Top US Hedge Fund Adviser Sets Up In London

by Carla Johnson, Investors Offshore, London

30 July 2002

Schulte Roth & Zabel LLP, a US law firm which is prominent in advising the hedge fund and investment management market, is to establish a London office in September 2002 offering both English and US law capability.

The new office will be located in London's West End and will be led by Daniel Shapiro, a founding partner of the firm and one of the leading hedge fund tax lawyers in the US. The firm has recruited hedge fund specialist Christopher Hilditch as a partner. He joins from Maples and Calder Europe, and was previously at Simmons & Simmons. Also joining the firm as Special Counsel will be regulatory and fund expert Richard Thompson from Landwell, who was previously at Freshfields and Deutsche Morgan Grenfell.

The London office will target both UK and European based hedge fund work as well as the European operations of existing US funds as part of the firm's overall strategy to become the premier hedge fund adviser in the European market.

Commenting on the move to London, Dan Shapiro said: 'We see a significant opportunity to serve the growing demands for specialist hedge fund and investment management advice in London and in Europe. The European hedge fund market is expanding rapidly with new funds being initiated and managed in London, while the institutions that service them are broadening their capabilities here. Increasingly, UK and international fund managers consider the US, UK and multi-jurisdictional aspects in structuring funds. The core investor market, even for London based funds, is the US tax exempt institutions - particularly pension funds, university endowments and private foundations - as well as US high net worth individuals with whom our firm has worked extensively.'

Prior to joining Schulte Roth & Zabel, Christopher Hilditch was a partner at Cayman Islands firm Maples and Calder Europe. He was previously a senior solicitor in the investment funds team at Simmons & Simmons, where he qualified as a Solicitor in 1994. He has advised extensively on the structuring, launch and promotion of offshore funds and listings on the Irish Stock Exchange.

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