Lauren Valastro is an Assistant Professor of Law and the Frank McDonald Scholar in Business Law at Texas Tech University School of Law. Before entering academia, she practiced in Big Law, eventually becoming a partner at a prominent litigation boutique where she litigated complex financial, healthcare, environmental, and international disputes. Professor Valastro has served as first chair in both trials and arbitrations and has represented some of the world’s largest companies and state governments in high-profile matters. Her appellate experience includes presenting oral argument before the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and representing clients in the Fifth Circuit, various Texas appellate courts, and the Delaware Supreme Court. Valastro later served as Investment Counsel at a Silicon Valley private equity firm, advising executives on strategy and major transactions.

Before joining Texas Tech Law, Valastro taught at the University of Colorado Law School, the University of Denver Sturm College of Law, and Louisiana State University - Shreveport (LSUS) College of Business. At LSUS, she was honored as the first new professor in the university’s history to receive the campus-wide Professor of the Year award from the Student Government Association.

Valastro earned her B.A. from Texas Tech University, graduating first in her college class. She received a full-tuition Chancellor’s Scholarship to attend Texas Tech University School of Law, where she served as a Comment Editor on the Law Review and clerked for the Honorable Ruben G. Reyes.

Her scholarly work focuses on U.S. retirement policy and its intersection with procedure, contract law, and developing technologies. Her research has been published or is forthcoming in several journals, including the George Mason Law Review, Georgia State Law Review, San Diego Law Review, Texas Tech Law Review, and Michigan Journal of Law Reform, among others.

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