McDermott Will & Schulte, a global law firm

Your investment platform needs more than execution – it needs structures that hold up under pressure and perform across market cycles. Our investment management lawyers help you design, launch, and manage investment vehicles that align with your goals and stand up to regulatory and investor scrutiny. We shape structures that work in practice, so you are better positioned to move capital with fewer disruptions and greater control over risk.

With more than 150 lawyers around the world, we provide integrated fund, tax, and regulatory advice across the fund life cycle. Our fund formation capabilities span private equity and credit, hedge, venture, infrastructure, and other specialized strategies. Our experience across credit and hybrid strategies positions us to address investor constraints, product design, and cross-border structuring considerations.

We combine fund formation capabilities with sophisticated tax, ERISA, and regulatory advice to structure vehicles for complex investor bases and cross-border operations. When sponsors face regulatory scrutiny, enforcement actions, or disputes, we provide strategic counsel aimed at protecting both the fund structure and the broader management platform.

We also help you navigate US and global regulatory requirements, from Advisers Act compliance to cross-border frameworks, and advise on management company formation, compensation structures, and strategic transactions involving investment managers.

Our investment management lawyers provide integrated legal and business advice at every stage, including:

• Fund formation and structuring
• Capital raising
• Investment transactions, including add-ons and restructurings
• Portfolio management and value creation
• Liquidity solutions, including secondaries and exits

Your ability to raise, deploy, and return capital depends on how your platform is structured. Our investment management lawyers help you integrate strategy, structuring, and compliance across the fund life cycle – so your fund can operate effectively under changing market conditions.

Data gives businesses the power to make informed decisions and compete more effectively – but collecting, storing, and using data can result in legal and regulatory exposure. Our cybersecurity lawyers help you navigate that risk while supporting the strategic use of data to enhance your business operations.

We advise on all aspects of data, privacy, and cybersecurity, from developing compliance frameworks and implementing defensible security standards to counseling on product development, AI integration, digital marketing, and data monetization strategies. We also help clients navigate cross-border data transfers, incident response and data breach matters, investigations, regulatory scrutiny, and litigation.

Privacy, cybersecurity, and data governance issues touch every part of your business. Our cybersecurity lawyers collaborate across key practice areas including technology, transactions, litigation, employment, investigations, and regulatory to address risk wherever it arises. The team also includes engineers and computer coders, former in-house counsel, and former senior government officials, including cybercrime prosecutors.

Our lawyers helped shape major privacy frameworks – including the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA) and the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). We also advise on other evolving state, federal, and international privacy laws, including the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), the e-Privacy regulation, and sector-specific requirements.

We work with you to assess cybersecurity maturity, identify gaps, and develop tailored risk mitigation strategies. When incidents occur, we help you respond to data breaches, ransomware attacks, insider threats, and other cybersecurity incidents with a focus on limiting business disruption and financial exposure. Our cybersecurity lawyers also guide you through sensitive investigations, regulatory scrutiny, litigation, and other disputes that arise from the misuse, loss, or theft of data.

Managing the legal and regulatory exposure associated with data use has become more complex as technologies advance and cyber threats become more sophisticated. We help you mitigate data, privacy, and cybersecurity risk through integrated strategies designed to protect your business, advance innovation, and support growth.

Every employment decision shapes how your workforce performs – impacting your culture, reputation, and revenue. Our employment lawyers help your business move forward by managing risk across the employee life cycle – from hiring and onboarding to performance management, retention, and separation.

We go beyond reactive advice by partnering with you to anticipate risk. By taking the time to understand your business and your industry, we stay attuned to emerging workplace trends. Our employment lawyers help you address issues early, reducing the likelihood of disputes or regulatory scrutiny that can be costly and disruptive to your operations.

We partner with you to develop workplace policies that limit legal exposure and strengthen culture, help you comply with ever-evolving laws and regulations around the world, and negotiate contracts designed to protect your interests and align incentives across your organization.

To support global workforces, our employment lawyers work together seamlessly from offices worldwide, providing coordinated, cross-border guidance. We advise on issues across the full spectrum of employment law – from day-to-day advice and policy development to C-suite and board advisory, as well as bet-the-company litigation.

When high-stakes disputes arise, we assemble teams with the specific experience required to litigate the claims at issue – including highly specialized and complex matters. This approach has contributed to our strong track record in labor and employment litigation.

Our employment practice supports your organization at every stage of growth. We provide guidance that is grounded in how your business operates, partnering with you to mitigate workforce risk so you can drive your business forward.

Compensation and benefits programs help you attract and retain top talent – but they are subject to significant regulatory risk and shareholder scrutiny. Our employee benefits lawyers partner with you to design, implement, and administer compensation and benefits programs that protect your interests across the employee lifecycle – from hiring to separation.

We support your business by structuring and managing programs that drive performance, control costs, and enable long-term growth. We advise you on all aspects of employee benefits and executive compensation, from plan design, administration, and compliance to workforce transitions, complex transactions, audits, investigations, and litigation.

As you manage your global workforce and expand into new markets, we advise you on international employee benefits, executive compensation, and cross-border employment matters. Our lawyers help you navigate complex regulatory frameworks across the US and Europe, including:

• Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA)
• Internal Revenue Code (IRC)
• Affordable Care Act (ACA)
• Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act
• US securities and disclosure requirements
• Other applicable US federal, state, and local laws
• European labor laws, including works council and consultation requirements

When matters come under regulatory scrutiny or give rise to disputes, we represent you in labor and employment litigation, as well as in arbitrations and mediations before federal and state trial and appellate courts, US administrative agencies, and international counterparts in Europe and Asia.

In the event of an audit or regulatory inquiry, our lawyers advocate for you before the Department of the Treasury, the Internal Revenue Service, the Department of Labor, and the National Labor Relations Board on employment, compensation, and benefits matters.

Your compensation and benefits programs play a critical role in the growth and performance of your business. We partner with you to develop and manage employee benefits and executive compensation programs that protect your talent investment, reduce risk, and support your business goals.

A superb group. [They] do a fantastic job; what I value is their deep knowledge of the hedge fund market and their clarity in communicating what they know.
– Chambers USA

McDermott Will & Schulte has unparalleled experience advising hedge fund managers in the United States, the United Kingdom and around the world. With market-leading experience and an appreciation of both legal and business perspectives, we provide comprehensive support to hedge fund managers on all aspects and stages of their operation, from fund structuring and tax matters to compliance and litigation.

Types of Funds Represented

We represent more than 400 hedge fund, private equity fund and fund-of-funds managers and thousands of investment funds globally.

• Activist
• Commodities
• Credit and high-yield
• Credit Opportunity
• Distressed
• Emerging markets
• Energy
• Event-driven
• Global macro
• Hybrid
• Lending
• Leveraged buyout
• Long/short equity
• Multi-manager
• Multi-strategy
• Principal protected
• Private Equity
• Quantitative
• Real estate
• Relative value
• Venture capital

We are also one of only a few law firms with a dedicated group of lawyers who focus on regulatory and compliance matters particular to hedge funds. With this specialized knowledge and our long history in the market, it is no surprise that we serve as principal counsel to many of the leading domestic and international funds and fund managers.

Disputes can disrupt your operations, drain resources, and create uncertainty that affects business performance. Our litigation and dispute resolution lawyers help you navigate high-stakes disputes while reducing uncertainty, managing risk, and protecting your long-term business interests.

Our litigation and dispute resolution practice is comprised of experienced litigators and trial lawyers throughout the US and Europe. Working across practices, we provide integrated counsel tailored to complex disputes. By combining industry- and practice-specific knowledge with trial and appellate experience, we assess how disputes are likely to evolve and adapt your strategy accordingly.

Our lawyers guide you through every stage of a dispute – from early case assessment through litigation, trial, and appeal. With a dedicated appellate practice that has handled hundreds of appeals, including matters before the US Supreme Court, we approach cases with trial and appellate strategies aligned from the outset.

When litigation is not the most effective path forward, we partner with you to resolve disputes through arbitration and mediation. Our lawyers represent you in proceedings before the American Arbitration Association (AAA), the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), and other arbitral bodies – helping you control risk, maintain confidentiality, and preserve business relationships.

In addition to commercial disputes, we advise you on sensitive investigations and government enforcement actions. We conduct internal investigations involving allegations of misconduct, compliance issues, and potential regulatory violations. We also represent you in proceedings involving the US Department of Justice (DOJ), the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), self-regulatory organizations, stock exchanges, and other state and federal agencies.

Our litigation and dispute resolution lawyers understand how disputes can affect your business and reputation. By combining litigation experience with practical business insight, we help you assess risk, reduce uncertainty, and determine the most effective path forward – whether through litigation or strategic resolution outside the courtroom.

The insurance industry operates under constant scrutiny from regulators, policyholders, investors, and counterparties – and InsurTech innovation is reshaping the market. Our insurance law practice guides you through regulatory complexity, growth opportunities, and technological change to help you stay competitive in a rapidly evolving industry.

With a cross-border team of more than 40 insurance lawyers, we advise insurers, reinsurers, brokers, investors, policyholders, and other insurance market participants. Drawing on experience representing stakeholders throughout the industry, we develop legal strategies informed by market realities, regulatory expectations, and the interconnected relationships that shape the insurance ecosystem.

Our lawyers advise you on sophisticated transactions that support growth and innovation, including mergers and acquisitions, private equity investments, reinsurance arrangements, captive formations, restructurings, and alternative risk structures. We help you structure and execute complex domestic and cross-border transactions while navigating regulatory, operational, and risk transfer considerations that can shape how your business performs.

With deep knowledge of insurance laws and regulations, we guide you through regulatory frameworks involving state insurance departments, government healthcare programs, captive insurance regulations, and Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) compliance. We also advise on privacy and cybersecurity laws, insurance tax matters, and investigations involving state insurance regulators and the US Department of Justice (DOJ).

When you are faced with disputes – including complex coverage disputes, class actions, multistate investigations, and regulatory enforcement actions – our insurance lawyers develop practical legal strategies designed to manage risk, minimize disruption, and protect enterprise value.

We understand the factors that influence how companies throughout the insurance ecosystem manage risk, pursue growth, and remain competitive. Our insurance law practice helps you align your legal strategy with your business strategy. Whether you are pursuing strategic transactions, expanding into new markets, securing regulatory approvals, or defending against disputes, we partner with you to navigate complexity while supporting your business goals.

What would you do if your company faced shareholder class action and derivative lawsuits, a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) investigation or a corporate governance dispute? What if you encountered all three simultaneously? With the complexity of securities and governance law, you need a trusted partner by your side who understands both the legal and business implications of the issues that are raised by shareholders and regulators.

You can count on our dedicated securities & corporate governance litigation team to protect your legal and business interests in high-stakes cases and sensitive governance matters. Whether you face accusations of accounting irregularities, inadequate disclosures, breaches of fiduciary duty, market manipulation, insider trading or valuation irregularities, we are well-versed in litigating a broad range of these substantive issues to help you navigate it all.

With a nationwide network of collaborative practitioners, including a significant presence in New York, Delaware, Chicago, Los Angeles and Washington DC, we’re able to support your needs regardless of jurisdiction. The group also includes dedicated corporate governance litigators, including in our Delaware office. Our experienced team includes Board and Fund Counsellors, trial lawyers, corporate governance litigators, former SEC regulators, federal prosecutors, in-house lawyers, and federal and Delaware law clerks. Additionally, our sophisticated counsel helps you manage any governance, disclosure, regulatory and trading issues.

We have an extensive and successful track record in shareholder class action litigation filed pursuant to the Securities Act of 1933 and Securities Exchange Act of 1934. In addition, our team regularly represents a wide range of clients in the investment management industry in connection with a myriad of complex commercial litigation and regulatory matters. Corporate clients include investment banks, accounting firms, hedge funds, funds of funds, and private equity funds, as well as their principals and portfolio companies. We also regularly represent individual issuers, directors and officers, Board Committees.

Because of this collective knowledge and passion for the practice, our team has achieved highly favorable results stemming from litigation, negotiated results, investigations, and enforcement proceedings.

A well-defined but flexible M&A strategy is critical for staying competitive in the global marketplace – and complex transactions require experienced mergers and acquisitions lawyers who understand your goals. Our corporate M&A team combines deep market knowledge with precise deal execution skills to help you achieve your strategic objectives.

Many deals have a cross-border dimension, and with more than 150 M&A lawyers across 20 global offices, we have the resources and footprint to represent your transactional needs worldwide. Our industry knowledge in key markets, including energy, food and beverage, technology, chemicals, life sciences, and healthcare, ensures that your deals drive measurable business growth and market expansion.

We provide comprehensive, skilled guidance in regulatory, antitrust, tax, labor and employment, intellectual property, and financing matters – along with litigation, when the need arises. Our M&A practice also focuses on IT outsourcing, merger integration, and ensuring seamless transitions that protect your operational continuity and financial value.

We advise on negotiated and unsolicited acquisitions, such as competitive auctions, tax-driven transactions, and cross-border deals. From our experience representing clients from publicly listed companies to private equity and family offices, we can anticipate different deal perspectives. Our approach ensures that you deploy the right strategy for any given situation, securing favorable terms and driving long-term profitability for your organization.

As a leading provider of M&A legal services, we have developed client-focused tools designed to streamline the transaction process and reduce your overall costs. We bring a practical approach to every matter, delivering efficient solutions that enhance your bottom line.

Private equity firms operate in high-stakes environments where speed, execution, and risk directly impact investment returns. Our private equity lawyers advise sponsors and their portfolio companies throughout the investment life cycle. We help you execute transactions, manage risk, and address the legal, commercial, and regulatory issues that impact how your investment performs.

Our private equity team includes more than 150 lawyers in 20+ offices worldwide. Working across disciplines including finance, tax, antitrust, investment funds, restructuring, and litigation, we provide integrated guidance to support domestic and cross-border investments across industries and asset classes.

We advise you on acquisitions, dispositions, recapitalizations, carve-outs, minority investments, joint ventures, and other strategic transactions. Our private equity lawyers structure deals and negotiate terms to help you manage risk, create value, and support performance across all stages of your investment – from fundraising to exit.

Competing stakeholder interests often lead to disputes. Disagreements over governance, deal terms, and post-closing obligations can create significant exposure for private equity firms and portfolio companies. Our litigators work alongside deal teams to help you navigate disputes while preserving enterprise value. We represent you through mediation, arbitration, and litigation in state and federal courts, including the Delaware Court of Chancery.

With one of the most active transactional practices in the US, we understand how complex deals are structured, negotiated, and executed. By combining deep market knowledge with cross-disciplinary capabilities, our private equity lawyers help you mitigate risk and advance your strategic goals throughout the life cycle of your investment.

Tax considerations shape how your business structures transactions, financings, and international investments. Our lawyers advise you on global tax compliance and design tax strategies that support growth, help mitigate financial exposure, and strengthen your business operations across jurisdictions.

Our tax lawyers represent financial institutions, investors, and businesses – including more than half of the Fortune 100. Working across the US, Europe, and other major markets, we align tax strategy with your global business strategy while helping you anticipate regulatory and controversy risk.

Tax strategy is most effective when integrated early into decision-making. Our tax lawyers advise you on federal, state, local, and international tax laws that affect your transactions, investments, financings, restructurings, and cross-border operations. We also help you evaluate the tax implications of evolving business models, supply chains, and operating structures as your business expands internationally.

Our tax law practice includes advising on transfer pricing planning, advance pricing agreements, and cross-border tax controversies. We handle sophisticated transfer pricing disputes worldwide and engage with taxing authorities and organizations involved in international tax policy and enforcement – including the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), and tax authorities throughout Europe and globally.

Tax disputes can affect enterprise value. Our team includes former IRS administrators, Department of Justice (DOJ) Tax Division lawyers, Tax Court clerks, and legislative advisors who understand how tax policy is developed, interpreted, and enforced. This experience strengthens our ability to advocate before taxing authorities and guide you through examinations, administrative appeals, and litigation before trial courts, appellate courts, and the US Supreme Court.

Shareholder activism is a powerful tool to increase investment returns and shareholder value. Our shareholder activism team advises investors engaging with public companies to drive strategic, operational, and governance change. We guide you through high-stakes, fast-moving campaigns with commercially informed legal strategy.

We represent activist investors, investment funds, and other engaged shareholders. Our shareholder activism lawyers advise both established and first-time activists seeking to influence corporate strategy and performance. With a team that includes veteran corporate governance, M&A, securities, and litigation practitioners, we help you identify leverage points, anticipate challenges, and refine strategy as campaigns evolve.

We advise you across all stages of the activism life cycle, including:

• Investment opportunity assessment
• Capital deployment and position building
• Shareholder engagement and business proposals
• Proxy contests and activist campaign strategies
• Settlement negotiations and cooperation agreements
• Shareholder rights, securities, and governance litigation
• Hostile takeovers and contested M&A transactions
• Assessing and responding to shareholder activism defense tactics

Activist campaigns often unfold in high-pressure environments. We guide you through complex board dynamics, shareholder engagement, and contested situations to strengthen campaign positioning. When matters escalate, we scale the team to the situation, strengthening your position in negotiations and, when necessary, in court.

With extensive experience before US federal and state courts, including the Delaware Court of Chancery, we help investors protect shareholder rights and navigate disputes that can impact governance, transactions, and enterprise value.

Every activist campaign presents unique strategic and commercial considerations. Our shareholder activism team develops legal strategies aligned with your investment goals and risk tolerance – helping you unlock shareholder value and drive meaningful returns.

The use of sophisticated financial instruments is an effective tool for companies to help manage risk and optimize operations. Successfully utilizing structured financial products requires a deft understanding of the market – both the products available and how the use of structured financial products can protect or enhance a client’s business.

McDermott Will & Schulte has deep experience in the design, trading and use of structured products, derivative financial products and synthetic derivatives. We provide clients a skilled team of lawyers with a stellar reputation and demonstrated success in structured finance. The group is led by lawyers known in the industry as “go to” for structured finance legal needs. In fact, they are recognized for their work by leading directories including Chambers USA and Legal 500.

The team provides a unique blend of transactional, tax, and regulatory knowledge to advise on the impact a structured financial product can have on business operations. Our skilled lawyers provide clients – including banks, private investment companies, municipalities, corporations, dealers and counterparties – the full range of legal services involving the transactional, tax, regulatory, documentation and compliance aspects of a successful structured financial product. In particular, we are skilled at advising clients on the tax treatment of securitizations and structured finance transactions.

We understand and have experience with all types of transactions – securitizations, physical commodities, commodity futures, and commodity derivatives, standardized exchange-traded instruments, evolving over-the-counter products, and derivative products covering credit, equity, fund-linked, interest rate, currency, and weather products. We have particularly deep experience in and are an acknowledged leader in municipal derivatives, having done derivative transactions to finance all types of infrastructure including airports, stadia, arenas, toll roads, hospitals, and more. Our work in this area includes all transactional, tax and regulatory aspects of derivatives.

What sets us apart from the competition is our regulatory depth advising clients on the compliance aspects of structured products. With broad experience in the structure, taxation and regulation of the financial markets, we design and advise clients on structured products and derivatives to assure compliance with corporate governance, legal regulatory, and tax requirements, particularly Dodd-Frank implementation and compliance. Our multi-disciplinary approach ensures we efficiently and effectively help our clients meet their financing and risk transfer needs.