Private Investment Funds
Few firms offer the breadth of practice that we bring to private fund managers and investors. We understand the issues specific to different types of funds and offer advice that comes from a wealth of experience across industries and global markets. Our lawyers work in all the key industries, including, real estate, venture capital, private equity, infrastructure, natural resources and hedge funds, raising funds worldwide that range from less than $50 million to over $17 billion. And with the breakneck pace of technology disrupting industries around the world, we have a team that is equally proficient in advising the innovators and the investors across the private equity, technology, healthcare and life sciences sectors. We partner with clients to embrace the promise and potential of innovation to make a lasting impact.
The depth and breadth of our experience allows us to provide our clients with the most current market terms for their industry as well as access to cutting-edge developments across industries. We handle every stage in the life cycle, and we provide fund managers with the sophisticated level of counsel required for forming, advising and operating private investment funds. Within fund formation, we take a creative approach, starting with not only the specific objectives of a particular fund but also an assessment of how the fund fits within the client’s broader business goals. We then help fund managers determine the best structure and terms to achieve those goals.
As part of our strategic fund advising process, we counsel fund managers and investors on market terms and conditions and provide a wide range of legal expertise. Clients rely on us for:
- Innovative tax planning and fund structures
- State-of-the-art documentation
- Securities law expertise
- Ongoing compliance programs
- Profit sharing and other compensation plans
- Investment Advisers Act and Investment Company Act compliance
- Banking and other financial services expertise
We are known for creating innovative fund structures that accomplish client goals and meet the unique tax, regulatory and other requirements. Our private fund experts work with interdisciplinary teams to provide counsel at every stage of a fund, drawing on the collective knowledge and experience of our firm’s tax, securities, ERISA, banking and other financial services practices.



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John M. Ferguson
Corporate Social Responsibility Law + Policy
Debt Finance
Goodwin’s unique combination of deep experience serving both the innovators and investors in a rapidly-changing, technology-driven economy sets us apart. We partner with clients to embrace the promise and potential of innovation to make a lasting impact. Our Debt Finance practice represents borrowers, private equity sponsors and lenders in a broad range of financing transactions. Our Debt Finance lawyers work closely with the firm's Private Equity, Technology Companies, Capital Markets, and Financial Restructuring groups structuring, negotiating and documenting domestic and cross-border debt financing arrangements, including secured and unsecured senior, mezzanine and subordinated debt facilities, acquisition-financing transactions, working capital facilities, as well as loan workouts and restructurings.
On the borrower side, Goodwin represents private equity firms and their portfolio companies, leading public and private companies and start-ups in a wide variety of business industries. On the lender side, Goodwin’s clients include domestic and international banks, insurance and finance companies, mezzanine lenders, business development companies and other institutional investors.
Fintech
Technology has permeated the modern age and influences nearly every aspect of our daily lives. Long-standing financial services institutions are a prime example of how far the technological revolution has reached. Brick and mortar financial institutions are facing new disruptive competitors in everything ranging from mobile and peer-to-peer payments to online banking and lending. Fintech companies are receiving record high investments across the globe and the market is thriving at an unparalleled pace. With new regulatory considerations developing in tandem, it is crucial for a successful Fintech company to have expert legal counsel that is fully apprised of all the newest developments, such as GDPR in Europe, and how they affect the industry.
Hedge Funds
Hedge fund markets are facing extraordinary challenges, including increased competition and a changing global regulatory environment. With extensive experience and resources in this industry, we help our hedge fund clients find opportunities, capitalize on them and provide better service to their investors.
We offer interdisciplinary expertise and an understanding of the “big picture” – which is critical for clients who offer their investors a wide ra
Investment Management
Life Sciences
Succeeding in the life sciences industry is as much about strategy and execution as it is about research and development. And with the breakneck pace of technology disrupting industries on a global scale, Goodwin’s depth of experience not only in the life sciences space, but also in collaboration with our technology, healthcare, real estate and private equity lawyers, makes our team exceptionally suited to address whatever the future brings. We partner with clients to embrace the promise and potential of innovation to make a profound and lasting impact.
Goodwin’s fully integrated, globally recognized destination life sciences practice is dedicated to serving the needs of innovators and investors working collaboratively to improve patients' lives. Our team of more than 150 lawyers is devoted to life sciences companies across the entire company lifecycle, and team members are strategically located across the major life sciences hubs in the U.S., Europe and Asia.
Investment Funds
Real Estate Tax
REITs and Real Estate M+A
When businesses need counsel at the intersection of real estate and the public markets, they turn to Goodwin, a proven leader and innovator. From the dawn of the REIT market in the 1960s through the modern REIT era that began in the early 1990s, our lawyers are the industry vanguard – helping to draft the Real Estate Investment Trust Act of 1960, pioneering the creation of the first public UPREIT structure, and successfully representing issuers in the largest and most complex REIT IPOs to date. And with the breakneck pace of technology disrupting industries around the world, we partner with our clients and embrace the promise and potential of innovation to make a lasting impact.
Goodwin has been consistently recognized as a leader serving the public REIT market, including in connection with alternative uses of the REIT vehicle, REIT conversions and innovative compensation structures like the modern LTIP partnership unit. As REITs have matured into a mainstream investment with expanded reach around the globe, the industry’s top players continue to rely on our expertise and dedication. And as REITs seek to take advantage of regulatory reforms that broaden their access to capital, such as new exemptions from registration or innovative equity securities, our lawyers are always first on the scene.
Tax
Technology
As a growing technology company, your prospects are exciting and your challenges are unique – from securing funding, protecting IP, and navigating the regulatory environment, to differentiating yourself in the marketplace, managing customer acquisition and scaling your business. We get it. Our dedicated team brings a comprehensive, coordinated approach that interconnects business, new technologies and the law. Our depth of experience in the private equity space along with our technology, healthcare and life sciences lawyers makes Goodwin uniquely suited to harness the breakneck pace of technology. We partner with clients to embrace the promise and potential of innovation to make a profound and lasting impact.
Venture Capital + Private Equity Funds
Financial Restructuring
Workouts. Reorganization. Liquidation.
Companies of all sizes – from start-ups to more established businesses and international corporations – have benefited over the last several years from sustained economic growth, favorable interest rates and higher investment income. Banner years have been common for many businesses. Yet the reality is that not every business succeeds. Shifting investor preferences, regulatory developments, ongoing disputes over tariffs and trade, and the potential for economic slowdown could mean trouble for many companies going forward.
Goodwin’s unique combination of deep experience serving both the innovators and investors in a rapidly-changing, technology-driven economy sets us apart. We partner with clients to embrace the promise and potential of innovation to make a lasting impact. Our Debt Finance practice represents borrowers, private equity sponsors and lenders in a broad range of financing transactions. Our Debt Finance lawyers work closely with the firm's Private Equity, Technology Companies, Capital Markets, and Financial Restructuring groups structuring, negotiating and documenting domestic and cross-border debt financing arrangements, including secured and unsecured senior, mezzanine and subordinated debt facilities, acquisition-financing transactions, working capital facilities, as well as loan workouts and restructurings.
On the borrower side, Goodwin represents private equity firms and their portfolio companies, leading public and private companies and start-ups in a wide variety of business industries. On the lender side, Goodwin’s clients include domestic and international banks, insurance and finance companies, mezzanine lenders, business development companies and other institutional investors.
Technology has permeated the modern age and influences nearly every aspect of our daily lives. Long-standing financial services institutions are a prime example of how far the technological revolution has reached. Brick and mortar financial institutions are facing new disruptive competitors in everything ranging from mobile and peer-to-peer payments to online banking and lending. Fintech companies are receiving record high investments across the globe and the market is thriving at an unparalleled pace. With new regulatory considerations developing in tandem, it is crucial for a successful Fintech company to have expert legal counsel that is fully apprised of all the newest developments, such as GDPR in Europe, and how they affect the industry.
Hedge fund markets are facing extraordinary challenges, including increased competition and a changing global regulatory environment. With extensive experience and resources in this industry, we help our hedge fund clients find opportunities, capitalize on them and provide better service to their investors.
We offer interdisciplinary expertise and an understanding of the “big picture” – which is critical for clients who offer their investors a wide ra
Succeeding in the life sciences industry is as much about strategy and execution as it is about research and development. And with the breakneck pace of technology disrupting industries on a global scale, Goodwin’s depth of experience not only in the life sciences space, but also in collaboration with our technology, healthcare, real estate and private equity lawyers, makes our team exceptionally suited to address whatever the future brings. We partner with clients to embrace the promise and potential of innovation to make a profound and lasting impact.
Goodwin’s fully integrated, globally recognized destination life sciences practice is dedicated to serving the needs of innovators and investors working collaboratively to improve patients' lives. Our team of more than 150 lawyers is devoted to life sciences companies across the entire company lifecycle, and team members are strategically located across the major life sciences hubs in the U.S., Europe and Asia.
When businesses need counsel at the intersection of real estate and the public markets, they turn to Goodwin, a proven leader and innovator. From the dawn of the REIT market in the 1960s through the modern REIT era that began in the early 1990s, our lawyers are the industry vanguard – helping to draft the Real Estate Investment Trust Act of 1960, pioneering the creation of the first public UPREIT structure, and successfully representing issuers in the largest and most complex REIT IPOs to date. And with the breakneck pace of technology disrupting industries around the world, we partner with our clients and embrace the promise and potential of innovation to make a lasting impact.
Goodwin has been consistently recognized as a leader serving the public REIT market, including in connection with alternative uses of the REIT vehicle, REIT conversions and innovative compensation structures like the modern LTIP partnership unit. As REITs have matured into a mainstream investment with expanded reach around the globe, the industry’s top players continue to rely on our expertise and dedication. And as REITs seek to take advantage of regulatory reforms that broaden their access to capital, such as new exemptions from registration or innovative equity securities, our lawyers are always first on the scene.
As a growing technology company, your prospects are exciting and your challenges are unique – from securing funding, protecting IP, and navigating the regulatory environment, to differentiating yourself in the marketplace, managing customer acquisition and scaling your business. We get it. Our dedicated team brings a comprehensive, coordinated approach that interconnects business, new technologies and the law. Our depth of experience in the private equity space along with our technology, healthcare and life sciences lawyers makes Goodwin uniquely suited to harness the breakneck pace of technology. We partner with clients to embrace the promise and potential of innovation to make a profound and lasting impact.
Workouts. Reorganization. Liquidation.
Companies of all sizes – from start-ups to more established businesses and international corporations – have benefited over the last several years from sustained economic growth, favorable interest rates and higher investment income. Banner years have been common for many businesses. Yet the reality is that not every business succeeds. Shifting investor preferences, regulatory developments, ongoing disputes over tariffs and trade, and the potential for economic slowdown could mean trouble for many companies going forward.