Venture Capital & Private Equity OverviewOur Venture Capital & Private Equity group has extensive experience in the financial sector—not only as attorneys, but also as investors and entrepreneurs. We represent clients in investment fund formation, private equity investments, venture capital and growth capital financing, and forming and growing startups.
Service Areas
Fund Formation
Michael Best advises funds and fund sponsors on structuring, forming, and operating all types of investment funds. We have experience in a broad range of structures, from traditional venture capital and private equity funds to special-purpose vehicles, pledge funds, and implementation of bespoke investment strategies.
We regularly counsel established and emerging funds (and their financial backers) on sponsor and investment vehicle formation or continuation, portfolio company acquisition and management, meeting regulatory requirements and ongoing compliance, and sponsor-level exit or investment transactions.
We provide clients a holistic approach to representation by drawing on our experience in multiple practice areas, such as corporate, securities, employment, benefits, and taxation. For sponsors, we also advise on management entities’ internal governance, partner and leadership transition, joint ventures, and economic allocations of carried interest and other compensation.
In addition to advising funds and sponsors on formation and operations, Michael Best has deep experience counseling fund clients on implementing investment strategies and deploying fund capital in a variety of industries and structures.
Private Equity Investments
Michael Best represents private equity funds, companies seeking to raise private capital, and investors in all aspects of financing, acquisitions, and exit transactions. Our work includes structuring investor returns, providing tax advice, and preparing or reviewing offering materials and designations of equity ownership classes and distribution preferences in a limited liability company or partnership.
We also serve as counsel to portfolio companies in many different industries. Our extensive knowledge of these industries, combined with our deep understanding of the private equity business and financial markets, adds significant value for all our private equity clients.
Broker-Dealer & Investment Advisers
In an increasingly complex regulatory environment, our Broker-Dealer & Investment Advisors group provides full-service strategic counsel to clients such as clearings firms, broker-dealers, investment advisors, hedge funds, family offices, VC and PE funds, angel network funds, accelerators, and evergreen funds, among others.
We advise on a variety of regulatory and compliance needs, including ongoing compliance for registered investment advisors and exempt reporting advisors, exemptions from registration under the Investment Company Act of 1940, registration of investment advisors and broker-dealers, and Securities and Exchange Commission and FINRA examinations. We also represent our clients on all aspects of their business, working in interdisciplinary teams with lawyers across Michael Best. Click here to learn more.
Venture & Growth Capital (Venture Best®)
Michael Best represents venture capital and angel investors, funds, and financial institutions in everything from initial seed rounds to later-stage investments and portfolio management. We serve both company- and investor-side clients in transactions that fund and support the high-growth economy.
Our Venture Best® team is actively involved in the entrepreneur ecosystem. We have worked with hundreds of investors and startups across the country, and we understand the fast-moving world of emerging and high-growth companies. This means we offer clients consistent insight into market values, current trends, and exciting opportunities. We partner with our clients to make meaningful matches between funding sources and high-potential companies.
Startup & Emerging Companies (Venture Best®)
Our Venture Best® group works closely with entrepreneurs, and with their VC and angel investors, to help new, rapidly growing companies find financial backing and expand their businesses. Many of our attorneys are also investors and entrepreneurs themselves, giving us firsthand insight into effective strategies for finding the right investment partners, structuring deals, and achieving growth objectives.
In addition to transactional work, we counsel early-stage businesses on their financial, organizational, and regulatory needs as they grow. We also provide crucial value-added services to startups, such as advising on business plan and pitch development, making investor introductions, and team-building referrals. Our extensive network of contacts enables us to help each entrepreneur find the right investors—and vice versa.
Best LuminEdge
Startups are built on ideas, and intellectual property assets are crucial to a company’s market value and growth potential. Before you make a significant investment or acquisition, Michael Best can give you critical insights through our Best LuminEdge system. We go beyond basic IP due diligence to deliver essential intelligence for informed business decisions. Our in-depth analysis exposes strengths and weaknesses of IP assets, and evaluates the IP of a company's competitors too. We distill our findings into an easily digestible report with a high-level summary and clear, actionable advice. Click here to learn more.
Related People Preview Attorney's BiographyKaitlyn represents clients regarding their corporate and transactional matters. She is experienced in assisting companies ranging from start-ups to major corporations.  Preview Attorney's BiographyClients across multiple industries turn to Michael to coordinate their more complex business transactions. They value his quick assessment of issues and their implications, as well as his creative yet effective solutions to the many issues that arise during the course of a transaction.Michael’s practice focuses on mergers and acquisitions, buyout transactions, securities regulation, and venture capital investment transactions.  Preview Attorney's BiographyDaniel assists companies with privacy and cybersecurity matters, from proactive approaches to breach response. He began his career with Michael Best as a law clerk, joining the firm as an associate attorney after obtaining his law degree from the University of Denver Sturm College of Law.  Preview Attorney's BiographyAaron advises clients on a range of corporate and transactional matters. He specializes in equity and debt financing transactions, private equity and venture capital investments, and a wide variety of strategic transactions such as mergers and acquisitions, recapitalizations, spin-outs, and buying and selling assets, as well as general corporate law and governance matters. He has also assisted public companies with public offerings, SEC compliance and reporting obligations.Aaron counsels technol ...  Preview Attorney's BiographyMatthew assists early-stage and emerging companies and investors with navigating the unique legal and regulatory challenges within the fast-growing cannabis industry.  Preview Attorney's BiographyAshley represents businesses with regard to corporate and transactional matters. Her clients include start-ups and other high-growth companies as well as large corporations in the U.S. and abroad. Prior to joining Michael Best, Ashley was an Associate in the Venture Capital and Private Equity practice of a national business law firm.
While pursuing her J.D., Ashley served as a Legal Fellow for U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (IL), where she drafted proposed legislation and prepared memoranda regar ...  Preview Attorney's BiographyDave is a skilled and entrepreneurial-minded attorney who focuses on helping start-up and early growth companies with all of their business needs.  Preview Attorney's BiographyKieran advises entrepreneurs on a range of business matters including formation and governance and helps them navigate the regulatory environment. He also prepares and negotiates contracts including employment, noncompete, confidentiality, vendor/supplier, and other agreements. He counsels businesses from a wide range of industries, with a particular focus in the areas of technology, finance, and cannabis.  Preview Attorney's BiographyEmily counsels businesses on a full range of employer-employee issues, with a special focus on advising clients in the firm’s Venture Best practice. She also assists in developing and maintaining compliant employment policies, including conducting employee handbook reviews.While in law school, Emily served as an associate editor for the Notre Dame Journal on Emerging Technologies and as the vice president of the Sports, Communications, & Entertainment Law Forum. She also worked as a le ...
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