Our People
The Right Honourable The Lord Falconer of Thoroton
Charlie Falconer chairs the Advisory Committee of Therium Access. He is an English qualified barrister and the former Lord Chancellor and first Secretary of State for Justice. Amongst others, he has held the positions of the first Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs, Solicitor General, Criminal Justice Minister, and the Housing, Planning and Regeneration Minister. He is currently a partner in Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher's London office. Lord Falconer studied at Edinburgh Academy, Trinity College, Glenalmon and Queens' College, Cambridge
John Byrne
John is on the Advisory Committee of Therium Access. He co-founded Therium in 2008 and is a director of Therium Capital Management Limited and the firm’s Chief Executive Officer. John is a solicitor and was formerly a corporate partner at Nabarro Nathanson, then managing partner of the London office of Dorsey & Whitney. In the latter role, John acquired PwC's tax litigation team and a VAT litigation team from Ernst & Young. John has previously been listed by Chambers as one of the UK's best business lawyers. John has LLB and LLM degrees from the London School of Economics and Political Science.
Neil Purslow
Neil is on the Advisory Committee of Therium Access. He co-founded Therium in 2008 and is a director of Therium Capital Management Limited and the firm’s Chief Investment Officer. Neil is a solicitor with over 17 years’ experience and was previously Litigation Counsel in-house for Marsh & MacLennan Companies, Inc. (MMC). Prior to this he was in practice in the City of London with US firm Reed Smith and Withers. He is a board member of the Association of Litigation Funders the self-regulatory body for the litigation funding industry in England and Wales, of which Therium is a founding member. Neil speaks regularly at conferences and is often quoted in the media on issues related to litigation funding. He gained an MA in Jurisprudence from the University of Oxford (1995). He was ranked as a Tier 1 litigation funder by Chambers and Partners.
Jennifer Morrissey
Jennifer is on the Advisory Committee of Therium Access. She is a partner at Harcus Parker Limited where she advises on a range of private and commercial disputes with a particular focus on financial services litigation and large shareholder actions. She represents a range of private and corporate clients including a number of international and domestic investment funds, investments banks, private trust companies and high-net worth individuals. She obtained her PhD from St John's College, Oxford.
Jeunesse Mensier
Jeunesse is a member of the Secretariat which supports the Advisory Committee and Board of Therium Access. She joined Therium in 2017 from another litigation funder. Previously, she was a project manager at Group Action Edge Limited (formerly eSystems Case Management Limited), where her role included working on a complex and high profile £14 billion court action affecting numerous vulnerable individuals. She has worked in a wide range of organisations, including law firms, charities and international investment banks. Jeunesse graduated from Oxford Brookes University (BA) in 2006 and Nottingham Law School (LPC) in 2009.
Christina Gates
Christina is a member of the Secretariat which supports the Advisory Committee and Board of Therium Access. She joined Therium during May 2016 and is Head of Jersey Operation of Therium Group Holdings Limited. In addition to setting up and managing Therium's Jersey office, Christina is responsible for administration of the Jersey based corporate entities and associated cases within the Therium group. Prior to joining Therium, Christina worked for 18 years in the finance industry, including 16 years spent within the trust and fiduciary services industry with ultimate responsibility for the administration of a variety of complex fiduciary structures whilst living in Switzerland and Jersey. Christina's professional qualifications include the Diploma in Trust and Estate Practice awarded by the Institute of Financial Services and the STEP Diploma in International Trust Management awarded by Central Law Training International.
James joined Therium in 2019 from Slaughter and May, where he trained and practised as a senior associate in the multi-specialist dispute resolution team, working on commercial, competition and financial disputes, as well as white-collar and corporate investigations. James has experience of defending high-value follow-on and standalone competition damages claims, mass tort claims and other group claims across a number of sectors, as well as defending large corporates in breach of warranty and fraudulent misrepresentation claims and in investigations by the UK Serious Fraud Office and Financial Conduct Authority. Key clients at Slaughter and May included Rolls-Royce, JP Morgan Chase, Marks & Spencer, Dentsu Aegis, EY and British American Tobacco, at the latter of which James spent six months on a client secondment working in the commercial litigation team.
James graduated from the University of Oxford (First Class Honours in Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE)) in 2009, where he came top of his year in Economics, and BPP Law School, London, in 2011, where he achieved a Distinction in both the Graduate Diploma in Law and the Legal Practice Course.
