Legal solutions

Our Hedge Fund team works with some of the biggest names in the industry as well as for a large number of start-up managers. 

Advising on all aspects of new product launches, including regulatory matters and fund governance, we also cover all legal aspects affecting the continuing operations of hedge funds, including specialist advice on fund management, regulatory and contentious issues. 

Working in close partnership with clients and their onshore counsel, our PE Funds team is focused on creating value and achieving commercial objectives. Our team is one of the largest and most experienced in all the international Investment Hubs and works for 18 out of the Top 20 of the world’s leading private equity houses.

Our strong track-record includes working on some of the largest fund formations and international leveraged buyouts of recent years. And our services cover all aspects of fund formation as exempted limited partnerships, companies or trusts, formation and capitalisation of investment vehicles, public and private mergers and acquisitions, leveraged buyouts, group restructuring, secured lending, and due diligence. 

Our Real Estate Funds team offers legal advice on a global basis on all aspects of real estate finance and leveraged real estate acquisitions and disposals. We also advise promoters/managers on the set-up and establishment of listed and unlisted real estate funds, together with the underlying financing and acquisition structures.

Our services include expert legal advice on the structuring of the fund vehicle itself, as well as on the portfolio holding structures both as separate corporate vehicles and property unit trusts. 

Providing advice on the establishment and structuring of Irish based UCITS and AIFMD funds and their on-going operation including their distribution across Europe and the globe, our EU Regulated Funds team deliver a complete suite of legal and tax advice that is clear, concise and practical.

We advise on the structuring of all forms of UCITS funds including exchange traded funds, money market funds, managed account platforms and structured UCITS and all forms of AIFMD funds including property funds, loan origination funds, private equity funds, life settlement funds, hedge funds and fund of hedge funds whether as ICAVs, plcs, unit trusts, investment limited partnerships or common contractual funds. 

The Special Situations team offers commercially focused, timely and practical legal advice on every phase of distressed, opportunistic and special situation investment. Working on a global basis, we have considerable experience in advising on the legal, regulatory and tax implications of distressed asset acquisition, financing, management, servicing and disposal.

We have extensive experience in undertaking legal and tax due diligence of target asset(s) and complex structures. Our team’s expertise includes advising on the acquisition, funding, managing, servicing and disposition of investments, on all aspects of financing, leverage and credit enhancement via derivatives and/or vendor finance, third party senior, mezzanine and junior finance, on restructurings, work-outs, default scenarios and corporate actions.

We also advise on implementing exit mechanisms, including securitisations, asset dispositions, joint venture, buy-out arrangements and other repackaging products.

Our team includes practitioners with a wealth of knowledge of the evolving and increasingly important areas of sustainable finance and responsible investing.

Working closely with asset managers and fund promoters, we regularly advise on the impact of the EU’s Sustainable Finance Strategy and the various initiatives being implemented as part of this strategy including the Disclosures Regulation, the Taxonomy Regulation and the amendments to the Benchmarks Regulation.

The establishment of ESG focused investment funds, both UCITS and AIFs (including non EU AIFs) is another specialism, along with all aspects of sustainable finance including sustainability reporting. Our recent experience includes analysis of the obligations being introduced for all EU domiciled funds to determine the extent of the sustainable finance disclosures required, advising EU domiciled funds that promote environmental or social characteristics or pursue sustainable investment objectives and their managers in respect of the requirements relating to additional pre-contractual, website and periodic report disclosures, assisting with the preparation of ESG and other policies relevant to sustainable finance, and working with asset managers to help determine the impact of new sustainable finance initiatives.

In pressured, difficult and legally complex situations we offer immediate, practical advice on a global basis to funds that have become distressed as a result of trading losses, illiquidity or other factors.

As well as acting directly for funds, we also work with institutional, individuals and fund of funds investors, service providers and other affected financial institutions. If a distressed fund’s turnaround is not achievable, we have the largest and most highly regarded insolvency and dispute resolution practice within investment hub jurisdictions to advise the fund on the most appropriate liquidation/bankruptcy strategy to preserve or maximise investor value.

Our dedicated cross-disciplinary FinTech team offers advice on a global basis focused on the fast-evolving areas of cryptocurrencies, digital assets and distributed ledger technologies such as blockchain.

Our deep commitment to understanding our clients' world combined with our experience across all types of fund structures at all levels of complexity, enables us to provide our clients with services focused on delivering real value. From financial institutions to tech companies and start-ups - our solutions span the full spectrum of the fintech ecosystem.

We also have well-established relationships with other sector specialists, and frequently work with in-house and external counsel to help clients navigate fund structuring issues for this fast evolving asset class.