Co-Head of Investment Funds, London. Advises entrepreneurial and institutional investment managers, other financial services firms and investment funds, especially hedge funds, credit funds, hybrid funds, co-investment funds and distressed funds.
Chris joined the firm in 2002 to establish the London office.
He has over 30 years of experience advising many of the highest profile and most innovative private funds across a wide range of strategies. He provides practical and strategic advice on the structuring and operation of funds and investment management firms, including fundraising, strategic transactions and seed investments, investor issues, investment transactions and financing as well as regulatory and compliance matters.
- Chambers UK, Investment Funds: Hedge Funds, 2006-2027
- The Hedge Fund Journal Award for Outstanding Contribution
- Legal 500 UK, Hall of Fame, Hedge Funds, 2006-2027; Recommended, 2026-2027
- Named as a leading hedge fund lawyer in:
- Chambers Europe
- IFLR1000
- PLC Cross-border Investment Funds Handbook
- Expert Guide to the Best of the Best – Investment Funds
- Expert Guide to the World’s Leading Banking, Finance and Transactional Law Lawyers – Investment Funds
- Best Lawyers
- Who’s Who Legal: The International Who’s Who of Private Funds Lawyers
- Law Society
- City of London Solicitors Company
- International Bar Association
- College of Law, Common Professional Exam and Law Society Finals
- Pembroke College, University of Oxford, MA, Honours
- England and Wales

Marc E. Elovitz
Counsels private fund managers on regulatory compliance, with a focus on the Investment Advisers Act of 1940
Guides clients through SEC registration, examinations, and enforcement matters
Designs and enhances compliance testing programs and trainings
Advises on regulatory considerations for blockchain technology, digital assets, and virtual and digital currency business initiatives
Marc Elovitz leads the firm’s Investment Management Regulatory Group. He advises private fund managers on operating in compliance with the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 and other applicable laws and regulations. His practice also addresses emerging issues such as blockchain technology, digital assets, and virtual and digital currency business initiatives.
- Chambers USA, Band 1 in Investment Funds: Regulatory & Compliance, 2025-2026
- Chambers Global, Investment Funds: Regulatory & Compliance, 2016-2026
- The Legal 500 US
- Best Lawyers in America, FinTech Practice (2026), Private Funds / Hedge Funds Law, 2026-2027
- Who’s Who Legal: The International Who’s Who of Private Funds Lawyers
- Private Funds Subcommittee of the Federal Regulation of Securities Committee, American Bar Association, Chair
- McDermott Will & Schulte Investment Management Regulatory Group, global head
- McDermott Will & Schulte Management Committee, member
- McDermott Will & Schulte Executive Committee, member
- New York University School of Law, JD
- Wesleyan University, BA, with honors
- New York
- Supreme Court of the United States
- US Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit
- US Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit
- US Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit
- US District Court, Eastern District of New York
- US District Court, Southern District of New York
- English

Philippe Benedict
Focuses on the tax aspects of investment funds, mergers and acquisitions, international transactions, real estate transactions and financial instruments.
Philippe has advised on many major transactions involving sales or spinoffs of investment fund managers, including Senator Investment Group LP’s sale of a minority stake to The Blackstone Group LP, Caxton Associates LP’s sale of a minority interest to the Petershill II Fund affiliated with the Goldman Sachs Group Inc., and Credit Suisse’s sale of Strategic Partners to The Blackstone Group LP.
He advises on the tax aspects of securitizations, including his recent representation of affiliates of Fortress Investment Group LLC and affiliates of AGL in the securitization of their leveraged facilities.
- Chambers USA
- The Legal 500 US
- New York Super Lawyers
- Tax Directors Handbook
- Best Lawyers in America, Tax Law, 2026-2027
- New York University School of Law, LLM
- New York University School of Law, JD, Gruss Fellowship, Staff Member, Journal of International Law and Politics
- Adelphi University, BS, summa cum laude
- New Jersey
- New York

Martin Sharkey
Provides strategic counsel for CLO managers, investors, and arrangers.
Martin advises CLO managers on multicurrency, arbitrage, balance sheet, market value, and ESG CLOs, as well as warehouse financings, collateral fund obligation transactions, CLO business acquisitions, and portfolio sales.
He is also experienced in risk retention compliance, repackagings, supply chain finance, fund finance, and forward flow transactions.
- Legal 500 UK, Recommended, 2025-2027
- Thomson Reuters, Stand-out Lawyer – independently rated lawyers, 2025-2026
- Chambers UK, 2027
- King''s College, London, LLB
- England and Wales

Laura Angel-Lalanne
Represents high-net-worth individual clients in the areas of estate planning and trust and estate administration, with an emphasis on philanthropic planning and the administration of trusts and estates with philanthropic interests.
Laura creates sophisticated estate plans for clients, helping them to balance their sometimes competing objectives, particularly for clients who wish to achieve tax efficiencies, benefit family members and ensure a lasting philanthropic legacy.
She assists with the creation, governance, tax and regulatory compliance and operation of private grantmaking foundations, private operating foundations and other philanthropic vehicles and advises both foundations and individual donors with respect to charitable grants and gifts, including negotiating and drafting agreements for complex grants and gifts to museums, universities and other charitable institutions.
- Member, Committee on Non-Profit Organizations, New York City Bar Association
- New York Historical Society’s Planned Giving Advisory Council
- Treasurer, Board of Directors, Only Make Believe
- Harvard Law School, JD, with high honors, Phi Beta Kappa
- University of Michigan, BA
- New York

Saarah Woodby
Represents venture funds, crossover funds, asset managers and other institutional investors in their debt and equity investments into technology-focused emerging companies, whose investments range from seed stage to growth equity.
Saarah also advises investors on mergers and acquisitions and other strategic and alternative investment transactions.
Saarah formerly practiced at Gunderson Dettmer where she concentrated in representing some of the largest and most prominent venture capital firms in investments into private companies using various investment strategies. Saarah also focused on advising venture-backed start-up companies throughout their lifecycles on corporate matters ranging from formation, governance, fundraising, mergers and acquisitions and other strategic transactions.
Before joining Gunderson Dettmer, Saarah began her career at Cravath, Swaine & Moore where she focused on mergers and acquisitions, banking and credit, and capital markets transactions.
- Chambers USA – “Up and Coming,” 2025
- New York University School of Law, JD
- University of Pennsylvania, BA
- New York

David S. Griffel
Concentrates on tax issues related to the formation and operation of onshore and offshore investment funds and their investment managers, as well as tax issues prospective investors face with such investments; tax considerations related to employee and executive compensation, including deferred compensation programs; and partnership taxation.
- The Legal 500 US
- American Bar Association
- New York State Bar Association
- New York University School of Law, LLM
- New York University School of Law, JD, magna cum laude, Order of the Coif, Florence Allen Scholar, Executive Editor, Environmental Law Journal
- Harvard University, AB, cum laude, John Harvard Scholarship, Harvard College Scholarship, Sports Editor, The Harvard Crimson
- New York

Amy MacDonagh
Focuses her 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.
Amy has a diverse practice advising private fund managers that employ a variety of investment strategies and has broad experience structuring and negotiating seed and strategic investments. She also advises 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.
Amy is a frequent speaker on issues facing the investment management industry, most recently addressing the current regulatory landscape for hedge funds.
- Legal 500 UK, Next Generation Partner, Hedge Funds, 2025, 2027
- University College Dublin, BCL, Honours
- England and Wales
- Ireland
- New York

Jim McNally
Jim advises on fundraising, corporate and transactional matters for private equity and other alternative investment funds, as well as transactional matters for internationally active corporate clients.
His experience includes structuring private equity and venture capital funds; and structuring acquisitions, disposals, and joint ventures with respect to interests in a wide range of asset classes including acquiring, divesting, and demerging investment management businesses and interests therein. Jim also heads a leading practice (ranked band 1 for Shareholder Activism, Chambers UK, 2026) advising activist investors on strategy and execution of European campaigns.
- Advising Fulcrum Asset Management on a strategic investment from Fidante Partners, under which Fidante acquired a minority stake in, and entered into a long-term distribution partnership with, Fulcrum.
- Bybrook Capital on the acquisition and merger of its business with that of Cairn Capital.
- Infinity Investment Partners as regards the acquisition and sale of a number of private investments and fund interests.
- Tufton Oceanic on the transition of its investment management business with a new financial partner under which the management team acquired a substantially increased stake in the business.
- An activist investor as regards its campaign against Wirecard AG.
- In connection with the spinout of Rothschild & Co’s trust business and the financing thereof, the interim restructuring of that business and on the ultimate sale by the financial investor of its interests thereof.
- The creation and establishment of a number of segregated portfolio products for private equity investments for Kingsway Capital and others.
- AKAZ Investment Partners on the establishment of its Flagship and Opportunistic hedge fund products, as well as on the establishment of its management company structures.
- Emso Asset Management in connection with the establishment of bespoke carried interest arrangements over a number of funds products.
- Samena Capital as regards the establishment of its third special situations fund, and various other matters.
- A Canadian asset management firm on its ongoing activist campaign against First Group, and subsequently advising a US activist on its separate campaign against First Group.
- A private equity firm on its activist approaches to Mears Group.
- Cantab Capital Partners on the sale of its business to GAM for upfront cash consideration of $217 million and deferred consideration based on future revenues, with Cantab retaining a 40-percent interest in future performance fees.
- Chenavari on the sale of a revenue share to Dyal Capital.
- Chorus Capital on the establishment of its credit opportunities fund, Chorus Capital Credit Fund I.
- TriSpan on the establishment of its management group and its ‘Rising Stars’ and ‘Opportunities’ private equity funds.
- Systematica and its management on its spin out from BlueCrest Capital Management and on the creation of its investment management business, and in connection with AMG’s acquisition of a minority stake from BlueCrest Capital Management.
- Pelham Capital on the sale of a minority stake to Petershill, and on a subsequent reorganisation of its business following changes in UK legislation.
- Kingsway Capital on the establishment of its asset management business and the launch of its ‘Frontier Consumer Internet’ private equity fund.
- Pacific View Asset Management on the acquisition of microcap investor Perlus Investment Management.
- Arrowgrass on its acquisitions of interests in two P2P lenders.
- Aquila Capital on the establishment of hedge and private equity products, the latter specialising in European real estate and renewable energy investments.
- State Street (and previously General Electric Asset Management) on its international investment programme, encompassing real estate and private equity investments over multiple geographies and sectors.
- Brook Bay on the launch of a dedicated hedge fund secondaries product.
- Westport Capital Partners on the establishment of its UK operations and business.
- Eton Park on the monetisation of UK portfolio company investments.
- Multiple funds advised by ARCIS Capital on a number of secondary funds transactions.
- The shareholders of New Finance Capital, a fund of hedge funds business, on the sale of its shares to Schroders for $141 million.
- Legal 500 UK, Recommended, 2025-2026
- Chambers UK, Shareholder Activism: Activist Representation, 2026-2027; Investment Funds: Private Equity, 2027; Corporate Crime & Investigations, 2027
- Alternative Investment Management Association
- University of Newcastle upon Tyne, BSc
- The College of Law of England and Wales, Diploma in Law
- The College of Law of England and Wales, Common Professional Examination
- England and Wales

Anthony J. Taylor
Advises on the formation, organization and operation of private investment funds, including hedge funds, private equity funds, credit funds, managed accounts and single investor vehicles.
Anthony also advises sponsors of funds on economic and governance issues as well as in structuring and negotiating the terms of private investment vehicles, including private equity funds, funds of funds, joint ventures and seed arrangements.
- Columbia Law School, JD, Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar
- Georgetown University, BSFS, cum laude
- New York
