Morrison & Foerster, a leading global law firm, is pleased to announce that Leonora M. Shalet has joined the firm’s New York office as a partner in its global Private Funds Group. Ms. Shalet is an accomplished funds lawyer who counsels investment funds in connection with their structuring, formation, and ongoing operational needs, as well as on general securities law matters, and regulatory and compliance issues. She is the tenth lawyer to join the New York office as partner since the start of 2019, and the second addition to the Corporate Department since the start of the month, following the arrival of Mitchell S. Presser. She joins the firm from Schulte Roth & Zabel LLP.
Ms. Shalet brings to Morrison & Foerster an established practice that focuses on U.S. and offshore credit funds, private equity funds, funds of funds, hybrid funds, hedge funds, and managed accounts. She has particularly deep experience working with credit funds and managers, providing significant counsel to the strategies that are specific to the space. She counts among her clients large institutional managers, for whom she leads fund formations, secondary transactions, and more.
“Leonora is an exceptional lawyer with a wide range of experience in the funds world, particularly in the credit space, which will be particularly useful in today’s climate,” said Stephanie Thomas, co-chair of the firm’s Private Funds Group. “Our clients will immediately benefit from Leonora’s strategic counsel, as well as our deepened bench strength in New York. We are delighted to welcome Leonora to the firm and believe she is the perfect person to help us continue to grow our offerings on the East Coast.”
Ms. Shalet is a lawyer with international credentials. She earned an LL.B. in Law with French Law from Birmingham University in England and completed the legal practice course at Nottingham Trent University in England. She first started practicing in London before relocating to New York in 2006.
“Morrison & Foerster has an excellent reputation in the funds and investment management space and a very impressive global platform,” said Ms. Shalet. “The firm has a well-established, internationally recognized Private Funds practice that represents notable fund sponsors and major institutional investors, which aligns well with the work I do. I am delighted to join MoFo, and look forward to working with my talented new colleagues.”
Morrison & Foerster’s global Private Funds Group is widely recognized, by both fund sponsors and institutional investors, as leading counsel in the field. The group advises clients in the formation and operation of investment funds of all strategies throughout the U.S., Asia, and Europe, and helps guide a number of fund managers who collectively represent billions of dollars of assets under management.
In recent years, the group has welcomed a number of lateral partners around the globe, in addition to Ms. Shalet, including Serena Tan and Nicholas Sheets in Hong Kong and Jason R. Nelms in Singapore. Its platform in New York has also been strengthened in recent years with the arrival of numerous prominent corporate lawyers that support the group’s fund work, including partner Anthony J. Carbone, who co-leads the firm’s Global Tax Department, and veteran tax partner Jay Blaivas.
