Winston & Strawn represents private investment fund managers and institutional investors in the full range of legal and market practice issues involved in establishing, managing, and investing in private investment vehicles. Our practice touches most major fund types and asset classes, including private equity and venture capital funds, real estate funds, infrastructure funds, funds-of-funds, debt funds, emerging market funds and single investor funds and managed accounts. By representing both managers and institutional investors, our attorneys maintain perspective from all market participants, and in-depth, state-of-the-art knowledge of legal issues, as well as deal terms and market trends.

Our broad sponsor-side experience with both independently owned managers as well as managers affiliated with financial institutions enables us to provide advice on all customary fund operational matters, including vehicle structuring, capital raising and negotiations with investors, fiduciary and conflict counseling, general partner structuring and other management and employment matters, federal and cross-border tax planning matters, SEC investment adviser registration and related matters, and issues related to ERISA and other regulatory regimes. We also advise sponsors with respect to special circumstances that can arise with private pooled investment vehicles and their managers, including litigation and other dispute resolution, key partner or employee departures, manager separations and spin-outs, internal investigations and reorganizations.

We also represent many types of institutional investors – including funds-of-funds, public and private pension funds, financial institutions, insurance companies, university endowments, and family offices – in connection with their private fund investments, as well as with their review of co-investment opportunities in underlying fund portfolio companies. Our representations combine an understanding of the individual clients’ needs with a deep knowledge of market practice and structures, which enables us to provide an appropriate type of representation for each client. We also have deep experience on secondary transactions, representing both buyers and sellers of private investment fund portfolios.