Private Equity, Hedge Fund, and Founder Litigation
Led by Susan Cooke, PSD’s private equity fund lawyers have represented numerous private equity funds, hedge funds, asset management companies and their founders, executives, portfolio companies and constituents in litigations and arbitrations involving disputes unique to and common in the industry.
PSD has deep experience in claims by limited partners and investors, regulatory investigations, limited partnership contract disputes, clawback collection, general partner fiduciary duty issues, and acquisition, earnout and exit disputes. Our lawyers have appeared in various state and federal courts around the country. Also, PSD’s private equity and hedge fund lawyers have appeared before FINRA and other arbitration panels. PSD’s investigative efforts have helped frame disputes in ways that have resolved them promptly. Clients in this area have included entities with many billions of dollars under management.
Representative Matters – Private Equity Fund, Hedge Fund, and Founder Lawyers
In various high stake matters, PSD private equity fund lawyers have led the following sample representations in recent years:
Won dismissal of private equity fund from trade secret and conversion claims
- Represented founder of medical device companies on derivative and class action claims against venture capital firm in Delaware Chancery Court resulting in court-approved $9 million settlement.
- Obtained a New York judgment for New England-based private equity funds with more than $1 billion under management. Within months of commencing litigation, PSD obtained the return of an earn-out escrow and purchase consideration. In the matter, PSD lawyers uncovered competitive activities of the portfolio company founder.
- Collected more than $8 million in clawback obligations from former fund managers.
- Won summary judgment on behalf of large international fund dismissing fraud claim seeking eight-figure damages. A prominent group of domestic investment funds had brought the claim.
- Recovered high seven-figure settlement in Florida case from old equity who competed with an entity formed by a private equity fund, which also acquired related claims out of bankruptcy proceedings.
- Successfully defended an analyst of an asset management company with more than $3 billion under management. The matter involved parallel SEC and DOJ investigations into the use of public board members as paid experts.
- Obtained on behalf of private equity fund the dismissal of tortious interference claims against it in Oklahoma based on its acquisition of assets in a section 363 sale out of bankruptcy proceedings allegedly in violation of exclusivity rights of a competing suitor.
- Resolved several threats of claims against large private equity funds before litigation without payments.
- Represented private equity fund in investigation by international banking agency concerning alleged theft of trade secrets. As a result, there was no action taken against or consequences for PSD’s client.
- This practice area of New York and Boston private equity fund and hedge fund lawyers is led by PSD partner Susan Cooke.
