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GP+LP Global Summit

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Morrison Foerster is pleased to host its 9th Annual GP + LP Global Summit in our New York office. This half-day program will...

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Morrison Foerster is pleased to host its 9th Annual GP + LP Global Summit in our New York office. This half-day program will bring together leading voices from across the private funds industry for timely discussions on the trends shaping today’s global investment landscape, followed by a networking reception.<h5>Topics will include:</h5><ul><li>State of the Market</li><li>Continuation Vehicles and the New Liquidity Toolkit</li><li>Regulatory Crosscurrents: Sanctions, Enforcement, and Global Compliance Risks</li><li>Fundraising and Investing Across Sports, Media, and Entertainment</li></ul>Speakers and program details will be announced soon.Attendance is limited to professionals at general partner and limited partner organizations. All registrations are subject to confirmation.Continuing Legal Education Credits: CLE credit is pending.For more information, please contact Jodie Azad at <a href="mailto:jazad@mofo.com">jazad@mofo.com</a>.<hr>

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Stephanie, Chair of the firm’s global Private Funds Group, has over 20 years of experience advising on private fund formation and operations, as well as on regulatory compliance matters. She represents U.S. domestic and global fund sponsors and institutional investors in connection with the formation of, and investments in, buyout funds, venture capital funds, secondary funds, debt funds, infrastructure funds, fund–of–funds, social impact funds and other private funds with a broad range of investment strategies. She has been described by a client as “extremely knowledgeable in the fund formation space, very good to work with and thoughtful about the needs of her clients.”Private Fund Sponsors. Stephanie represents fund sponsors and the management teams of private funds in the formation of their private funds, as well as in ongoing fund operations, including upper–tier planning, parallel and feeder fund structures, alternative and offshore vehicles, securities law matters, ERISA compliance, transfers or sales of partnership interests, including secondary transactions, and other tax and regulatory matters.She has considerable experience negotiating anchor investor arrangements, navigating cross–border fund matters, structuring co–investment and overage programs, representing firms and individual partners at the time of hire or departure (including involuntary removal), and the formation of feeder vehicles, parallel funds and special purpose vehicles. She also advises U.S. and international companies in the structuring of their corporate venture capital programs.Institutional Investors. Stephanie has advised institutional investors in hundreds of private fund formations, involving foreign and domestic funds ranging in size from $40 million to $21 billion. These investors, including state and corporate pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, universities, fund-of-funds, insurance companies, and other institutional investors, have commitments ranging from $5 million - $1 billion on a per-deal basis. Her experience includes representing significant limited partner investors in some of the largest private market funds ever raised.Investment Advisers. Stephanie advises fund sponsors and other investment advisers on the principal aspects of the Investment Advisers Act and the Dodd–Frank Act. She assists her clients in navigating the regulatory landscape, including new state and federal registration requirements, exemption eligibility, compliance programs and ongoing compliance matters.Stephanie works in the firm’s Palo Alto office and is active in the business community. Prior to joining the firm in 2005, she was a member of the fund formation group in the Palo Alto office of Cooley LLP.

Stephanie Thomas

Chair of Global Private Funds Group

Chip advises institutional investors and fund sponsors in connection with the formation of venture capital funds, leveraged buyout funds, real estate opportunity and other private equity funds. He also represents both public and private companies in a broad range of industries, including the biotechnology, finance, medical device and information technology sectors. He structures, negotiates and advises clients on acquisition transactions and related matters, including stock acquisitions, asset acquisitions, mergers, divestitures, auction transactions, tender offers, defensive strategies, leveraged buyouts and cross-border transactions.In addition to representing businesses and business leaders, Chip has served in numerous leadership positions of the Business Law Section of the American Bar Association, representing its 50,000 members on cutting-edge business issues. He served as Chair of the Section in 2014-2015 and held other officer positions, including Vice-Chair, when he served as editor-in-chief of Volume 68 of The Business Lawyer, the highly regarded journal of the Section, and Secretary of the Section (2011-2012), where he served as co-editor-in-chief of the Section's online monthly magazine. He is the Past Chair of the Venture Capital & Private Equity Committee of the Section. In 2020, he was awarded the prestigious Life Time Achievement Award by the Business Law Section of the California Lawyers Association.<h5>Chip’s clients include:</h5>Venture and Private Equity Funds:<ul><li>Longitude Capital (life sciences venture capital firm)</li><li>Base10</li><li>Anthem Ventures (technology venture capital firm)</li><li>MAP Royalty, Inc. (fund focused on royalty interests associated with gas fields and renewable energy products) </li><li>The Capital Partnership Group (private investment office and asset manager)</li><li>NorthgateCapital</li><li>GSSG Solar (solar developer)</li><li>Others, including Inspiration Ventures, NEA, Frazier, 5 AM, Fifth Wall Ventures</li></ul>Company Side Representation (including Corporate Venture Capital, IPOs and M&A transactions):<ul><li>MarketShare Partners LLC (marketing analytics), sold to Neustar, Inc.</li><li>Mediconnect Global, Inc. (medical record retrieval), sold to Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ VRSK) </li><li>Microfabrica, Inc. (micromachining, additive manufacturer), sold to Technoprobe</li></ul>Chip is nationally recognized for his work with Limited Liability Companies (LLCs). He writes and edits articles, outlines, and books on LLCs and partnerships and participates on panels focused on LLCs, including for the American Law Institute — American Bar Association LLC satellite telecast on LLCs for over 20 years. As former Chair of the Partnerships Committee of the Business Law Section of the California State Bar, he formed and participated in the Committee that drafted California's original LLC Act that became law on September 30, 1994. He has served as an advisor to the Uniform Limited Liability Company Act, the Revised Uniform Limited Company Act, and the Revised Uniform Partnership Act Drafting Committees of the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws. From 1984-1990, he was an adjunct lecturer at law for the Santa Clara University School of Law.

Paul 'Chip' Lion

Partner

Spencer Klein is Chair of the firm's global Mergers & Acquisitions Group.Spencer focuses his practice on M+A transactions and related matters such as proxy contests and takeover defense counseling. He has advised on more than 200 successfully closed mergers, tender and exchange offers, stock and asset acquisitions, divestitures and joint ventures. He is also a veteran of numerous contested matters and regularly counsels corporate boards and committees in transactional and high-profile corporate governance matters.Spencer frequently advises leading U.S. and multinational companies across multiple industries. His engagements include multi-billion dollar deals in health care and life sciences, financial services, technology, consumer products, manufacturing, retail, energy, and entertainment, media and sports. In addition to prominent corporate clients and private equity funds, he has represented some of the world's leading bulge bracket and boutique investment banks.Spencer also co-chairs the firm’s Interactive and Digital Media group, an interdisciplinary team that operates at the convergence of technology with media and entertainment.Prior to joining Morrison & Foerster, Spencer was a partner at O’Melveny & Myers LLP, McDermott Will & Emery LLP and Shearman & Sterling LLP. Spencer received his B.A. from The Pennsylvania State University in 1986, and his J.D. from Hofstra University School of Law in 1989, where he served as Editor-in-Chief of the Hofstra Law RevieSpencer has been recognized regularly as one of the world's leading M+A lawyers by International Financial Law Review, Super Lawyers, Legal 500 United States, and The World's Leading Lawyers for Mergers and Acquisitions: U.S. Expert Guide (Legal Media Group). He has been named a "New York Super Lawyer" by Law & Politics in each of the last fifteen editions. Legal 500 US has referred to Spencer as "one of the best deal lawyers in the country."Spencer serves as a Special Professor of Law at Hofstra University School of Law, a member of the Alumni Board of Visitors of the Department of Political Science at The Pennsylvania State University, and the founding Chair of the Hofstra Law Review Alumni Advisory Board. In 2022, Spencer was an inaugural inductee into the Hofstra Law School Hall of Fame.

Spencer Klein

Global Chair of M&A Practice

Elizabeth Sipes is a private funds attorney based in the firm’s Denver office.Elizabeth’s practice focuses on advising established and emerging sponsors on the formation, structuring, and operation of private equity funds, including venture capital, growth equity, buyout, private credit, and fund-of-funds, and other investment strategies.In her practice, Elizabeth advises sponsors on all aspects of fund formation and launch. This includes drafting and negotiating a spectrum of documentation ranging from term sheets, partnership agreements, side letters, and subscription agreements, to structuring general partner and upper-tier arrangements, including carry programs and other economic sharing programs.Additionally, Elizabeth represents institutional investors, including corporate venture capital programs, funds-of-funds, and family offices, assisting them with their alternative investments across various asset classes, including private equity, venture capital, hedge funds, and real estate.Beyond her professional pursuits, Elizabeth is actively involved in her community, serving on the board of directors of the Walking Mountains Science Center.Elizabeth has been recognized by Best Lawyers in America for Securities and Capital Markets Law (2021–2026).Prior to joining the firm, Elizabeth was co-chair of the Private Investment Funds practice at another international law firm.Elizabeth holds a J.D. magna cum laude from University of Illinois College of Law and a B.A. in French and business from Truman State University.

Elizabeth Sipes

Lee Shepard is a partner in the Palo Alto office of Morrison Foerster, where he focuses on fund formation and transactions, as well as corporate and securities law matters, including mergers and acquisitions, private financings, public offerings and general corporate matters.Mr. Shepard represents venture capital and private equity sponsors and institutional investors in connection with the formation of, investments in, and investments by private funds and alternative investment vehicles, including funds focused on life sciences, pharmaceutical development, and alternative energy power generation. He advises institutional investors on co-investments in private equity-sponsored acquisitions and leveraged recapitalization transactions. Mr. Shepard also advises clients general corporate and securities law matters, including mergers and acquisitions, private financings, public offerings and general corporate matters.Mr. Shepard received his B.S. in Applied Mathematics and Managerial Economics in 1985 and in 1988 received his M.B.A. from Carnegie Mellon University. In 2006, he received his J.D., cum laude, Order of the Coif, from U.C. Hastings College of the Law, where he was a senior production editor of the Hastings Law Journal, articles editor and senior articles review chair of the Hastings Business Law Journal, and a member of the Thurston Society. He served as a judicial extern for the Honorable Dennis Montali, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Northern District of California. Prior to receiving his J.D., Mr. Shepard was a senior officer of a major investment bank.

Lee Shepard

Joseph Jung is of counsel in Morrison Foerster’s San Francisco office and a member of the Private Funds Group.Joseph focuses his practice on fund formation, investor representation, and fund-related transactions. He advises sponsors ranging from multibillion-dollar funds to emerging venture capital and impact managers through all stages of product development and capital raising, including fund formation, management company formation, and carry arrangements for a wide range of strategies, including funds-of-funds, buyout, venture, infrastructure, real estate, credit, and funds-of-one.Joseph has extensive experience counseling on both investor-led and sponsor-led secondaries transactions, including portfolio sales, GP-led continuation vehicles, and other complex fund restructurings. He also advises sovereign wealth funds and other institutional investors in primary investments, co-investments, and customized arrangements.Joseph maintains an active pro bono practice, including representing asylum seekers before the U.S. Immigration Court.

Joseph Jung

Of Counsel

Mingqian Li is a senior associate in Morrison Foerster’s Private Funds and Social Enterprise & Impact Investing practices. She advises clients on the structuring, formation, and operation of private investment funds, including venture capital, private equity, and growth equity vehicles. A significant portion of her practice focuses on innovative fund structures, particularly social impact funds with hybrid arrangements involving nonprofit anchor investors or incubation agreements. Mission-driven funds regularly seek her counsel for aligning investment strategies with social impact objectives.Mingqian guides clients through all aspects of fund formation and operations, including non-U.S. jurisdiction analysis, negotiation of fund documents and side letters, coordination of regulatory and tax considerations, and post-closing obligations. She also advises on ongoing funds’ general corporate matters, including governance, reporting requirements, transfer procedures, and effective LP meeting management.Beyond formation work, Mingqian provides transaction support for her fund clients, offering seamless guidance across both fund and deal matters. Clients value her collaborative, practical approach and her ability to guide them through the operational and strategic challenges of building and managing investment funds.

GP+LP Global Summit

14 Oct 2026 12:00 PM - 6:00 PM EDT

Topics will include: