Who We Are

Dr. Scarbrough has over 45 years’ experience analyzing economic loss in matters of personal injury and wrongful death and 40 years’ experience in evaluating cases arising from mass torts and other disasters. An applied price theorist, his primary field of application and research is labor economics. He was named a Heller-Hurwicz Economic Institute Research Affiliate in 2018 and coordinates LAI’s activities related to the NBER and the GRID and MEBDI projects at the University of Minnesota, as well as supervising LAI’s health-related research. Dr. Scarbrough is the only structured settlement broker in the United States with a Ph.D. in economics, which he received at the University of Minnesota.

Ben Hillman is one of LAI’s most experienced economists, located in our Southlake office. He received his M.S. in economics from Baylor University, where he focused on econometrics and statistical modeling, applying his exceptional undergraduate training in economics and applied mathematics. Ben has considerable experience working with large data, which makes him a valuable resource, given LAI’s use of such data sets regarding earnings, education, health expenditures, and disability.

Dr. Lanier joined LAI as an economist in 2014. An applied micro theorist, his research focuses on occupational sorting and college major selection effects on the race wage gap, and spatial dependency of migration and its effects on various factors, such as income. He also brings years of experience related to the application of econometric techniques using various econometric packages. Dr. Lanier is involved with several research projects, one of which focuses on migration and income and the effect of human capital, as measured by education and experience, on the geographic breadth of the market for skills.

Jennifer Reed is a Research Economist at LAI. Ms. Reed received a B.S. degree in mathematics from Texas Tech University and an M.S. in Economic Data Analytics from the University of Texas at Arlington. A former data analysis and modeler for the City of Dallas, she conducts economic assessments in LAI’s cases by applying her skills as an economist while incorporating the techniques of data analysis, statistical modeling, and econometrics into LAI’s proprietary damages software.

Matthew Bombyk is a Research Economist at LAI. He is an applied microeconomist, specifically to issues related to labor and prices, and has a broad range of research experience spanning 15 years. Mr. Bombyk has a deep knowledge of both applied micro and econometrics. He has extensive experience in policy analysis, impact evaluation, and data collection. Mr. Bombyk is preparing to defend his dissertation to complete his Ph.D. in Applied Economics at the University of Minnesota, where he has served as Data User and Research Support Specialist at IPUMS.

Professor Pavan is a Consulting Research Economist with LAI. He received his M.A. and Ph.D. in economics at the University of Chicago and is Professor of Economics at the University of Rochester. His research primarily focuses on labor economics, applied econometrics, and urban economics. Throughout his career, Dr. Pavan has contributed significantly to the understanding of wage dynamics, job mobility, and skill formation. His research has been published in scholarly economic journals, including the Journal of Labor Economics, the Journal of Political Economy, the American Economic Review, The Review of Economics and Statistics, American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, The Review of Economic Studies, and the Journal of Human Resources. He serves as Associate Editor of the Journal of Labor Economics and Quantitative Economics, and formerly served in that role for the European Economic Review, and the Journal of Human Capital. Dr. Pavan has taught labor economics and econometrics at both the undergraduate and graduate levels.

Dr. Houseworth has been working as a labor economist for over a decade calculating economic damages and providing expert testimony, initially while a senior economist and lecturer in what was then LAI’s New York City office. She now serves as the Chair of the Department of Economics and Associate Professor at Hobart and William Smith Colleges, after previously teaching at UIC Chicago, Loyola University Chicago, and Columbia University. Dr. Houseworth earned her Ph.D. and M.A. in Economics from the University of Illinois at Chicago and B.A. in Economics from Southern Illinois University in Carbondale. In addition to her work as a testifying economist, she is actively engaged in producing empirical research and publications using Census data, the American Community Surveys (ACS), the Current Population Surveys (CPS), the Education Longitudinal Study of 2002 (ELS:2002), the American Time Use Surveys (ATUS), and the General Social Surveys (GSS), among others. Her research primarily focuses on issues related to employment and wages, immigration, marriage, and the military.

Fatih Guvenen, Consulting Testifying Economist with LAI, is the Curtis L. Carlson Professor of Economics at the University of Minnesota and the founding Director of the Minnesota Economics Big Data Institute (MEBDI). He is also an adviser to the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, a Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research, and a Fellow of the Econometric Society. Dr. Guvenen received his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Bilkent University in Turkey and his M.Sc. and Ph.D. in economics from Carnegie Mellon University. He has held visiting or full-time academic positions at the University of Rochester, NYU Stern School of Business, Yale University, and the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.

Dr. Guvenen and LAI have formalized their collaboration which began in 2017 with LAI’s involvement with the Heller Hurwicz Economic Research Institute and MEBDI, and, more recently, with the Global Repository of Income Dynamics (GRID), of which Dr. Guvenen is a Co Director. His papers have been published in many of the most prestigious economic journals, including the American Economic Review, Econometrica, Journal of Political Economy, Quarterly Journal of Economics, Quantitative Economics, and Review of Economic Studies, among others. Dr. Guvenen’s knowledge of labor economics and price theory make him an invaluable member of LAI’s team both as a consulting and testifying economist.

Jeff Galner joined LAI in 2009 and is the company’s Director of Operations and Comptroller, responsible for all back-office functions of the firm. He also applies his financial training in support of LAI’s work in the area of structured settlements. In that role, he is responsible for interfacing with defendants and plaintiffs, developing settlement proposals, and handling the documents involved in the closing process. After receiving his B.A. in economics from Tufts University, Mr. Galner worked as a financial advisor for MetLife. Prior to joining LAI, he served as Director of Operations for an asset management firm in New York. He received his MBA with a concentration in management from the University of Connecticut.

Ms. Day provides support to LAI’s economists in research and production of their work product, including research into the cost of care for individuals with disabilities as described in the life care plans of litigation experts. She joined LAI in 2006 after many years of working for managed health care companies, interfacing with national health insurance carriers. She earned her MBA from the University of Connecticut.

Ms. Smith provides support to the economists at LAI in research and work product production. This role includes significant activity regarding cost of care as presented in life care plans. She received her J.D. from New England Law Boston and joined LAI after working in the Medicare compliance and medical malpractice fields. Prior to law school, Ms. Smith earned her B.A. in criminal justice from Marist College.

Dr. Scarbrough supports LAI’s cases through his expertise in scholarly writing and education research. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Rochester, his M.A. from Columbia University, and his B.A. from Duke University. His research focuses on adolescent literacy pedagogy and the impact of out-of-school-time learning on youth development. Dr. Scarbrough is an Associate Professor, Distinguished Teaching Professor, and Chairman of the English Department at the University of Minnesota Duluth.

John E. Scarbrough, Ph.D.

Ben Hillman, M.S.

Thomas F. Lanier, III, Ph.D.

Jennifer Reed, M.S.

Matthew Bombyk, M.S.

Ronni Pavan, Ph.D.

Christina Houseworth, Ph.D.

Fatih Guvenen, Ph.D.

Jeffrey Galner, MBA

Laura Day, MBA

Allison Smith, J.D.

Burke Scarbrough, Ph.D.