via
Getty)
It
has
been
a
while
since
we
profiled
someone
working
at
a
litigation
funder
on
these
pages,
by
my
count
since
the
summer
of
2020,
when
I
interviewed
Legalist’s
Eva
Shang,
right
on
the
heels
of
Longford’s
John
Garda.
A
lot
has
changed
in
the
industry
since
then,
with
both
Legalist
and
Longford
seeing
tremendous
growth
in
terms
of
exposure
and
assets
under
management
in
that
time.
At
the
same
time,
the
intervening
years
have
also
seen
some
challenging
developments
in
the
litigation
funding
space,
including
some
high-profile
fund
closures
and
periods
where
attracting
new
capital
has
been
very
difficult.
Still,
the
industry’s
trajectory
remains
on
a
favorable
upward
curve
and
in
a
sign
of
continued
health,
new
funds
piloted
by
experienced
industry
hands
have
been
launched.
This
week,
we
will
hear
from
one
of
the
co-founders
of
a
newly-launched
fund,
which
has
already
attracted
serious
interest
both
for
its
funding
capability,
as
well
as
a
gala
industry
event
it
will
be
putting
on
at
the
end
of
February.
Let’s
meet
our
interviewee,
who
was
gracious
enough
to
agree
to
this
interview
even
as
she
is
hard
at
work
getting
her
new
venture
off
to
a
flying
start.
Lauren
Harrison
is
the
co-founder
and
managing
partner
of
Signal
Peak
Partners,
where
she
brings
more
than
25
years
of
front-line
commercial
litigation
experience
to
legal
finance.
A
former
trial
partner
at
Vinson
&
Elkins
and
Jones
Walker,
Harrison
spent
her
career
litigating
complex
antitrust,
IP
and
other
commercial
disputes
before
serving
as
a
vice
president
at
Law
Finance
Group
and
later
launching
Signal
Peak.
She
attended
Dartmouth
College
and
Cornell
Law
School,
clerked
on
both
the
Ninth
Circuit
and
the
Western
District
of
Washington,
and
has
been
professionally
recognized
by
Lawdragon,
Chambers,
Texas
Super
Lawyers,
and
Best
Lawyers
in
America.
Lauren’s
new
venture
Signal
Peak
Partners,
co-launched
with
industry
veteran
and
fellow
litigator,
Mani
Walia,
is
a
litigation
finance
firm
specializing
in
early-stage
funding
of
complex
matters
—
where
the
partners like
to
say
the
more
complicated,
the
better.
Signal
Peak
is
currently
raising
its
inaugural
fund
with
a
first
close
on
March
1
and
intended
cap
of
$125
million.
As
of
today,
it
has
reviewed
over
100
leads
and
has
several
matters
under
term
sheet
or
funded.
On
February
26,
Signal
Peak
will
host
an
invitation-only
symposium
at
the
Post
Oak
Hotel
in
Houston,
convening
members
of
Congress,
state
and
federal
judges,
and
senior
in-house
counsel
for
candid
conversations
about
the
future
of
legal
finance.
The
event
will
feature
a
tribute
to
legendary
trial
lawyer
H.
Lee
Godfrey.
Confirmed
attendance
currently
exceeds
capacity,
underscoring
the
depth
of
interest
in
the
dialogue
Signal
Peak
is
helping
to
shape.
On
a
personal
note,
I
very
much
appreciate
the
invite
I
received
to
the
event,
and
very
much
look
forward
to
attending.
Now
to
the
interview.
As
usual,
I
have
added
some
brief
commentary
to
Lauren’s
answer
below
but
have
otherwise
presented
her
answer
to
my
first
question
as
she
provided
it.
Gaston
Kroub:
As
a
former
practicing
litigator
turned
funder,
what
are
the
lessons
you
learned
at
Biglaw
that
you
apply
to
your
current
practice
most
regularly?
Lauren
Harrison:
The
first
thing
that
comes
to
mind
is
teambuilding.
When
you
work
in
a
sprawling
practice
section
at
a
multi-office
law
firm,
you
learn
that
great
outcomes
are
the
products
of
great
teams,
and
teambuilding
is
both
a
mindset
and
a
skill
set.
Complex
litigation
is
not
a
solo
exercise.
It
requires
assembling
the
right
mix
of
experience,
judgment,
creativity,
and
execution,
and
it
requires
using
the
right
mix
of
top-down
direction
and
active
listening.
As
a
partner
and
mentor
at
two
large
firms,
I
learned
the
importance
of
including
diverse
viewpoints
and
experience
levels
in
all
aspects
of
the
process
but
without
losing
the
structure
that
ensures
efficiency. And
most
importantly,
never
hoard
credit. What
you
put
out
to
your
community
comes
back
to
you;
I
believe
this
across
contexts
and
disciplines.
These
principles
guide
us
at
Signal
Peak.
We
partner
with
lawyers
we
respect.
We
trust
their
judgment,
and
we
structure
our
investments
to
support,
not
interfere
with,
their
ability
to
try
cases
well.
Another
critical
lesson
from
Biglaw
is
to
respect
client
resources.
Client
work
is
relationship-based,
and
I
was
mindful
of
how
my
decisions
affected
a
client’s
legal
spend.
As
a
funder,
that
translates
to
responsible
stewardship
of
investor
capital.
We
are
disciplined
about
underwriting,
thoughtful
about
capital
deployment,
and
focused
on
efficiency
at
every
stage
of
a
matter.
It
also
informs
our
views
on
investing
and
the
ways
that
incentives
shape
behavior.
Hourly
billing
has
an
important
place
in
the
legal
marketplace.
Expertise
and
counseling
deserve
to
be
valued.
But
hourly
billing
creates
obviously
counterintuitive
incentives,
where
more
time
spent
equates
to
greater
“value.”
At
Signal
Peak,
alignment
is
central.
We
seek
partnerships
with
attorneys
who
are
willing
to
bet
on
themselves
and
whose
interests
are
aligned
with
our
own. Our
funding
structures
are
designed
to
reward
efficiency,
to
value
outcomes
over
process,
and
to
ensure
that
everyone
pulls
in
the
same
direction
toward
a
successful
result.
On
a
more
macro
level,
being
a
Biglaw
alum
and
specifically
a
Vinson
&
Elkins
alum
in
Texas
is
to
be
part
of
a
large
but
very
specific
group.
National
and
international
law
firms
invest
heavily
in
brand
recognition
and
building
a
culture
that
adheres
across
far-flung
offices.
While
Signal
Peak
is
small
by
comparison,
that
focus
on
culture
and
identity
is
part
of
our
ethos.
Our
name
conveys
the
role
we
expect
to
play
in
Texas
and
beyond.
We
are
building
a
culture
of
reliability
and
disciplined
execution,
where
trust
is
earned
through
consistency
and
results.
GK:
The
importance
of
teamwork
in
driving
successful
litigation
results
can’t
be
overstated
—
and
that
is
especially
true
in
complex
IP
litigation.
And
when
a
funder
is
introduced
into
the
mix
of
client
and
their
trial
team,
the
importance
of
trying
to
maintain
alignment
across
each
stage
of
the
matter
is
of
critical
importance,
as
Lauren
rightly
recognizes.
That
focus,
as
well
as
the
tremendous
litigation
experience
that
Lauren
brings
to
bear
on
behalf
of
Signal
Peak’s
investors
and
funded
clients,
makes
it
no
surprise
to
me
that
the
firm
is
off
to
such
a
strong
start
in
terms
of
its
capital
raising
and
deployment
efforts.
Likewise,
the
strength
of
the
relationships
that
Lauren
and
her
colleagues
have
built
over
their
own
litigation
careers
have
surely
helped
shape
the
star-studded
lineup
that
is
set
to
gather
at
Signal
Peak’s
upcoming
symposium.
We
will
continue
with
Lauren’s
answers
to
questions
2
and
3
next
time,
which
will
center
on
her
thoughts
about
the
critical
need
for
battle-tested
trial
lawyers,
as
well
as
the
role
litigation
funding
can
play
in
advancing
the
objectives
of
corporate
legal
departments.
In
the
meantime,
feel
free
to
reach
out
to
Lauren
and
her
Signal
Peak
colleagues
if
you
have
meritorious
cases
that
could
benefit
from
litigation
funding.
Please
feel
free
to
send
comments
or
questions
to
me
at
[email protected]
or
via
Twitter:
@gkroub.
Any
topic
suggestions
or
thoughts
are
most
welcome.
Gaston
Kroub
lives
in
Brooklyn
and
is
a
founding
partner
of Kroub,
Silbersher
&
Kolmykov
PLLC,
an
intellectual
property
litigation
boutique,
and Markman
Advisors
LLC,
a
leading
consultancy
on
patent
issues
for
the
investment
community.
Gaston’s
practice
focuses
on
intellectual
property
litigation
and
related
counseling,
with
a
strong
focus
on
patent
matters.
You
can
reach
him
at [email protected] or
follow
him
on
Twitter: @gkroub.