Goodwin Procter is one of the nation’s leading law firms counseling investment advisers, banks and other investment management institutions on both corporate and regulatory matters. Our experience spans the full range of investment products and services, including mutual funds, registered closed-end funds, private funds, bank-maintained funds, institutional and individual advisory relationships, and insurance and annuity products. We also handle complex financings and acquisitions of investment management firms.

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Goodwin Procter is one of the nation’s leading law firms counseling investment advisers, banks and other investment management institutions on both corporate and regulatory matters. Our experience spans the full range of investment products and services, including mutual funds, registered closed-end funds, private funds, bank-maintained funds, institutional and individual advisory relationships, and insurance and annuity products. We also handle complex financings and acquisitions of investment management firms.

Working with numerous mutual fund complexes, including several of the largest in the industry, we have acquired practical experience in developing and maintaining the full spectrum of SEC-registered funds. We maintain client relationships with both independent trustees and fund management, which gives us a rare perspective on the unique corporate governance challenges facing the mutual fund industry. Clients rely on us to design compliance programs, obtain regulatory relief, launch new products and manage the day-to-day challenges that arise from operating in a complex, evolving and highly regulated environment.

We advise clients on compliance with recent legislative and regulatory initiatives, such as the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and the USA PATRIOT Act, and function as a resource for “best practices” on such matters as personal and proprietary trading, soft dollars, revenue sharing, and emerging efforts to safeguard funds from market timing. Goodwin Procter is one of the leading law firms in the United States in defending high stakes regulatory investigations and mutual fund class action litigation.

We also have extensive experience in the creation and operation of private investment funds, including private equity funds, real estate funds, funds of funds, hedge funds, mezzanine debt funds and emerging market funds. We are involved in the negotiation of key business terms on behalf of both fund sponsors and institutional investors, and serve as a resource for clients on prevailing market trends.

In addition to our work with sponsors of U.S. funds, we are internationally recognized for our work with offshore funds and global investment management firms. We are among a small number of U.S. law firms that have substantial experience working with the securities laws of major foreign markets. The SEC staff’s two “Goodwin Procter letters” are well known for providing the definitive word on offering non-U.S. funds to U.S. investors. less »