McCarter & English, LLP is pleased to announce that Laura Anne Corsell and Don E. Felice have joined the firm’s Philadelphia office, bringing to McCarter more than 40 years’ experience in counseling mutual funds, fund boards and investment advisers. Corsell joins as partner and Felice as special counsel.
McCarter’s commitment to a cross-disciplinary approach to its financial services clients was critical in our decision to join McCarter,” said Ms. Corsell. “We hope our experience in investment management will complement the deep expertise for which McCarter’s business practice groups have long been known.” Firm Managing Partner Stephen M. Vajtay, Jr., added, “Our new colleagues in Philadelphia will provide additional depth and sophistication to our investment management representation and we welcome them to the firm.”
This expansion of McCarter’s Philadelphia presence exemplifies the substantial growth of the firm’s corporate, securities and financial institutions practice. Other recent additions include special counsel Joseph Bartlett, concentrating on private equity and venture capital in New York, and partners David Woronov, concentrating on international transactions and James Coffey, specializing in emerging companies in Boston. “Laura and Don’s decision to join the firm advances our ongoing strategic commitment to strengthen and expand our capability across all of our offices, in particular regarding public capital and securities law,” said Howard Kailes, practice group leader of McCarter’s corporate, securities and financial institutions practice, “and we expect growth in this area to continue.”
Corsell regularly counsels investment companies and investment advisers with respect to the Investment Company Act of 1940, the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 and related federal and state regulations. She has counseled clients with respect to the formation and management of registered investment vehicles and alternative investments and, from the opposite perspective, assists institutional investors in assessing risks associated with alternative investment programs. Corsell serves as independent legal counsel for independent fund directors and has served as special counsel in connection with matters involving fiduciary or governance concerns, including investment company M&A transactions and as a designated compliance consultant in connection with the settlement of regulatory and enforcement proceedings.
Felice focuses his practice on matters relating to the regulation of investment companies, investment advisers and their service providers. With comprehensive experience in all aspects of fund formation and registration, he also provides day-to-day guidance to mutual funds and investment advisers in connection with the full range of compliance matters.
Philadelphia Office Managing Partner Tray Beck added, “The decision of Laura and Don to join us in Philadelphia will be important to our continued growth in this office, where we have added significant capability in our environmental and business litigation practices recently. I have worked closely with Laura and Don in the past and look forward to their affiliation with us as we continue to grow this office and our capabilities in the investment management practice area. I have no doubt that the combination of Laura and Don’s existing practice with McCarter’s corporate capabilities throughout the Northeast Corridor and beyond will lead to new opportunities both for the firm and our clients.”
Admitted to the bars in Pennsylvania and New York, Corsell earned her J.D. from Rutgers University School of Law, where she served on the law review, and her B.A., magna cum laude, from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. Felice received a J.D., cum laude, from Temple University School of Law, where he was a member of the Temple Law Review, and his B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania. He is admitted to the bars in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
Both lawyers previously worked in the Philadelphia office of Montgomery, McCracken, Walker & Rhoads LLP, where Corsell was a partner and chair of the investment management practice and Felice was of counsel.
