Best firms for investment funds? Forum

[Anonymous User]

Hi!

I was wondering if there is a well defined tier list for the investment funds. Do any of these firms have a specialty focus?

Also, in more general terms, what do you think of the investment funds practice? I've heard the hours are a little more predictable but I was wondering if people had more to add. Are the exit opportunities good?

[ZVBXRPL]

https://chambers.com/legal-rankings/inv ... :803:225:1

Debevoise Simpson KE. (Latter two are biggest players)

[Anonymous User]

This gets asked a lot. Generally while funds is pretty busy it’s considered a lifestyle practice due to the longer timelines and the fact that the work isn’t deal-based. You probably aren’t canceling plans as a mid level but you might be grinding 10-12 hour days buried in a PPM. A lot of it is project management so if you are bad at that you might hate it (I’m terrible at staying on top of juniors, managing cayman counsel, getting things to specialists).

The chambers rankings are divided between hedge and PE. The PE rankings pretty much reflect the big names in the space. Hedge is a little harder to judge because there are a few smaller firms. Ropes, Willkie, and PW are on the rise. Willkie and Lowenstein are better regarded than the rankings suggest. Schulte has been one of the praimary hedge fund shops for years though maybe losing market share to others at this point. DPW was more of a player 10 years ago. Kleinberg, Katten and Seward aren’t really reputable despite what the rankings suggest, though you can still move in house from Seward pretty easily. Neither Morgan Lewis nor Akin are big players even though they are ranked well.

FF is a recent addition and was historically known for PE only.

If you’re looking to do venture you need to go to Cooley, Gunderson, PH or Proskauer (I might be missing one or two California firms in there).

Registered funds (mutual funds, BDCs) is a different world.

Take this with a grain of salt. I’m just one person and others may have different views.

[Anonymous User]

This gets asked a lot. Generally while funds is pretty busy it’s considered a lifestyle practice due to the longer timelines and the fact that the work isn’t deal-based. You probably aren’t canceling plans as a mid level but you might be grinding 10-12 hour days buried in a PPM. A lot of it is project management so if you are bad at that you might hate it (I’m terrible at staying on top of juniors, managing cayman counsel, getting things to specialists).

The chambers rankings are divided between hedge and PE. The PE rankings pretty much reflect the big names in the space. Hedge is a little harder to judge because there are a few smaller firms. Ropes, Willkie, and PW are on the rise. Willkie and Lowenstein are better regarded than the rankings suggest. Schulte has been one of the praimary hedge fund shops for years though maybe losing market share to others at this point. DPW was more of a player 10 years ago. Kleinberg, Katten and Seward aren’t really reputable despite what the rankings suggest, though you can still move in house from Seward pretty easily. Neither Morgan Lewis nor Akin are big players even though they are ranked well.

FF is a recent addition and was historically known for PE only.

If you’re looking to do venture you need to go to Cooley, Gunderson, PH or Proskauer (I might be missing one or two California firms in there).

Registered funds (mutual funds, BDCs) is a different world.

Take this with a grain of salt. I’m just one person and others may have different views.

This was extremely helpful and thorough. I really appreciate it.

What do you know about Sidley? They are band 1 in Chambers for hedge funds, but I am not sure about their reputation on the market.

[Anonymous User]

This gets asked a lot. Generally while funds is pretty busy it’s considered a lifestyle practice due to the longer timelines and the fact that the work isn’t deal-based. You probably aren’t canceling plans as a mid level but you might be grinding 10-12 hour days buried in a PPM. A lot of it is project management so if you are bad at that you might hate it (I’m terrible at staying on top of juniors, managing cayman counsel, getting things to specialists).

The chambers rankings are divided between hedge and PE. The PE rankings pretty much reflect the big names in the space. Hedge is a little harder to judge because there are a few smaller firms. Ropes, Willkie, and PW are on the rise. Willkie and Lowenstein are better regarded than the rankings suggest. Schulte has been one of the praimary hedge fund shops for years though maybe losing market share to others at this point. DPW was more of a player 10 years ago. Kleinberg, Katten and Seward aren’t really reputable despite what the rankings suggest, though you can still move in house from Seward pretty easily. Neither Morgan Lewis nor Akin are big players even though they are ranked well.

FF is a recent addition and was historically known for PE only.

If you’re looking to do venture you need to go to Cooley, Gunderson, PH or Proskauer (I might be missing one or two California firms in there).

Registered funds (mutual funds, BDCs) is a different world.

Take this with a grain of salt. I’m just one person and others may have different views.

This was extremely helpful and thorough. I really appreciate it.

What do you know about Sidley? They are band 1 in Chambers for hedge funds, but I am not sure about their reputation on the market.

Not the original quoted anon, but I think Sidley would be in the same boat with Schulte. Someone can correct me if I'm wrong though

[Anonymous User]

This gets asked a lot. Generally while funds is pretty busy it’s considered a lifestyle practice due to the longer timelines and the fact that the work isn’t deal-based. You probably aren’t canceling plans as a mid level but you might be grinding 10-12 hour days buried in a PPM. A lot of it is project management so if you are bad at that you might hate it (I’m terrible at staying on top of juniors, managing cayman counsel, getting things to specialists).

The chambers rankings are divided between hedge and PE. The PE rankings pretty much reflect the big names in the space. Hedge is a little harder to judge because there are a few smaller firms. Ropes, Willkie, and PW are on the rise. Willkie and Lowenstein are better regarded than the rankings suggest. Schulte has been one of the praimary hedge fund shops for years though maybe losing market share to others at this point. DPW was more of a player 10 years ago. Kleinberg, Katten and Seward aren’t really reputable despite what the rankings suggest, though you can still move in house from Seward pretty easily. Neither Morgan Lewis nor Akin are big players even though they are ranked well.

FF is a recent addition and was historically known for PE only.

If you’re looking to do venture you need to go to Cooley, Gunderson, PH or Proskauer (I might be missing one or two California firms in there).

Registered funds (mutual funds, BDCs) is a different world.

Take this with a grain of salt. I’m just one person and others may have different views.

This was extremely helpful and thorough. I really appreciate it.

What do you know about Sidley? They are band 1 in Chambers for hedge funds, but I am not sure about their reputation on the market.

Not the original quoted anon, but I think Sidley would be in the same boat with Schulte. Someone can correct me if I'm wrong though

I don't disagree. I also don't have personal experience but know a few people who have left Sidley over the years because they said they were stuck doing mostly registered funds work.

[Anonymous User]

This gets asked a lot. Generally while funds is pretty busy it’s considered a lifestyle practice due to the longer timelines and the fact that the work isn’t deal-based. You probably aren’t canceling plans as a mid level but you might be grinding 10-12 hour days buried in a PPM. A lot of it is project management so if you are bad at that you might hate it (I’m terrible at staying on top of juniors, managing cayman counsel, getting things to specialists).

The chambers rankings are divided between hedge and PE. The PE rankings pretty much reflect the big names in the space. Hedge is a little harder to judge because there are a few smaller firms. Ropes, Willkie, and PW are on the rise. Willkie and Lowenstein are better regarded than the rankings suggest. Schulte has been one of the praimary hedge fund shops for years though maybe losing market share to others at this point. DPW was more of a player 10 years ago. Kleinberg, Katten and Seward aren’t really reputable despite what the rankings suggest, though you can still move in house from Seward pretty easily. Neither Morgan Lewis nor Akin are big players even though they are ranked well.

FF is a recent addition and was historically known for PE only.

If you’re looking to do venture you need to go to Cooley, Gunderson, PH or Proskauer (I might be missing one or two California firms in there).

Registered funds (mutual funds, BDCs) is a different world.

Take this with a grain of salt. I’m just one person and others may have different views.

This was extremely helpful and thorough. I really appreciate it.

What do you know about Sidley? They are band 1 in Chambers for hedge funds, but I am not sure about their reputation on the market.

Not the original quoted anon, but I think Sidley would be in the same boat with Schulte. Someone can correct me if I'm wrong though

Anon from above and would agree with that. Also have heard anecdotally that their funds associates are pretty miserable (aren’t we all?).