Schulte Roth & Zabel is pleased to announce that Randall Adams, Christopher Avellaneda, Daniel Blumenthal, Adam Heasley, Annie Mehlman, Adam Singer and John Weldon were elected to the firm’s partnership, effective January 1, 2023.

The firm also announces the promotion of Elizabeth Carr, Laura Eatwell, John Rector, Tarik Shah, Hannah Thibideau, and Olesia Zakon to special counsel. All are resident in the firm’s New York office with the exception of Ms. Eatwell, who is based in London.

“This is the largest new partner class in our firm’s history and a testament to the strength of our talent pipeline,” said Marc Elovitz, co-managing partner of SRZ and head of the firm’s Investment Management Regulatory & Compliance Group. “We are proud of their accomplishments and look forward to their contributions to the firm and clients in the months and years ahead.”

“The deep relationships and collaborative approach this group of new partners and special counsel bring, in addition to their experience, industry insight and creativity, will help us to continue to serve our clients at the highest levels,” said David Efron, co-managing partner of SRZ and co-head of the firm’s Investment Management Group.

Partners

Randall T. Adams focuses his practice on commercial and business disputes, shareholder activism litigation and securities class actions. His practice includes litigation relating to cryptocurrencies and other blockchain venture assets, executive compensation and short-swing trading disputes arising under Section 16(b) of the Exchange Act. Randall received his J.D. from Harvard Law School and his A.B. from Harvard College.

Christopher S. Avellaneda advises private fund managers on regulatory and compliance matters, with a particular focus on the Investment Advisers Act of 1940.  Chris advises clients on a variety of regulatory matters, including SEC registration, operating effective compliance programs, managing conflicts of interest, review of marketing materials, compliance with trading-related laws and handling the regulatory implications of management company restructurings and transactions.  He also regularly leads training sessions for clients, including on topics such as marketing private funds, SEC rule proposals and trading-related matters.  Chris works closely with clients undergoing SEC examinations and responding to deficiency letters and enforcement referrals. Chris received his J.D. from Harvard Law School and his B.A. from The George Washington University.

Daniel J. Blumenthal focuses his practice on the representation of private funds (including hedge funds, private equity funds and hybrid funds) and investment advisers in connection with their structuring, formation and ongoing operational needs and on regulatory and compliance matters. Dan has a diverse practice advising private fund managers that employ a variety of investment strategies and also has broad experience structuring and negotiating seed and strategic investments, advising investment managers regarding the structure and sale of their businesses and structuring and negotiating joint ventures, co-investment vehicles, managed accounts, “funds of one” and other strategic relationships.  Dan received his J.D. from University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School and his B.A. from The George Washington University.

Adam R. Heasley focuses his practice on representing direct lenders, sponsors and borrowers in financing transactions, including acquisition credit facilities, recapitalization and refinancing facilities, asset-based loans and other working capital facilities, restructurings, workouts, intercreditor arrangements and related matters. Adam received his J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center, his M.S. from the University of Pennsylvania and his B.S. from the University of Kansas.

Annie L. Mehlman practices in the areas of estate planning and administration, trust administration, charitable giving and sophisticated income, gift and estate tax planning. She advises individuals and families on strategies to maximize wealth preservation across generations, including succession planning, insurance planning and planning with business interests, and represents executors and trustees in estate and trust administration matters. She also works with high-net-worth individuals in family law matters, including the negotiation of prenuptial, postnuptial and separation agreements, and individuals and fiduciaries in trusts and estates disputes. Annie received her J.D. and LL.M. from New York University School of Law and A.B. from Washington University in St. Louis.

Adam M. Singer focuses his practice on asset-backed securitizations, warehouse credit facilities and swaps and other derivative products. He has represented underwriters, issuers, lenders and borrowers across a variety of asset classes, including structured settlements, litigation advances, lottery receivables, home improvements and marine and recreational vehicles, commercial, mezzanine and multi-family loans, and various types of residential mortgage loans (including fix and flip), among others. Adam has also represented issuers, underwriters, collateral managers and portfolio purchasers in public and private structured financings, including collateralized loan obligations (CLOs). He earned his J.D. from the University of Chicago Law School and his B.S. from Southern Connecticut State University.

John J. Weldon IV focuses his practice on the representation of private funds (including hedge funds, crossover funds, private equity funds, hybrid funds and access and funds of funds) and investment advisers in connection with their structuring, formation and ongoing operational needs, general securities laws matters, and regulatory and compliance issues. His experience includes structuring and negotiating seed and strategic investments and structuring and negotiating co-investment vehicles, managed accounts, “funds of one,” joint ventures and other strategic relationships. John received his J.D. from Syracuse University College of Law, his M.A. from Brandeis University International Business School and his B.A. from Brandeis University.

Special Counsel

Elizabeth L. Carr focuses her practice on asset-backed securitizations, warehouse facilities, secured financings and specialty finance lending. She represents issuers, underwriters, investors, lenders and borrowers across a variety of asset classes. Elizabeth has expertise in litigation funding, life settlement transactions, whole business securitizations, collateralized debt obligation transactions (CDOs), collateralized loan obligation transactions (CLOs) and securitizations backed by automotive loans, student loans, pharmaceutical royalties and other receivables. Elizabeth received her J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School and her B.A. from Cornell University.

Laura Eatwell focuses her practice on alternative investment funds and their managers. She represents European, US and Asian managers in connection with the establishment, restructuring and management of private funds across a range of strategies, as well as advising on the setup and operation of investment management companies. Laura also provides advice on UK, EU and US regulatory and compliance matters affecting private funds and their advisers. Laura received her L.L.B. from the University of Manchester.

John J. Rector practices in the areas of estate planning; estate, gift and generation-skipping transfer taxation; trust and estate administration; and charitable giving. John also represents high-net-worth individuals in the negotiation of prenuptial, postnuptial and separation agreements and individuals and fiduciaries in trusts and estates disputes. John received his J.D. from Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law, his M.B.A. from the Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management and his B.A. from Harvard University.

Tarik M. Shah counsels private funds on compliance with the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, other state and federal requirements and interfacing with regulators. Tarik’s experience includes providing guidance to clients on establishing and updating compliance policies and procedures to address the federal securities laws, privacy laws and other requirements, registering with the SEC and handling regulatory examinations. Prior to joining the firm, Tarik worked at the SEC, most recently in the Private Funds Unit of the Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations, where he focused on regulatory examinations of advisers to hedge funds and private equity funds. Tarik also conducted regulatory examinations of registered investment advisers and registered investment companies. Tarik received his J.D. from Rutgers Law School and B.A. from Tufts University.

Hannah M. Thibideau concentrates her practice on regulatory enforcement, anti-money laundering and sanctions compliance, and white collar criminal defense. She represents entities and individuals in matters before the SEC, DOJ, FINRA and prosecutors’ offices. In addition, Hannah advises banks, broker-dealers, investment advisers, private funds and insurance companies on anti-money laundering and sanctions regulations and related issues governing their investment and business activities. Her expertise also includes all aspects of federal and state civil litigation. Hannah received her J.D. from the University of Virginia and B.A. from the Macaulay Honors College at Hunter College.

Olesia Zakon focuses her practice on the tax aspects of onshore and offshore investment funds, private equity funds, financing transactions and securitization transactions. She provides advice with respect to the structuring and formation of funds and their ongoing operations. She also provides advice to lenders and borrowers in financing transactions and to asset managers, issuers and placement agents in broadly syndicated and middle market collateralized loan obligation transactions. Olesia received her J.D. from Cornell Law School and B.A. from The University of British Columbia.

On Dec. 27, 2022, Schulte Roth & Zabel submitted comments to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) on the agency’s proposed rule related to outsourcing by registered investment advisers.

SRZ believes the Proposed Rule is overly broad in coverage, would impose a standardized approach to a wide range of facts and circumstances and would potentially discourage advisers from using service providers despite the benefits that can come from their specialized areas of expertise. SRZ also believes that the Commission’s existing rules are sufficient to address circumstances where an adviser is deficient in its due diligence and oversight of service providers.

SRZ is carefully following the development of new rules affecting investment advisers and invites continued dialogue on these matters.