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GP+LP Global Summit

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Morrison Foerster is pleased to invite you to the 8th Annual GP + LP Global Summit, a half-day event bringing together leading...

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Morrison Foerster is pleased to invite you to the 8th Annual GP + LP Global Summit, a half-day event bringing together leading voices in the private funds industry. Join us for engaging discussions on the trends shaping today’s global investment landscape, followed by a networking happy hour. We hope to see you there!<h4>Panel Topics</h4><ul><li>Accessing Private Wealth: Strategies for Reaching Today’s Investors</li><li>Jurisdictional Showdown: Delaware vs. Nevada vs. Texas </li></ul><ul><li>Pulse of Private Funds: Today’s Hot Topics </li></ul><h4>State of the Market: Trends in Private Funds</h4><ul><li><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/ronaldratcliffe/" target="_blank">Ronald Ratcliffe, PHD</a>, Managing Director, BlackRock</li></ul><h4>Panelists</h4><ul><li><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/timothy-bolte-88652336/" target="_blank">Tim Bolte</a>, Vice President – Legal & Regulatory (Transactions), Temasek</li><li><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/christopher-clark-5481b630/" target="_blank">Christopher Clark</a>, Assistant General Counsel, Hines</li><li><a href="https://www.merceradvisors.com/meet-our-team/stephen-donahue/" target="_blank">Stephen Donahue</a>, Senior Wealth Manager, Director, Mercer Advisors</li><li><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/bruce-emken-cfa/" target="_self">Bruce Emken</a>, Senior Vice President and Head of Wealth Services, Pathway</li><li><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/bert-forsythe/" target="_blank">Bert Forsythe</a>, Vice President – Legal, Ridgeline</li><li>John Hensley, Partner, Morrison Foerster</li><li>Kellye Howes, Co-Chair of Investment Management Group, Morrison Foerster</li><li><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/robert-c-kim-6414606/" target="_blank">Robert Kim</a>, Partner, Ballard Spahr</li><li><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-maxwell-b090236/" target="_blank">Michael Maxwell</a>, Partner, Potter Anderson</li><li>Lee Shepard, Partner, Morrison Foerster</li><li><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/shallyshanker/" target="_blank">Shally Shanker</a>, Founder and Managing Partner, AiiM</li><li>Elizabeth Sipes, Partner, Morrison Foerster</li><li>Stephanie Thomas, Chair of Global Private Funds Group, Morrison Foerster</li></ul><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

Elizabeth Sipes is a partner in the global Private Funds Practice, based in the 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 recongized by Best Lawyers in America for Securities and Capital Markets Law (2021–2024).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

Partner

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

Kelley Howes is co-chair of the Investment Management Group, co-head of the Securities + Derivatives Regulatory Solutions team, and managing partner of the firm’s Denver office.Kelley has over 30 years’ experience advising U.S. registered investment companies (including mutual funds, exchange traded funds, and interval funds), business development companies, registered investment advisers, and exempt reporting advisers on a wide range of legal, regulatory, and compliance matters. She also counsels clients regarding investment company status matters under the Investment Company Act.Recognized as a go-to counsel for independent fund trustees, Kelley frequently advises registered funds and their trustees on corporate governance, compliance, and regulatory matters, mergers and reorganizations, and regulatory examination and enforcement matters.Kelley is consistently recognized as a top advisor in Chambers USA and Chambers Global, receiving multiple distinctions for Registered Funds. She has also been recognized in the Finance: Fintech category of The Legal 500 US awards.Prior to joining Morrison Foerster, she served as executive vice president and general counsel of Janus Capital Group Inc., a NYSE-listed global asset management holding company. She also previously served as senior vice president and general counsel of Janus Capital Management LLC, a U.S. registered investment advisory subsidiary of Janus Capital Group, and as president of the Janus funds and president of Janus Distributors LLC.Kelley previously served as a director of Young Americans Bank/Young Americans Center for Financial Education, ICI Mutual Insurance Company, and the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce.

Kelley Howes

Co-Chair of Investment Management Group

John Hensley is a partner in the firm’s Capital Markets and Public Company Advisory & Governance practices. He represents publicly and privately held companies in a variety of corporate and securities law matters.John represents both issuers and underwriters in initial public offerings, follow-on offerings and private placements, including offerings of common and preferred equity, debt, and convertible debt. In addition, John regularly advises numerous public company clients regarding general business matters, corporate governance issues and compliance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the requirements of the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq.<h4 dir="ltr">Representative Experience</h4><ul><li>Represented Carlsmed, Inc. (Nasdaq: CARL) in connection with its $100.5 million initial public offering</li><li dir="ltr">Represented Arm Holdings plc (NASDAQ:ARM), the world’s leading semiconductor IP company, in its blockbuster $5.22 billion USD IPO on Nasdaq, the largest IPO of 2023</li><li dir="ltr">Represented Centuri Holdings and parent company Southwest Gas Holdings in $353 million IPO and concurrent private placement</li></ul><ul dir="ltr"><li dir="ltr">Represented Krystal Biotech, Inc. (NASDAQ:KRYS) in multiple equity offerings, with an aggregate value of approximately $635 million</li><li dir="ltr">Represented Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. in its $238.4 million public offering of common stock</li><li dir="ltr">Represented UDR, Inc. (NYSE:UDR) in connection with multiple public debt offerings with an aggregate value of approximately $1.3 billion and in connection with multiple public equity offerings with an aggregate value of over $2 billion</li><li dir="ltr">Advised eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY) in connection with a $1.15 billion offering of senior unsecured notes under its existing shelf registration statement and in connection with a $2.5 billion offering of senior unsecured notes under its existing shelf registration statement</li><li dir="ltr">Advised Sky Harbour LLC, a developer of private aviation infrastructure, in connection with its business combination agreement with Yellowstone Acquisition Company (NASDAQ: YSAC, YSACU, and YSACW), a publicly traded SPAC sponsored by Boston Omaha Corporation (NASDAQ:BOMN); as part of the business combination with Sky Harbour, a subsidiary of Boston Omaha purchased 10,000,000 shares of Yellowstone Class A common stock and acquired additional shares of Class A common stock and warrants to purchase Class A common stock as Yellowstone’s sponsor.</li><li dir="ltr">Represented Vontier Corporation (NYSE:VNT) in connection with its 144A private offering of $1.6 billion in senior notes</li><li dir="ltr">Represented Education Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EDR) in connection with multiple public offerings of debt and equity securities resulting in proceeds in excess of $2.0 billion</li><li dir="ltr">Represented Farmland Partners Inc. (NYSE:FPI) in its $53.2 million initial public offering, its $46.5 million and $37.0 million follow-on offerings, and its $25.0 million at-the-market equity offering</li><li dir="ltr">Represented the underwriters in connection with registered offerings of over $33 billion of fixed and floating rate notes by Shell International Finance, the U.S. financing subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell Plc</li><li dir="ltr">Represented the underwriters in connection with the registered offering of $5 billion of notes by Novartis Capital Corporation, the U.S. financing subsidiary of Novartis AG</li><li dir="ltr">Represented the underwriters in connection with Plymouth Industrial REIT’s approximately $58 million initial public offering, multiple follow-on offerings of common stock, and $45 million offering of preferred stock</li><li dir="ltr">Represented Southwest Gas Corporation in multiple registered debt offerings of over $1.6 billion in the aggregate</li><li dir="ltr">Represented Vonage Holdings Corp. in connection with its $300 million Rule 144A offering of convertible notes</li><li dir="ltr">Represented MedEquities Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:MRT) in its $275 million initial public offering</li><li dir="ltr">Represented Inovalon Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:INOV) in its $685 million initial public offering</li><li dir="ltr">Represented Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO) in two 144A convertible notes offerings of $425 million in the aggregate</li><li dir="ltr">Represented onsemi (NASDAQ:ON) in its $500 million Rule 144A offering of 1.625% senior convertible notes and in its $700 million offering of 3.875% senior unsecured notes</li><li dir="ltr">Represented the sales agents in connection with Equity Residential’s (NYSE:EQR) at-the-market offering program of 13 million common shares</li><li dir="ltr">Represented the underwriters in connection with the establishment of a $300 million at-the-market (ATM) equity offering program by Apple Hospitality REIT</li></ul>

GP+LP Global Summit

23 Oct 2025 12:00 PM - 6:00 PM PDT

Panel Topics

State of the Market: Trends in Private Funds

Panelists