We are experienced in guiding our clients through their various responsibilities as hedge fund managers and helping them avoid costly mistakes. We work closely with our clients to develop a fund’s structure and terms in accordance to its investment strategies. We guide our clients on applicable regulatory obligations, including all required filings, examinations, and registrations, as well as prepare the fund’s offering documents (including the PPM, partnership agreement, subscription agreement, and certain regulatory filings). After the offering documents have been finalized, we continue to be a source of information and support, assisting the fund with legal and operation matters on an as-needed basis:

• assist managers with modifications to the fund
• advise managers on the eligibility of certain investors
• prepare amendments to fund offering documents
• prepare side letter agreements for strategic investors
• review marketing and promotional material
• provide answers to investor questions

Raich attorneys advise clients on multifaceted investment strategies, including those regarding currency management and hedging programs and tail risk funds systems trading platforms (including IP issues). We also provide assistance with commodity trading product design, fund formation and intellectual property issues, as well as regulatory compliance and securities regulation. 

Our attorneys are experienced with the challenges and opportunities our clients face each day and offer our clients a comprehensive grasp of the hedge fund market. We know how to leverage our experience to advise our clients in how to structure and operate successful funds in today’s competitive market.  Our guidance includes the areas of: 

• anchor investor capital negotiations 
• counterparty risk management and negotiation of counterparty documentation 
• fund structuring, formation and documentation for domestic and offshore hedge funds 
• fund recapitalizations, workouts, liquidations
• hybrid structures
• impact of derivatives regulation, including Dodd-Frank and European Market Infrastructure Regulation
• investments, joint ventures and other transactions
• management fee and performance-based compensation arrangements
• executive compensation and deferral plans 
• employee agreements: compensation, retention, promotion, noncompetition/solicitation, confidentiality, or termination
• investor negotiations
• foreign stock exchange listings
• seed capital arrangements
• registration and compliance for registered investment advisers, commodity pool operators (CPOs), commodity trading advisors (CTAs), broker-dealers 
• ERISA structuring 
• representation related to investigations, enforcement actions, or litigation 
• Operating and profit-sharing arrangements

The scope of our services includes a range of strategies, including but not limited to:

• commodity pools or managed futures products
• convertible debt
• country or region-specific funds
• credit and distressed debt
• event-driven or relative value funds
• funds of funds
• global macro funds
• industry sector funds
• long-short equity
• merger and statistical arbitrage funds
• multi-strategy funds

Raich attorneys are equipped to help clients pursue international opportunities and have represented investors in regions across the world. The hedge funds team works with our clients to advise them regarding an assortment of issues, including but not limited to:

• international fund formation and operations
• fund documentation and negotiation
• trade structuring, including international tax advice 
• over-the-counter and exchange-traded transactions
• commodity Pool Operator (CPO)/Commodity Trading Advisor (CTA) formation and operation
• compliance and regulatory:
• response to regulatory inquiries and investigations 
• Commodity Futures Trading Commission and National Futures Association registration, regulation and compliance issues
• European Union regulatory requirements

We provide a full range of legal services to our hedge fund clients, including the defense of hedge funds and their advisors in securities enforcement issues before the SEC and other regulators.  SEC investigations involving hedge funds frequently involve time-sensitive responses to inquiries regarding specific trades or investment strategies. We can analyze the trading at issue, assemble all relevant documents, and construct a defense strategy to influence the regulator to take no further action. Our attorneys also provide preventative counseling. We will proactively counsel hedge fund advisers concerning matters that pose an enforcement risk. These can include insider trading, information barriers, supervision issues, use of outside consultants, practices alleged to be manipulative, or short sales.