legal claims are predominantly unsatisfied by banks and other traditional lenders. These entities lack both the expertise to properly assess the risk associated with specific legal claims and the flexibility to structure loan repayments to correspond with the litigation process.

Since its inception BridgePoint has evolved to become the leading provider of litigation financial services in a rapidly developing market. Our funding has assisted thousands of individual claimants achieve a successful resolution to their legal claims. In the interim, we have developed strong relationships with hundreds of Canada’s most reputable and established law firms who value our integrity and responsiveness in satisfying their needs and the needs of their clients. Our reputation for providing innovative and flexible financing solutions has created opportunities to finance a broader range of legal claims in areas such as employment, trusts and estates, commercial, securities, class action, and mass tort.

OUR TEAM

Tim Gerrits, MBA, CGA – Director of Finance

gerrits@bpfin.com | 416.941.9496

Tim joined BridgePoint in August 2008 and brings over 18 years of finance experience, primarily in the financial services industry. He previously worked in senior finance roles for Mortgage Intelligence and was instrumental in building the internal, financial and reporting infrastructure that supported the firm’s growth from a regional SMB to national firm within a global financial services parent, GMAC. Prior to this, Tim gained three years of audit and tax experience for a CA firm. Tim’s role at BridgePoint encompasses providing oversight to financial and investor reporting, developing and maintaining effective internal controls, managing cash flow and liquidity, contribute to the firm’s strategic planning and to establish the systems and processes needed to facilitate the firm’s growth plans. Tim received his CGA designation in 1992 and completed his MBA through the University of Western Ontario’s Richard Ivey School of Business in 2008.

Robert LaBrecque – Director of Business Development

labrecque@bpfin.com | 519.890.9763

Prior to joining BridgPoint, Bob has spent his 28 year career facilitating service development and client centered support to the plaintiff litigation market place. In 1994 Bob received the designation of Canadian Certified Rehabilitation Counselor and through his work as a case manager assisting catastrophically impaired individuals. Bob has worked at the senior management level in the rehabilitation field throughout Canada and has developed a wide base of experience in the co-ordination of essential medical/rehabilitation services to law firms and their clients utilizing a variety of funding solutions.

Stephen Pauwels, BA (Hons.), MBA – Principal

pauwels@bpfin.com | 416.941.9486

Stephen co-founded BridgePoint Financial Services Inc. in August 2005 and has played an active role in developing the Canadian litigation finance sector since 2002. Since that time, Stephen has developed several financing structures which have assisted legal claimants, practices and litigation support service providers in addressing the unique funding challenges of the litigation process. Prior to this, Stephen was a member of the London, UK division of Deutsche Bank's Global Investment Banking division where he was involved in numerous public and private capital markets transactions throughout Europe. Stephen was a member of the corporate finance group at National Bank Financial in Toronto. Stephen received his masters in business Administration from the University of Toronto in 1997 and an honors bachelor of arts degree from the University of Western Ontario in 1994.

John P. Rossos, B.Comm., LL.B., CFA – Principal

rossos@bpfin.com | 416.941.9485

John co-founded BridgePoint Financial Services Inc. in August 2005 and has been involved in developing a more scaleable structure for financing the growth of the business within the personal injury market and in other areas of litigation including commercial, class action, and mass tort claims. He previously worked as a senior investment banker for a major bank owned firm located in Toronto and has extensive experience structuring financing and M&A transactions and corporate restructurings. Before entering the financial services industry John articled at major Toronto law firm. He has a strong legal and financial background holding a bachelor of commerce degree from the University of Toronto, and a law degree from Queen's University. He is also a Chartered Financial Analyst. John is a member of the Ontario Bar having been called in March 1994.

Angie Trinh – Office Manager

trinh@bpfin.com | 416.941.9165

Angie joined BridgePoint in 2007, and is responsible for all plaintiff loan administration as well as general office management. She has over six years of experience as an administrator in the legal field, most recently with a prominent Bay Street law firm. Angie graduated from York University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in law and psychology.

Cindy Williams – Legal Assessment Specialist

williams@bpfin.com | 416.941.1663

Cindy brings over 27 years of experience as a law clerk in the fields of plaintiff personal injury, insurance defence, commercial litigation and labour law to her role at BridgePoint. Cindy has assessed and managed a broad spectrum of legal claims from inception through settlement or trial including preparing mediation and pre-trial memoranda, drafting opinions, investigating evidentiary issues, and liaising with experts. Cindy has also studied alternative dispute resolution at York University and is a volunteer mediator with the Community Conflict Resolution Services of Milton. At BridgePoint, Cindy is responsible for assessing and monitoring underlying legal claims and providing investment recommendations. Her knowledge and experience has been instrumental in helping BridgePoint expand its investment mandate.

Lisa Zaretsky – Legal Assessment Specialist

zaretsky@bpfin.com | 416.763.0588

Lisa has been working in the field of disability law and personal injury litigation since 1983 in both the profit and non-profit sectors. As a Legal Intake Worker at the Advocacy Resource Centre for the Handicapped (ARCH) in the 1980s, she participated in case selection as well as did research and writing in the area of disability law. As the Co-ordinator of Publications and Resources at the Palliative Care Foundation, she was responsible for the solicitation and editing of articles for The Journal of Palliative Care, a scholarly publication. She began her law clerking career in the late 1980s in the field of mental health and moved into personal injury litigation shortly thereafter. As she has clerked for both defence and plaintiff counsel, she has the ability to assess a case from both perspectives. She was a senior law clerk at Thomson Rogers, a Tier 1 plaintiff law firm, for 7 years. She had the privilege of clerking for Kenneth Howie, Senior Counsel, from 2002 to September 2005, responsible for case-managing files from inception to settlement. She prepared Mediation and Pre-Trial Memoranda as well as Assessments pertaining to both pecuniary and non-pecuniary losses. She is the author of A Guide to Services and Rights – A Disability Resource Manual, published in 1988.