Omni Bridgeway announced the company's expansion and permanent operations in France, welcoming Leon Ioannou as Investment Manager and Senior Legal Counsel. Based in Paris, Leon will focus on supporting clients and lawyers with non-recourse financing and recovery solutions for legal disputes both in France and internationally. Leon brings extensive legal, financial, and international arbitration expertise across jurisdictions from his career in-house and with leading law firms, most recently as the general in-house legal counsel for the European operations of an international medical device company where he steered the resolution of the company's European disputes and litigation.

Prior to that, Leon practiced as a lawyer resolving international disputes at White & Case LLP, Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLP, and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer. Leon's has advised clients in international arbitration (both common- and civil-law governed) across industry sectors including energy (nuclear, oil and gas), construction, utilities, telecommunications, pharmaceutical, banking and finance, and professional service industries. Leon has conducted proceedings under most of the world's major arbitral institutional rules as well as ad hoc proceedings under the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) Rules.

In Paris, Leon will work closely with the full EMEA team including French trained lawyer, Nevena Ivanova, Investment Manager, Senior Legal Counsel who joined Omni Bridgeway in 2020. Prior to Omni Bridgeway, Nevena gained over a decade of experience in a French boutique law firm where she specialised in fraud, insolvency, asset recovery and international private law litigation. She has deep experience in the enforcement of EU and non-EU judgments and arbitral awards, and regarding the ex-parte authorisations and challenge of various asset attachments, including real estate.