Joseph M. Mannon > Vedder Price > Chicago, United States > Lawyer Profile

Vedder Price
222 NORTH LASALLE STREET, SUITE 2600
CHICAGO, IL 60601-1003
ILLINOIS
United States
Joseph M. Mannon photo

Work Department

Investment Services - Private Fund Formation

Position

Shareholder

Career

Mr. Mannon focuses his practice on legal and compliance matters for investment advisers, mutual funds, closed-end funds and unregistered vehicles such as hedge funds, hedge fund of funds and other investment entities. With regard to unregistered vehicles, he frequently counsels clients on fund formation and structuring matters for funds organized both in the United States and abroad. He also counsels clients on issues relating to commodity trading advisers and commodity pool operators.

Mr. Mannon has substantial experience in regulatory and compliance matters affecting investment advisers, including registration and marketing, such as compliance with Global Investment Performance Standards (GIPS), as well as in drafting compliance policies and procedures. He counsels advisers on trading agreements, including brokerage and derivatives agreements. He also conducts mock Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) examinations and represents clients before the SEC and other regulators in examinations and investigations.

Mr. Mannon also spends significant time counseling registered and unregistered investment company boards.

Prior to rejoining Vedder Price, Mr. Mannon was the Associate General Counsel for one of the world’s largest hedge fund of funds advisers, where he was responsible for legal matters pertaining to various registered and unregistered products, including offering materials and international registration requirements, as well as overseeing the firm’s day-to-day compliance program. Prior to that, Mr. Mannon was an associate in the Investment Services group of Vedder Price.

In 2000, Mr. Mannon served as a judicial extern to the Honorable John W. Darrah, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

From 2001 to 2004, Mr. Mannon served as a staff attorney for the Division of Enforcement of the Securities and Exchange Commission. At the Commission, he litigated federal district court actions and conducted numerous investigations, including complex financial fraud investigations. In addition, Mr. Mannon investigated mutual funds, investment advisers and broker-dealers for violations of the pricing, valuation and books and records requirements of the federal securities laws. Mr. Mannon was awarded the Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman’s Award for Excellence in 2002.

Mr. Mannon is a frequent speaker on investment adviser compliance matters, and from 2008 to 2011 he led the Midwest CCO Compliance Roundtable.

Memberships

  • Member, Chicago Bar Association
  • Member, Association of the Securities and Exchange Commission Alumni

Education

  • Loyola University Chicago School of Law, J.D., 2001
  • Michigan State University, B.A., 1998, with honors

Lawyer Rankings

United States > Investment fund formation and management > Mutual/registered/exchange-traded funds

Vedder Price‘s broad advisory service covers compliance and regulatory matters, fund transactions as well as day-to-day operational advice for investment companies and diverse fund complexes, among which are registered investment companies, mutual funds, closed-end funds and exchange traded funds, with a particular strength of the department being their independent directors practice, which comprises the bulk of their client roster. A trio of partners lead the practice: Washington DC based Marguerite Bateman advises clients on various regulatory matters pertaining to the Investment Company Act of 1940, Investment Advisors Act of 1940 and on securities law, as well as John Marten and Joseph Mannon ,based in Chicago, the former advising on innovative ETFs, fund mergers and SEC examinations and the latter on ETFs and diverse registered fund product offerings. Previous practice heads Bruce A. Rosenblum and Cathy Gonzales O’Kelly further strengthen the teams in Washington DC and Chicago respectively. Among the recent team changes were the arrival of Todd Lurie to the New York office in June 2023 from MetLife as well as the departures of Thomas Conner and Robert Crea in March 2023.

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

Vedder Price is praised as ‘well-equipped to handle complex and sophisticated matters’ within the private fund formation space. The team handles all aspects of the fund formation process, including the launch of fund-of-one structures, across a variety of asset classes, on both the sponsor and investor side. Chicago based Joseph Mannon leads the practice and covers private equity, venture and real asset funds and he stands out particularly for his regulatory and compliance advice. Todd Lurie  from MetLife and Christine De Pree from Franklin Templeton were welcomed to the team in June and July of 2023 respectively, while Robert Crea left the firm in March 2023.