Mayer Brown, a leading global law firm, announced today that Rory Cohen has joined the firm as a partner in the Corporate & Securities practice and the Private Investment Funds group in New York. Previously, he was a partner with Venable LLP and earlier a senior in-house counsel to private funds and investment managers at Bear Stearns.
“Rory brings to Mayer Brown almost 20 years of experience in working with investment managers and private investment funds, particularly in hedge fund formation, distribution and regulatory compliance,” said New York partner Phil Brandes, a co-leader of Mayer Brown’s global Corporate & Securities practice. “Rory will further broaden our ability to serve the needs of investment managers and private investment fund clients.”
Mr. Cohen focuses his practice on advising private investment funds, including hedge funds, private equity funds and real estate funds, in matters relating to fund formation, the distribution of fund interests, broker-dealer and investment adviser registration and compliance and private equity transactions. He also provides counsel in response to regulatory inquiries and other issues arising under the Investment Advisers Act, Investment Company Act and FINRA rules and on the structuring of seed investments, revenue sharing arrangements, portfolio manager lift-outs, spin-outs, mergers and acquisitions and other transactions involving investment management entities. Mr. Cohen represents clients including private fund sponsors, separate account managers, broker-dealers and institutional investors and managers.
As Managing Director at Bear Stearns, Mr. Cohen counseled several Bear Stearns entities on asset management activities, supervising the asset management legal work for more than twenty investment management platforms, including single and multi-strategy funds, fund of funds and fund access platforms, Bear’s third party seeding platforms and private fund due diligence and distribution. Earlier, while Associate General Counsel at Prudential Securities Inc., Mr. Cohen advised on development and implementation of investment advisory and wrap fee programs as well as day-to-day compliance and disclosure issues.
“Mayer Brown’s global platform, outstanding reputation and superior investment management, structured finance, securities and corporate capabilities were key factors that drew me to the firm,” Mr. Cohen said. “The ability to augment my practice with the breadth and depth of Mayer Brown’s industry leading experts will undoubtedly benefit clients. My time in-house and previously as an investment analyst have afforded me opportunities to experience firsthand real-world legal, operational and other challenges faced by investment managers and other financial service firms and to timely design practical solutions around them. I look forward to continuing to leverage the knowledge and experience I have gained to anticipate and to proactively seek solutions to such challenges and to provide other benefits to private investment fund and other clients worldwide.”
Mr. Cohen earned a JD from Boston University School of Law and received a BBA from The University of Michigan School of Business Administration.
