Funds Work Forum

[Anonymous User]

Forgive the ignorance, but I haven't found a whole lot of discussion about funds work (or at least as it pertains to my question) and what I have found is spread between forums.

I have heard that funds work generally has a better work/life balance in comparison to other corporate transactional practices, is this true? Are these positions highly volatile in a recession (I know, can't speculate on the recession itself, but just something I am keeping in mind)?

Really any information outside from what I have read by googling on funds work would be great.

[Anonymous User]

I think you can split up Funds works between STB/K&E/Debevoise and then everyone else.

At one of the top 3 (STB/KE/Deb) the work will be "consistently busy". This means working from 9am to maybe 9 or 10pm on average every day (ive heard STB and KE are heavier on the hours). When things are busy (like when a closing is coming up) youll be up until 11 or later. You won't really have "slow periods" like M&A but on the plus side there's rarely weekend work in funds. You will only have to work weekends (1) if there's a closing coming up or (2) you have so much on your plate and you couldn't finish everything before the weekend. These 2 things usually go hand in hand. You may have a weekend where you work 2 hours or 10, that just varies on how busy the fund(s) are. The work is predictable in the sense that you know months in advance when closing will be taking place, so you can gauge when you will be busier or slower, but by no means should you interpret or confuse "predictable" with "easy". It's still a shit ton of work, you just don't have to cancel plans as often. Biglaw is biglaw.

In terms of actual work, the general idea is that you have investors invest in funds and your job is to make sure the terms of that investment are satisfactory to your client (whether you represent the investor or the sponsor/PE Firm). If you're at one of the big 3 mentioned earlier you will likely be doing 99%+ sponsor side work.

As a junior you on the sponsor side you will coordinate with tax and other specialists to review the relevant fund documents and then incorporate their comments, review sub docs and ask the investors to update any missing/incomplete information, keep track of investors status via an excel tracker, help draft side letter provisions, etc. Essentially a lot of junior work that is similar across most corporate practices. On the investor side you will be doing less tracking and more incorporating comments/reviewing docs etc.

Exit options are generally to either PE sponsors or LPs/investors. I've heard PE Firms pay very well as compared to other in house positions but the hours aren't too great. Still working a ton. Idk much about LP-side in house positions.

I'll let someone else speak to what it's like working at "the other" funds groups as I've been at K&E since I graduated law school so it's the only life I know. Hope this was helpful!

[Anonymous User]

I think you can split up Funds works between STB/K&E/Debevoise and then everyone else.

At one of the top 3 (STB/KE/Deb) the work will be "consistently busy". This means working from 9am to maybe 9 or 10pm on average every day (ive heard STB and KE are heavier on the hours). When things are busy (like when a closing is coming up) youll be up until 11 or later. You won't really have "slow periods" like M&A but on the plus side there's rarely weekend work in funds. You will only have to work weekends (1) if there's a closing coming up or (2) you have so much on your plate and you couldn't finish everything before the weekend. These 2 things usually go hand in hand. You may have a weekend where you work 2 hours or 10, that just varies on how busy the fund(s) are. The work is predictable in the sense that you know months in advance when closing will be taking place, so you can gauge when you will be busier or slower, but by no means should you interpret or confuse "predictable" with "easy". It's still a shit ton of work, you just don't have to cancel plans as often. Biglaw is biglaw.

In terms of actual work, the general idea is that you have investors invest in funds and your job is to make sure the terms of that investment are satisfactory to your client (whether you represent the investor or the sponsor/PE Firm). If you're at one of the big 3 mentioned earlier you will likely be doing 99%+ sponsor side work.

As a junior you on the sponsor side you will coordinate with tax and other specialists to review the relevant fund documents and then incorporate their comments, review sub docs and ask the investors to update any missing/incomplete information, keep track of investors status via an excel tracker, help draft side letter provisions, etc. Essentially a lot of junior work that is similar across most corporate practices. On the investor side you will be doing less tracking and more incorporating comments/reviewing docs etc.

Exit options are generally to either PE sponsors or LPs/investors. I've heard PE Firms pay very well as compared to other in house positions but the hours aren't too great. Still working a ton. Idk much about LP-side in house positions.

I'll let someone else speak to what it's like working at "the other" funds groups as I've been at K&E since I graduated law school so it's the only life I know. Hope this was helpful!

This was so helpful! Thank you!

[MrLions]

I think you can split up Funds works between STB/K&E/Debevoise and then everyone else.

At one of the top 3 (STB/KE/Deb) the work will be "consistently busy". This means working from 9am to maybe 9 or 10pm on average every day (ive heard STB and KE are heavier on the hours). When things are busy (like when a closing is coming up) youll be up until 11 or later. You won't really have "slow periods" like M&A but on the plus side there's rarely weekend work in funds. You will only have to work weekends (1) if there's a closing coming up or (2) you have so much on your plate and you couldn't finish everything before the weekend. These 2 things usually go hand in hand. You may have a weekend where you work 2 hours or 10, that just varies on how busy the fund(s) are. The work is predictable in the sense that you know months in advance when closing will be taking place, so you can gauge when you will be busier or slower, but by no means should you interpret or confuse "predictable" with "easy". It's still a shit ton of work, you just don't have to cancel plans as often. Biglaw is biglaw.

In terms of actual work, the general idea is that you have investors invest in funds and your job is to make sure the terms of that investment are satisfactory to your client (whether you represent the investor or the sponsor/PE Firm). If you're at one of the big 3 mentioned earlier you will likely be doing 99%+ sponsor side work.

As a junior you on the sponsor side you will coordinate with tax and other specialists to review the relevant fund documents and then incorporate their comments, review sub docs and ask the investors to update any missing/incomplete information, keep track of investors status via an excel tracker, help draft side letter provisions, etc. Essentially a lot of junior work that is similar across most corporate practices. On the investor side you will be doing less tracking and more incorporating comments/reviewing docs etc.

Exit options are generally to either PE sponsors or LPs/investors. I've heard PE Firms pay very well as compared to other in house positions but the hours aren't too great. Still working a ton. Idk much about LP-side in house positions.

I'll let someone else speak to what it's like working at "the other" funds groups as I've been at K&E since I graduated law school so it's the only life I know. Hope this was helpful!

Thank you very much for this insight. Do you have any information regarding fund finance?

[existentialcrisis]

I think you can split up Funds works between STB/K&E/Debevoise and then everyone else.

At one of the top 3 (STB/KE/Deb) the work will be "consistently busy". This means working from 9am to maybe 9 or 10pm on average every day (ive heard STB and KE are heavier on the hours). When things are busy (like when a closing is coming up) youll be up until 11 or later. You won't really have "slow periods" like M&A but on the plus side there's rarely weekend work in funds. You will only have to work weekends (1) if there's a closing coming up or (2) you have so much on your plate and you couldn't finish everything before the weekend. These 2 things usually go hand in hand. You may have a weekend where you work 2 hours or 10, that just varies on how busy the fund(s) are. The work is predictable in the sense that you know months in advance when closing will be taking place, so you can gauge when you will be busier or slower, but by no means should you interpret or confuse "predictable" with "easy". It's still a shit ton of work, you just don't have to cancel plans as often. Biglaw is biglaw.

In terms of actual work, the general idea is that you have investors invest in funds and your job is to make sure the terms of that investment are satisfactory to your client (whether you represent the investor or the sponsor/PE Firm). If you're at one of the big 3 mentioned earlier you will likely be doing 99%+ sponsor side work.

As a junior you on the sponsor side you will coordinate with tax and other specialists to review the relevant fund documents and then incorporate their comments, review sub docs and ask the investors to update any missing/incomplete information, keep track of investors status via an excel tracker, help draft side letter provisions, etc. Essentially a lot of junior work that is similar across most corporate practices. On the investor side you will be doing less tracking and more incorporating comments/reviewing docs etc.

Exit options are generally to either PE sponsors or LPs/investors. I've heard PE Firms pay very well as compared to other in house positions but the hours aren't too great. Still working a ton. Idk much about LP-side in house positions.

I'll let someone else speak to what it's like working at "the other" funds groups as I've been at K&E since I graduated law school so it's the only life I know. Hope this was helpful!

Thank you very much for this insight. Do you have any information regarding fund finance?

Fund finance is totally different. That’s just a credit practice but focused on loans where the collateral is the Fund’s right to make capital calls.