The company was founded in 2016 by Harvard University undergraduates,
Eva Shang and Christian Haigh, and was part of that year's Summer Y Combinator Demo Day. In November 2017,
Forbes Magazine included Legalist's founders in its "30 Under 30" Law & Policy list and reported that Legalist had raised $10.25 million over the summer. In September 2019, The Wall Street Journal reported that Legalist had raised and closed its second fund of $100 million. In April 2020,
AngelList named Legalist among the 52 best startups to watch out for. In March 2021, Reuters reported that Legalist had raised $50 million for its first bankruptcy fund. In August 2022, Legalist managed approximately $750 million across three distinct private credit strategies: litigation finance, bankruptcy financing, and government receivables lending. As of July 2025, Legalist manages approximately across $1.5 billion across its three strategies. This growth was driven by the company securing a new group of clients in the form of U.S. government contractors who recently lost support from the Department of Government Efficiency (DoGE). ==References==