K&L Gates partner John Bender highlights surge in PE/VC litigation after leading iCap and WaterStation probes tied to ~$500M losses

John Bender, a partner at K&L Gates’ Seattle office, discusses rising private equity and venture capital litigation after leading high‑profile insolvency and fraud cases such as iCap Equity and WaterStation Technology, which together involved roughly $500 million in alleged investor losses. He shares common themes from these cases and offers lessons for founders, advisors and investors operating with other people’s capital in high‑growth industries.