GLS Capital Co-Founder and Chief Investment Officer Adam Gill recently joined Khurram Naik’s ‘Khurram’s Quorum’ podcast for a wide-ranging conversation on litigation finance, patent litigation, underwriting judgment, and the evolving role of funders in complex disputes.
The conversation explored Adam’s path from patent litigation to litigation finance, the discipline required to underwrite legal risk, and the ways funders can bring value beyond capital. Throughout the discussion, Adam emphasized that successful litigation finance is not about chasing the largest possible outcomes but about carefully evaluating risk, aligning incentives, and supporting economically rational decisions.
“We are not prospectors. We’re risk managers,” Adam said during the conversation. “Our goal is to underwrite risk accurately, get paid an appropriate amount for that risk that we’re taking, and then to see the matter managed in an economically rational way.”
Adam also discussed how GLS approaches its role as value-added capital. Drawing on his background and experience, he explained that funders can provide an independent perspective on litigation strategy, case themes, risk assessment, and settlement considerations.
“We have a friendly but different set of eyes on the problem,” Adam said. “A lot of the benefit that we can provide to lawyers, I think, and also to the cases, is not necessarily that we’re smarter than them, but that we see so much.”
That perspective, Adam explained, can be especially valuable in complex litigation where judgment, experience, and context matter. Because funders evaluate numerous disputes across claim types, venues, industries, and legal issues, they can help identify risks, test assumptions, and bring lessons from one matter to another.
The podcast also covered the importance of incentive alignment among claimholders, counsel, and capital providers. Adam noted that funders and law firms may approach risk differently because their economic incentives are not always the same. For GLS, the objective is to structure investments so that all parties remain focused on a successful and efficient resolution.
“When you pay someone to resolve something efficiently, which is how we get paid, they wake up every day and say, ‘ How can I resolve this efficiently?” Adam said.
In discussing patent litigation specifically, Adam reflected on the unique challenges facing inventors and patent holders. He noted that while economic recovery is often central to a claimholder’s goals, inventors may also be motivated by validation and recognition for their contributions.
“There’s a very real component to inventors wanting to get credit for having invented a piece of technology,” Adam said. “It’s maybe their legacy, their life’s work, and they don’t just want a paycheck.”
Adam also described the “craft” of litigation finance as a form of deal making that requires listening, understanding each counterparty’s objectives, and solving practical problems in ways that allow transactions to move forward.
“It’s a complicated and competitive space, and it’s not easy to get deals done,” Adam said. “I think the soft skills and being able to listen to your counterparty, understand what’s important to them, and be able to move pieces around so they get what they want in a way that allows them to give you what you want is particularly valuable.”
The episode offers a thoughtful look at how litigation finance has matured, what sophisticated underwriting requires, and why judgment remains central to the asset class.