Team

Brandon Baer is the Founding Partner and CIO of Contingency Capital which he started in November 2020. Prior to creating Contingency Capital, Mr. Baer was a Partner and Managing Director in the Credit Funds business at Fortress and was also the Co-Founder and Co-Head of the Fortress Legal Assets group from its inception through November 2019. While at Fortress, Baer focused on litigation finance, distressed debt, and special situations, with an emphasis on complex, private illiquid investments including litigation related assets. Prior to working at Fortress, Mr. Baer was a Senior Vice President of D. E. Shaw & Co., L.P. where he was a member of the corporate credit related strategies unit. Mr. Baer began his career as an associate at Willkie Farr & Gallagher. He received a JD, cum laude, from Harvard University and a BA, summa cum laude, from Princeton University. He is based in New York.

Maryanne Paul is the General Counsel of Contingency Capital. Prior to joining Contingency Capital, Ms. Paul was a Senior Counsel at Tetragon Financial Group. Previously, Ms. Paul was at Sullivan & Cromwell in New York as a senior associate in the mergers and acquisitions and alternative investment management groups. Ms. Paul began her legal career as an associate at Minter Ellison in Sydney, Australia, advising clients on a broad range of corporate transactions. Ms. Paul has a Master of Laws (LL.M.) degree from Columbia University School of Law, where she was a James Kent Scholar and recipient of the Walter Gellhorn Prize for the highest GPA in the LL.M. class. She also has a BA/LL.B. degree (1st class honors) from Macquarie University, Sydney. Ms. Paul is admitted to the New York bar, the Supreme Court of NSW and the High Court of Australia. She is based in New York.

Jeff Cohen is a Partner and Managing Director of Contingency Capital. Prior to joining Contingency Capital, Mr. Cohen was a Partner and Managing Director at Southpaw Asset Management from its inception in 2005. Prior to working at Southpaw, Mr. Cohen was a Vice President and Analyst in the credit opportunity/distressed securities fund at Ramius Capital Group LLC. He previously worked at Stockback LLC, a TH Lee Putnam Ventures funded financial services and technology firm. Mr. Cohen began his professional career as a bankruptcy and restructuring attorney in private practice and served as a Judicial Law Clerk for the Honorable Bruce I. Fox in the United States Bankruptcy Court, Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Mr. Cohen received a JD from Temple University Beasley School of Law and a BA from Columbia University. He is based in New York.

Kacey Wolmer is Head of Operational Asset Management at Contingency Capital. Prior to joining Contingency Capital, Ms. Wolmer was Senior Vice President and Counsel at FirstKey Mortgage, LLC, a wholly owned portfolio company of funds and accounts managed by Cerberus Capital Management. Prior to working at FirstKey, Ms. Wolmer was an Associate at Hunton & Williams LLP in the structured finance and securitization practice. Prior to that, she was an Associate & Counsel at Fortress Investment Group where she provided legal support to various businesses including the credit funds group. Ms. Wolmer began her professional career as an attorney in private practice; working at two national law firms both in the structured finance and private funds groups. She received a JD from University of Michigan Law School and a BA from Emory University. She is based in New York.

Ian Millican is an Analyst at Contingency Capital. Prior to joining Contingency Capital, Mr. Millican was Counsel at Robins Kaplan LLP, where he specialized in mass tort, products liability, business litigation, and complex civil litigation. Prior to working at Robins Kaplan, Mr. Millican was an associate at another plaintiffs' mass tort firm, the Lanier Law Firm. Prior to that, he was an associate at a mass tort defense firm, Lynch Daskal Emery LLP, where he represented Fortune 500 companies throughout the United States and internationally in a variety of products liability and mass tort matters. Mr. Millican began his legal career clerking for the late Hon. Carol E. Higbee of New Jersey Superior Court, Atlantic County. He has a JD from Fordham University School of Law, and a BA from Cornell University. He is based in New York.

Leanne Wilson is an Analyst at Contingency Capital. Prior to joining Contingency Capital, Ms. Wilson was an analyst on the litigation finance desk at Sculptor Capital (formerly known as Och-Ziff). Prior to working at Sculptor Capital, Ms. Wilson was Counsel at Grais & Ellsworth LLP, where she represented investment funds, the Federal Home Loan Banks, and the FDIC in litigation related to residential mortgage-backed securities and other structured products. Ms. Wilson began her legal career at Mayer Brown LLP in the appellate litigation group. She received a JD from Columbia University School of Law, an MBA from McMaster University (Ontario, Canada), and a BSc from Queen’s University at Kingston (Ontario, Canada). She is based in New York.