🎙Episode #023: Matthew Blumenstein (Litigation Finance Lawyer)
👋🏻 Greetings from Washington, D.C. to all 416 of you on the podcast e-mail list!
First, before sharing this week’s episode, I wanted to take a brief moment to share my personal devastation over the loss last week of one of my legal mentors, Judge Robert Katzmann of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Judge Katzmann was one of the country’s finest jurists but also one of its most wonderful people. I was lucky enough to clerk for Judge Katzmann early in my legal career and he was a mentor and a mensch. I will miss him dearly and carry his memory with me forever.
If you do not know about Judge Katzmann I hope you’ll take a minute to read some of the wonderful tributes to his incredible life (New York Times Obituary, New York Times Op-Ed, Second Circuit Tribute, Attorney General Garland’s Statement). He really was an incredible person. My own words were included in a lovely tribute from his beloved Georgetown Law where Judge Katzmann was a Professor and later on the Board of Visitors.
Jonah Perlin praised Katzmann’s ability to listen deeply and to find compromise at every turn, and his tireless work in pursuit of justice. “He often told his clerks that while the law is not always kind or fair, one of his goals was to make sure that every interaction a person had with him and the legal system was one where they felt respected and heard,” Perlin said. “He taught me that there are always a few more hours in the day to help people, to do justice and to be righteous.”
I will miss him dearly.
In today’s previously scheduled episode of the podcast, I speak with my friend Matthew Blumenstein who is the the Head of Underwriting and Deputy General Counsel at Statera Capital, a leading commercial litigation financing firm based in Chicago, Illinois. At Statera, Matt is responsible for leading the firm's investment underwriting and confirmatory diligence process and acts as the firm's Deputy General Counsel. Before joining Statera last year, Matt was an associate at Williams & Connolly LLP in Washington, D.C. where he litigated civil and criminal cases. He started his career as a law clerk to Judge Karen LeCraft Henderson on the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.
In our conversation we take a deep dive on litigation finance: what it is, the role it plays in litigation today, and some of the potential benefits and challenges that it presents. We also discuss Matt's move from Big Law practice to entrepreneurial start up, and why it is important to build networks, bet on yourself, and take chances when presented with them.
As always, if you have any questions or suggestions you can just respond to this e-mail. And if you liked the episode and can share the podcast with a family/friend/colleague and/or leave a review on iTunes I’d appreciate it.
See you next week,
Jonah