New York and Washington, D.C., February 1, 2006. LAWFUEL – The Law News Network – Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP announced that five partners have joined Willkie’s Investment Management practice group. Barry P. Barbash and Karrie McMillan will be resident in Willkie’s Washington, D.C. office; Joel H. Goldberg, Margery K. Neale and Maria Gattuso will be resident in Willkie’s New York office. They are joining four partners currently in Willkie’s Investment Management practice group: Burton M. Leibert, Rose F. DiMartino, Daniel Schloendorn and Emily M. Zeigler. The group provides a broad array of legal services to registered funds, hedge funds and private equity funds and their directors, managers, shareholders, clients and vendors. The five new partners were formerly with Shearman & Sterling LLP.
Jack Nusbaum, Chairman of Willkie, said, “We consider our Investment Management practice to be one of our crown jewels, and believe the addition of five talented and experienced partners will result in a practice that is second to none.”
Mr. Barbash said, “I am extremely pleased to be returning to the firm at which I started my career in private practice and working again with colleagues for whom I have the utmost respect. Our group was attracted to Willkie’s commitment to the investment management area and the firm’s entrepreneurial culture. We all believe that Willkie is a place where we will be able to continue to build our practice and provide a full range of investment management and related services to our clients, all of which face a competitive and ever-changing business and regulatory landscape.”
Mr. Barbash, who served for five years as the Director of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Division of Investment Management, will head Willkie’s Investment Management group. He regularly advises mutual funds, hedge funds, private equity funds and their advisers in all aspects of their businesses.
Mr. Goldberg, who also served as the Director of the SEC’s Division of Investment Management, has more than 20 years experience advising mutual funds, as well as mutual funds’ advisers and independent directors.
Ms. Neale’s practice primarily involves organizing and counseling mutual funds and other registered investment companies and business development companies, as well as advising clients that offer alternative investment vehicles, such as hedge funds, collective trusts and structured products.
Ms. McMillan, who previously served as Assistant Chief Counsel of the SEC’s Division of Investment Management’s Office of Chief Counsel, advises registered funds and hedge funds, their advisers and other service providers on transactional and regulatory issues, including SEC examinations and enforcement proceedings.
Ms. Gattuso’s practice involves providing advice on the establishment and operation of registered investment companies, hedge funds, new product development, alternative fund structures and merger and acquisition transactions.
With over 600 attorneys in offices in New York, Washington, Paris, London, Milan, Rome, Frankfurt and Brussels, Willkie is a leading international firm in the areas of corporate and securities law, litigation, business reorganization and restructuring, real estate and a number of specialized fields of law.
The firm is headquartered in New York City at 787 Seventh Avenue (telephone: 212 728 8000).
