Wood & Lee structures and organises a variety of venture capital funds, private equity funds, hedge funds, commingled real estate funds and other pooled investment vehicles for general partners and investment managers throughout the world. Our lawyers have extensive experience in virtually every type of investment structure and also have experience with a range of underlying investments, including passive investments in private technology and life sciences companies, controlling stakes in public companies, distressed assets, mezzanine investments, real estate holdings, and publicly traded securities and derivatives. Our lawyers’ experience also includes complex economic structures such as hub-and-spoke funds, joint venture management companies, club deals and limited partner co-investments, multiple layers of debt and equity, tax-driven terms, and unusual subordination or inter-creditor issues.

Our lawyers have extensive experience with partnership law, employee retirement taxation and cross-border matters. We structure funds to qualify for particular regulatory schemes – such as a “small business investment company”, “venture capital operating company,” or “real estate operating company,” – and meet the needs of particular classes of investors. Wood & Lee represents both fund management teams and institutional investors. Our perspective thus takes into account the concerns of “the other side” be it the sponsoring management team or the lead institutional investor. We also serve as counsel to fund managers, with respect not just to investments made by the fund, but also to incentive compensation arrangements, defaults and other investor relationship issues, valuation issues and other matters.

About Our Practice

Wood & Lee lawyers:

• Represent the general partners in the formation of numerous venture capital funds.
• Negotiate investment terms for funds organised by venture capital and buyout investment firms.
• Handle the organisation of new private equity management firms, including issues surrounding ownership of the branded franchise and the general partner vehicle, professional staff compensation and terms accorded to the sponsor.
• Work with international management teams with sensitivity to their compensation structures and the international nature of both a fund’s investor base and proposed investor focus.
• Represent investment managers in the formation of hedge funds, including drafting formation documents, conducting closings and advising with regard to International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA) documentation.