Vaughn Walker
Jason Doiy / The Recorder

Vaughn Walker, the retired chief judge of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, made waves last fall when he teamed up with Bentham IMF as a member of its investment vetting committee.

In this far-ranging conversation with ALM reporter Ben Hancock, Walker discusses his role with Bentham, sheds light on how the funder's assessment process works and talks about why he was drawn to the industry in the first place. “I have always had an interest in how litigation is financed,” says Walker, who was once an economics fellow at UC-Berkeley. “Litigation requires the input of talent, and also requires capital.”

Walker became nationally known for his 2010 decision striking down California's ban on same-sex marriage. The following year he stepped off the bench and has worked since as an arbitrator and mediator in the Bay Area.

His decision to join the funding industry comes amid a debate among his former colleagues on the bench and more broadly about the secrecy of funding agreements, and the effect of this type of investment on the functioning of the court system. But Walker sees no cause for alarm. “The litigation funding analysis is quite rigorous, and so I'm not concerned that it is a process that is likely to drive spurious litigation.”

For the full conversation, listen to the podcast below.