Kleinberg Kaplan Wolff & Cohen, a small law firm focused on hedge funds, has lured an impressive number of partners from global firms over the years. The latest high-level funds lawyer to make the move comes from K&L Gates.
Richard Guidice is now a partner in the Kleinberg Kaplan’s Manhattan office. Guidice advises clients on the structuring and formation of hedge funds, real estate funds, private equity funds, and funds-of-funds. His expertise encompasses funds domiciled offshore as well as U.S. funds.
“Firm clients that I counsel range from startup managers to mid-sized managers with around $1 billion in assets under management, and clients who have well above that – the largest institutional managers,” Guidice told IFLR1000.
Besides advising clients on transactions, Guidice provides counsel on SEC and CFTC registration, reporting obligations, and more specialized compliance matters. Guidice described a regulatory environment in which clients are often sensitive to compliance issues. Managers have developed a focus on cybersecurity along with the more familiar terrain of conflicts, custody, and performance advertising.
“My goal is to make sure that clients are in compliance, obviously, but also to help them try to stay ahead of the curve in terms of keeping up with the latest regulatory developments,” he commented.
“The SEC has been focused on conflicts of interest and custody, particularly, since the custody rule was amended a few years ago and the SEC in the past year or two has brought some enforcement actions against asset managers for compliance rule and custody rule violations. If it’s a focus for the SEC, it needs to be a focus for our clients,” Guidice added.
Guidice holds a J.D. from Fordham University School of Law and a B.S. from St. John’s University.