Douglas G. Gruener

Partner

Corporate, Litigation

Doug is a partner in the Corporate Group. His practice focuses on complex transactional matters, including mergers and acquisitions, equity and debt financings, restructurings and joint ventures. Doug has extensive experience representing clients in the financial sector, including private equity funds, hedge fund managers and non-traditional asset managers. Within non-traditional asset classes, Doug has developed a specialty in litigation finance, representing both providers and recipients of capital with regard to their transactional needs.

Dovetailing with his work in the litigation finance industry, Doug’s practice also more broadly includes legal industry matters. Doug has acted as counsel on behalf of both buyers and sellers with respect to law firm mergers and acquisitions, and has also advised law firms with regard to their general business needs, including their partnership agreements.

Prior to joining LP, Doug was a partner at Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP, and thereafter served as in-house counsel for leading companies in the litigation finance industry, including as General Counsel of Gerchen Keller Capital, LLC.

Doug graduated summa cum laude from Case Western Reserve University with a B.S. in Accounting, and earned his J.D., magna cum laude, from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, where he was the Business Manager of the University of Pittsburgh Law Review. Prior to entering law school, Doug was awarded a Fulbright Fellowship to research Japanese corporate governance at Kobe University.

Contact

Email Me

Phone Number

+1 312 476 7533

Additional Information

Education & Admissions

Education

University of Pittsburgh School of Law, J.D.
Kobe University, Fulbright Scholar
Case Western Reserve University, B.S. in Accounting

Bar Admissions

Illinois

Awards

Fulbright Fellowship to Kobe University, 2002-2003
CALI Awards in Legal Writing, Legal Process, Secured Transactions, and Federal Tax Practice
Ranked in Chambers and Partners Litigation Support Guide, 2024-2025

Speaking Engagements

IMN 2nd Annual Financing, Structuring & Investing In Litigation Finance Conference Speaker, "Deal Issues and the Challenges of Obtaining Financing for Litigation", 2019
Frazier & Deeter’s Private Equity 360 Podcast Speaker, “What is Litigation Finance, and What it Means to Litigants, Attorneys and Investors”, 2020
IMN 3nd Annual Financing, Structuring & Investing In Litigation Finance Conference Speaker, "Deal Flow Strategies & Overcoming the Challenges of Securing Financing for Litigation", 2021
IMN 4th Annual Financing, Structuring & Investing In Litigation Finance Conference Speaker, "The State of the Market: Trends, Developments and the Outlook for the Future", 2022
Stifel/Gerchen Capital Partners Litigation Finance Secondary Market Investor Conference Speaker, "Approaching Deal Documentation", 2023
IMN 5th Annual Financing, Structuring & Investing In Litigation Finance Conference Speaker, "The State of the Market: Where is the Litigation Finance Market Headed?", 2023
GLS Capital Investor Conference Speaker, "Litigation Finance Market - Industry Perspectives", 2023
IMN 6th Annual Financing, Structuring & Investing In Litigation Finance Conference Moderator, "When and How Should Law Firms Engage With Funders", 2024
IMN 7th Annual Financing, Structuring & Investing In Litigation Finance Conference Speaker, “The Current State of the Litigation Funding Market”, 2025

Q&A

What are the top three attributes of your best clients?
Sophisticated, strategic, and focused.
What’s your favorite way to spend your commuting time?
Some sage advice I received as a young attorney is that being tuned in to world news is useful in being a strategic advisor. I focus my commuting time on reading the day’s key articles from The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Chicago Tribune, and Crain’s Chicago Business. If time remains for leisure, I skim the latest Pittsburgh sports news from Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (I am a Pittsburgh native).
What’s your favorite vacation spot?
Paris.

November 04, 2025

LP Named Finalist for Prestigious ILFA Award Recognizing Excellence in Legal Finance

June 24, 2025

Levenfeld Pearlstein’s Litigation Finance Practice and Douglas Gruener Recognized Among Best in U.S.