Private Equity, Hedge Funds and Venture Capital
MLA is a leading provider of legal services to private equity, venture capital and hedge funds throughout the U.S. We represent these funds in all aspects of their businesses, including fund formation, growth equity, leveraged and management buyouts, leveraged recapitalizations and divestitures.
Our legal services in this area cover the full spectrum of corporate finance transactions. They include asset and cash-flow based senior debt, mezzanine and warrant financings, management buyouts, leveraged buyouts, public offerings, mergers and acquisitions, and corporate spin-offs.
MLA's client base includes venture capital firms whose collective equity investments entail early, middle and late stage rounds. Our private equity clients typically focus on control acquisitions, and involve acquisition targets that are privately-held middle market businesses. Our hedge fund clients provide a variety of capital solutions in both growth and distressed situations. We represent fund sponsors and investors.
Interdisciplinary Practice with Private Equity Experience
Our Private Equity practice is led by a veteran team of corporate finance and acquisition professionals. They work closely with our tax, employee benefits, environmental, litigation, intellectual property and other professionals. In this way, we bring focused knowledge and experience to the manner in which we address each client's unique challenges and opportunities.
Our team is distinguished by talented attorneys who bring a client's perspective to their practice of law. One partner founded and ran two Atlanta-based private equity funds before returning to the practice of law. He was directly involved in all aspects of the funds' business activities. Two other attorneys on the team serve on advisory boards of private equity funds.
Relationship Value
We bring value to our private equity clients through our existing relationships with corporate and family business owners, deal intermediaries, and sources of capital. We distinguish ourselves in the marketplace by focusing on the business and legal needs of our clients. Clients appreciate our ability to tap multiple resources to address their needs for capital, deal flow and portfolio opportunities. MLA's national U.S. presence provides opportunities and relationships in multiple regional markets.
Fund Formation
In the formation of funds, MLA assists clients with the development of their fund structure; offering documents, organizational documents, services agreements, and general and limited partner agreements.
Our clients include private equity, venture and hedge funds throughout the U.S., as well as real estate investment partnerships. We also provide legal counsel to a variety of specialized funds.
Investments
MLA represents private equity, venture capital and hedge fund clients in all phases of their investment activities. Our experience includes the issuance of all forms of private equity and venture capital financing, the acquisition and disposal of portfolio companies, recapitalizations, restructurings, and liquidity and realization events, including IPOs.
MLA also represents management teams and companies in transactions involving private equity investments and recapitalizations. Our experience in representing financial investors enables us to assist management teams in bridging issues that arise in the context of these transactions.
Portfolio Company Representations
MLA provides a variety of services as legal counsel to portfolio companies of private equity and venture backed firms. These services include financing transactions, employment matters, complex litigation matters, government affairs and government contracts. MLA is sensitive to the needs of financial investors and their fiduciary concerns in the current corporate environment.
In the area of corporate governance, MLA has developed a best practices approach for privately-held businesses that reflects recent developments in Federal securities and state corporate law.
Professionals
Advisories
- June 23, 2011Following a flurry of U.S. Treasury releases just before the deadline for 2010 filing, the guidelines for the Foreign Bank and Financial Account Reporting (“FBAR”) 2010 filing now appear to be largely in place. On February 24, 2011, the U.S. Treasury finalized rules detailing FBAR duties. Two notices of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) dated June 2, 2011 (the “FinCEN Notice 2011-1”) and one dated June 17, 2011 (“FinCEN Notice 2011-2”) would appear now to have completed the guidance.
- May 27, 2011One of the controversial provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act, under Title IV, requires advisers to hedge funds and other private funds to register under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended (“Act”), by eliminating the exemption from registration for investment advisers that had fewer than fifteen clients during the preceding 12 month period.
- July 9, 2010
Publications
- Bottom-Line Perspective Extends to Litigation
- Receivers Maximize Value of Distressed Assets, While Saving Lenders Money
- What Happens When Joint Ventures Come Under Stress?
News
- Alternative billing in vogue among firms
- Hedge Fund Tax Changes Cause Indigestion in Greenwich
- Toronto-based company acquires New York energy firm