Mr Robert Bodansky > Seyfarth Shaw LLP > Washington DC, United States > Lawyer Profile

Seyfarth Shaw LLP
975 F STREET, NW
WASHINGTON DC 20004
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
United States

Work Department

Position

Partner and Chair of Institutional Investors Practice Group

Career

Government and corporate pension funds take seriously their fiduciary obligations to plan participants and beneficiaries. In an environment where plan funding can be a challenge, these plans are looking to alternative investments and real estate as a way to enhance their returns. These transactions are complex, and in-house legal and business teams deal with a substantial number of such deals at any given time. Bob routinely handles comingled funds of every type, co-investments, joint ventures, direct (principal) investments, separate accounts (discretionary and nondiscretionary), and secondary transactions. His global practice includes private equity, hedge fund, and real estate transactions.

Bob has the depth and breadth of knowledge and experience to handle any type of investment transaction, working side by side with the legal and business teams as a trusted advisor. He sees hundreds of deals with the leading sponsors, so he can keep clients abreast of trends and changes in the market, and let clients know if certain provisions are off-market.

Bob has worked with government pension plans since the mid-1990s. He is aware of the unique issues and headline risks of these investors. His strong corporate, M&A, and transactional real estate background makes him particularly well suited to handle these transactions. In addition, he served as the managing partner of his own 25-attorney firm. As a result, he is particularly attuned to both the practical business issues as well as the legal issues involved in running a business.

As chair of the Institutional Investor practice group, Bob can identify the right talent to deal with a given transaction or challenge. He has assembled a team of more than 50 attorneys as part of this practice group. The team includes not only transactional attorneys, but also attorneys focused on derivatives, fiduciary, MNPI/insider trading, bankruptcy, litigation, securities, and other areas.

Bob appreciates the knowledge and responsiveness of his Seyfarth colleagues and the resources the firm provides him to better serve his clients. He uses project management and Seyfarth Link to help with large portfolio secondary transactions. He is proud to lead an outstanding, enthusiastic team of attorneys focused on representing institutional investors, and helping those investors for the benefit of teachers, first responders, retirees and others. Bob also was honored to serve for many years as the office managing partner of the firm’s Washington, DC, office, where he oversaw strategy, culture, and operations.

Education

  • BA, Syracuse University
    Economics and Political Science
    Cum laude
    Crew team member
    Hillel Association president
  • JD, The George Washington University School of Law
    With honors
    University Judicial Board

Lawyer Rankings

United States > Investment fund formation and management > Private equity funds (including venture capital)

Institutional investors are key clients for Seyfarth Shaw LLP, with the firm acting for governmental pension plans, corporate and multi-employer plans, university endowments and family offices. The ‘deep, broad, and pragmatic‘ team is co-led by the ‘unflappableRobert Bodansky in Washington DC and Atlanta-based tax and investment expert Steven Richman. In April 2022 the firm strengthened its client base of US retirement funds with the hire of Michael Jordan and Evan Sarosi to its Chicago office from Ice Miller, both praised by one client as ‘excellent at communicating with both the client and counterparty counsel‘. ‘Fast-paced and thorough‘ associate Trevor Tullius is a further name to note, supporting the partners from the Washington DC office.