Hedge Fund Journal Runs In-Depth Profile of Akin Gump’s London Hedge Fund Practice

The Hedge Fund Journal has published “Akin Gump – Advising hedge funds from conception to succession,” a profile of the firm’s London hedge fund practice, its history and practitioners.

Noting that Akin Gump “has a good claim to be one of the very biggest hedge fund practices in London, with over 40 lawyers in the capital focused on the sector,” the publication quotes Akin Gump practitioners, including London senior partner James Roome, litigation partner Christopher Leonard, investment management partners Ian Meade and Tim Pearce and investment funds tax principal Jon Hanifan on how the firm has built the practice and what it offers clients.

Among the topics covered:

• Ian Meade on firm leadership’s support for growth: “[Akin Gump’s leadership] includes people with a very international outlook and a significant degree of enthusiasm for growing the international side of the firm. We saw it as a first step in the growth and development of not just the firm’s offering in London, because from our perspective as hedge fund lawyers, it is an international business. It’s not enough to be a firm that’s strong in one jurisdiction.”
• James Roome on adapting to change: “It’s quite interesting being part of that maturation of the industry. It impacts us in more than just the different questions [clients] ask: it impacts the way we behave with them and the way we interact with them, and the way we organize ourselves.”
• Tim Pearce on experience as a selling point: “That split between start-ups, going through to the largest managers out there, and also including the work that we do for the US clients in London, is, when you’re talking to a client, extremely attractive for them – it’s a great proposition. For example, if you’re talking to a start-up you can say, ‘Yes, we do start-up work,’ but we also see what everyone else across the market is doing. We’ve got this great range of clients. Having that range was really important to us when we were looking at the kind of practice we were hoping to build, because it helps you and it helps the client get more traction and momentum.”
• Jon Hanifan on connecting legal advice and accounting services: “It makes a lot of sense to have somebody in the practice who speaks accountant. Accountants have been hiring lawyers for years, and to have someone go the other way, particularly to lead the funds tax practice, was not common when we did it, but it’s a key part of our joined up offering.”
• Christopher Leonard on the expansion of regulatory regimes: “There is this vast wave of regulation that is washing over managers operating in Europe. If they’re trading in Europe from the US, they need access to people who understand the market rules, the trading rules in Europe. That’s something that we’re well placed to deliver.”

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