Overview

The Private Equity, Funds & Investment Management team at Mayer Brown is an industry-focused and market-leading practice that serves clients engaged in the funds and alternative investments industry. The practice spans the entire life cycle of a fund, its sponsor/manager as well as all underlying investments.

We bring together lawyers from a variety of areas – including Fund Formation & Investment Management, Private Equit y, Private Equity Real Estate, Fund Finance and Regulatory Enforcement – who work closely to provide the capabilities, knowledge and industry experience when and where our clients need them.

We assist clients from the outset, advising on fund formation and structuring; marketing and regulatory issues relevant to a business and its products; the fund formation and limited partner investment processes; all aspects of fund finance, including subscription credit facilities; and sponsor management structures and arrangements. Our transaction-focused teams also assist clients with the M&A process, to structure, acquire, finance and asset manage the investments being made, as well as assisting with the reorganization and eventual disposition of all investments and the winding down of the fund at the end of its term.

Mayer Brown’s Emerging Companies & Venture Capital lawyers advise venture capital funds, private equity funds, and other investment funds on their investments in emerging companies.

Private Equity, Funds & Investment Management is a primary focus for Mayer Brown, and we are extremely well placed to help our clients excel and innovate. With our international reach, deep industry knowledge and extensive technical legal capacity, we understand the complex business needs of fund managers and investment management professionals. Our global footprint, including more than 200 lawyers focused in this area, has been built to serve Private Equity, Funds & Investment Management clients who demand a globally scalable capability and in-region, in-sector resources who can deliver effective, efficient and strategic legal support.

We are committed to helping clients navigate the multitude of issues faced by the industry and relevant investment markets and to providing incisive, cutting-edge, practical advice. Our understanding of each segment of the industry, coupled with our global capacity, allows us to tailor our advice to a client's exact needs while accessing the latest market thinking and advice from around the world.

Our clients include the world's leading investment and asset management companies, investment funds, insurance companies, institutional investors, pensions companies, family offices and private banking businesses.

Clients turn to us for our globally integrated advice across a host of areas, including: Fund Formation & Investment Management; Private Equity; Private Equity Real Estate; Fund Finance; and Regulatory Enforcement. Our services include:

Structuring and negotiating the terms of global investment funds on behalf of fund sponsors and investors, including private equity funds, real estate funds, credit/debt funds, distressed funds, hedge funds, fund-of-funds and secondary funds, as well as co-investment products and similarly structured investments.
Evaluating, structuring and negotiating manager-level transactions.
Devising innovative structures to assist fund sponsors in anticipating and reacting to the dynamic and increasingly complex financial landscape, including accessing the latest fund finance products and opportunities.
Evaluating, structuring and negotiating private equity investments, exit transactions and M&A transactions, including joint ventures, stock and asset sales and asset-level financing.
Providing counsel on international tax matters and all tax matters arising throughout the fund structuring and investment life cycle.
Advising on all applicable regulatory compliance matters arising at the fund, investor, manager/sponsor or underlying asset levels, including SEC, CFTC, insider trading, conflicts of interest, fiduciary duties, AIFMD, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, including compliance with the US Investment Advisers Act of 1940.
Advising funds on ERISA and tax matters concerning their structure and formation, as well as providing advice on employment issues.
Advising on the formation and operation of investment management firms and related service companies, including carry plans and other employee incentive arrangements.
Advising on complex structured products for funds and their underlying investments.
Advising on the acquisition and/or disposition of asset management businesses and their underlying funds and investments.

We have offices in many of the jurisdictions in which our clients invest and have established alliances with leading law firms in many other jurisdictions, enabling us to provide informed, comprehensive tax and other legal advice in connection with fund formation, structures, acquisitions and dispositions.