About Us

Hugh spent over 20 years as a trial attorney — working both plaintiff and defense sides — before becoming one of the most respected underwriters in the pre-settlement funding industry. He has served as lead underwriter at Atlas Legal Funding and Tusk/Mighty, testified as an expert witness for the FBI in litigation funding contracts, and now brings that depth of judgment to every lawsuit loan case LBC evaluates. If Hugh approves a pre-settlement funding, the case is genuinely strong.

Jim has been a cornerstone of LBC since inception. With a BS in Mathematics from Pace University and early career experience building financial systems at Pershing, Bear Stearns, and the Nasdaq stock market, he brings the kind of operational rigor that turns a good idea into a running institution. Jim has spent 25+ years in financial services, lead generation, and technology — and now directs LBC’s daily operations, pre-settlement funding workflows, investor relations, and technology infrastructure.

A Yale-educated physician and top-ranked robotic surgeon, Dr. Caravella’s path from Wall Street to the operating room to pre-settlement legal finance is unlike anyone else’s in the industry. He founded LBC in 2016 after years of personally investing in lawsuit funding cases — bringing a physician’s eye for risk and a businessman’s discipline for return. He has invested in over 1,000 pre-settlement funding liens to date. He was featured on ABC Nightly News for his emergency medical response during the Las Vegas mass shooting in 2017 — a moment that captures who he is at his core.

With 20+ years managing operations and portfolio servicing at Peachtree Financial Solutions and similar pre-settlement funding firms, Rita is the steady hand that ensures every open lien in LBC’s portfolio is actively monitored, properly documented, and efficiently resolved. Her hands-on approach to lien lifecycle management protects both investors and clients — and is a major reason LBC’s lawsuit loan default rate remains so far below industry norms.

Justin Leon brings some of the most relevant front-line pre-settlement funding experience in the business to LBC. From 2017 to 2022, Justin served as an Account Executive at Momentum Funding — a nationally recognized plaintiff funding and lawsuit loan company headquartered in Boca Raton, Florida, and widely regarded as one of the premier pre-settlement funding operations in the country. Momentum built its reputation on fast approvals, competitive non-recourse rates, and deep relationships with personal injury law firms from coast to coast. During his five-year tenure there, Justin became fluent in every aspect of how great settlement funding actually works: building and maintaining law firm partnerships, navigating the nuances of non-recourse cash advances on personal injury and workers’ compensation cases, and making sure that both attorneys and plaintiffs had a funding experience that felt fast, transparent, and trustworthy. That experience — earned in the field, not a classroom — is exactly what LBC needed as it scales its direct origination and attorney outreach operations. At LBC, Justin is the primary point of contact for law firm relationships, new pre-settlement funding applications, and attorney-facing business development. His hands-on knowledge of how plaintiff funding flows from first call to funded case, combined with a track record of building lasting relationships across the personal injury bar, makes him an invaluable bridge between LBC’s capital and the clients who need it most. If you’re an attorney looking for a pre-settlement funding partner that understands your practice — or a plaintiff who wants to speak with someone who has seen thousands of lawsuit loan cases — Justin is your first call.

After 13 years on Wall Street — including leading an investment banking division that raised over $500 million in public and private transactions — Chris co-founded Legal-Bay, LLC in 2011. Under his leadership, Legal-Bay has become one of the most widely recognized pre-settlement funding origination sources in the country, facilitating over $300 million in litigation finance transactions and helping more than 30,000 clients navigate the legal process with a lawsuit loan or settlement cash advance. Legal-Bay’s proprietary LEAP processing system drives LBC’s intake and pre-underwriting pipeline — and Chris serves as a trusted advisor across all facets of LBC’s operations.