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. He is one of the few human capital economists testifying in court and was recently named a Heller-Hurwicz Economic Institute Research Affiliate. He is a frequent speaker to associations, insurance companies and law firms. 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.

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.

Dr. Binder is an economist with the Center for Economic Studies at the U.S. Census Bureau, and regularly supports LAI in specialized, case-related research projects. His primary research interests are related to the measurement, causes, and consequences of socioeconomic inequality, germane to most of our work regarding earnings, time allocation, and savings/consumption. Dr. Binder has published via the NBER and in several top rated economics journals, including the American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, the Journal of Monetary Economics, the Journal of Human Resources and the Journal of Economic Perspectives. Dr. Binder also serves as a reviewer for many others, including the Journal of Labor Economics, Health Economics, Journal of Political Economy, and the Review of Economics and Statistics. He received his Ph.D. and M.A. in economics from the University of Michigan and his B.A. in mathematics and economics from Williams College.

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. 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. 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.

Ms. Galner provides support to the economists at LAI. She received her J.D. from Pace University School of Law and joined LAI after many years of practicing law as a trusts and estates attorney. Prior to law school, Ms. Galner earned her B.A. in clinical psychology from Tufts University and went on to work as a home-care case manager for elderly and disabled individuals.

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 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.

Christina Houseworth, Ph.D.

Ari Binder, Ph.D.

Fatih Guvenen, Ph.D.

Jeffrey Galner, MBA

Laura Day, MBA

Allison Smith, J.D.

Kasey Galner, J.D.

Burke Scarbrough, Ph.D.