SRZ Hosts 3rd Annual Private Equity Fund Conference

SRZ hosts its 3rd Annual Private Equity FundConference today in New York. Industry experts will convene on panels devoted to discussing a wide range of current issues of interest to private equity fund managers. Specific topics that will be covered include co-investments; pledge funds and fundless sponsors; and current regulatory and compliance issues facing private equity funds. The event is by invitation only.

Speakers include SRZ partners Stephanie R. Breslow, Marc E. Elovitz, Christopher S. Harrison, Jason S. Kaplan, Phyllis A. Schwartz and Joseph A. Smith. Guest speakers include Anthony Donofrio, principal and chief operating officer of Hamilton Lane’s Co-Investment Funds; Jaime L. Eichen, partner at Ernst & Young LLP (“EY”); and Scott Weisman, managing director at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP.

“We are excited to have such distinguished speakers at our annual PE conference,” commented Ms. Breslow, co-head of SRZ’s Investment Management Group and a member of the firm’s Executive Committee. “Today’s discussions will offer leading-edge insights on key commercial and regulatory developments impacting private equity,” added Mr. Smith, a partner in the Investment Management Group.

SRZ has occupied the alternative investment fund formation space for over 40 years and has a premier private funds practice, providing counsel to leading private equity firms. “We are proud to represent some of the most active and influential private equity funds. They turn to SRZ for the full range of services,” commented Alan S. Waldenberg, chair of SRZ’s Executive Committee and chair of the Tax Group.

SRZ lawyers are actively involved in every aspect of the private equity investment process. The firm advises on the formation of leveraged buyout, venture capital, real estate and other private equity and mezzanine funds, and represents these funds and other private equity investors in making investments, through realization events, including sales or public offerings. SRZ was named among the “Leading Law Firms in Fund Formation” in the 2015 Preqin Global Private Equity & Venture Capital Report.

About the Guest Speakers

Anthony Donofrio is a principal and the chief operating officer of Hamilton Lane’s Co-Investment Funds. In this capacity, he manages all diligence and deal execution resources and processes for the Co-Investment Funds’ investment opportunities. He also is responsible for reviewing and negotiating the legal documentation for the Co-Investment Funds’ deals. Previously, Mr. Donofrio was a member of Hamilton Lane’s Legal and Due Diligence Teams, where his primary duties included reviewing and negotiating legal and business terms for a variety of primary fund, secondary fund and co-investment transactions. Prior to joining Hamilton Lane in 2005, he served as in-house legal counsel for BTG International, the U.S. subsidiary of a London-based technology commercialization/venture investment company, and as a transactional attorney for the Philadelphia-based law firm of Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP.

Jaime L. Eichen is a partner in Ernst & Young’s Financial Services Professional Practice Group. She has over 16 years of experience in the asset management industry, including serving asset management clients such as mutual funds, SEC-registered and non-registered hedge funds, private equity funds, business development companies, investment advisers and general partners. Prior to rejoining EY in 2014, Ms. Eichen was the chief accountant for the SEC’s Division of Investment Management for three and a half years, where her responsibilities included directing the financial reporting, accounting and auditing practices of investment companies in compliance with the federal securities laws and discussing significant investment company accounting and auditing standard-setting matters with the FASB and PCAOB. While at the SEC for nearly seven years, Ms. Eichen also worked closely with other divisions and offices within the SEC, including the Division of Enforcement, the Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (“OCIE”), and the Office of the Chief Accountant.

Scott Weisman joined PricewaterhouseCoopers in July 2013 and assists financial services clients — primarily advisers to hedge funds, private equity funds and registered investment companies — in a wide variety of securities regulatory compliance matters. His areas of focus include leading regulatory practices for advisers, SEC examination readiness, compliance program development and risk management, and regulatory reporting. Mr. Weisman has deep securities regulatory experience, having served for more than 11 years in the SEC’s Division of Enforcement, most recently as an assistant director. In that role, he helped form and lead the agency’s Asset Management Unit, an 80-person national specialized group focusing on misconduct involving hedge funds, private equity funds and investment companies. Mr. Weisman collaborated extensively with other SEC divisions and law enforcement agencies on asset management priority areas and emerging risks, and he developed a highly successful initiative to detect hedge fund fraud through the use of proprietary risk analytics. He also supervised a number of significant investigations concerning improper conflicts of interest, valuation, disclosure, fees and trading practices.