(NEW YORK) Katten announced today that the firm was named the top onshore law firm providing legal services to start-ups at the HFM US Services Awards 2020, which honors providers of services and solutions to the North American hedge fund industry that have demonstrated exceptional innovation, customer service and business performance. In addition to winning the "Best Onshore Law Firm – Start Ups" award, the firm was shortlisted in the "Best Onshore Law Firm" and "Best Advisory Firm – Regulation & Compliance" categories.
"Katten has been at the forefront of the hedge fund industry since its inception," said Lance A. Zinman, partner and global chair of Katten's Financial Markets and Funds department. "For decades, we have served as counsel to some of the world's largest hedge funds and most of the industry's major proprietary trading firms so we are pleased to be recognized for our leadership in providing legal services to this industry."
Also acknowledged during Wednesday's virtual awards ceremony was Katten's reputation as a one-stop resource for some of the world's largest and most successful investment management firms and hedge funds. Katten has the capabilities to address a wide range of complex issues related to trading limitations, disclosures and regulations against the backdrop of a rapidly changing financial market grappling with a worldwide pandemic. The firm also was recognized for its efforts to address financial market regulatory developments arising from the ongoing pandemic through the creation of the Katten Financial Markets Regulation COVID-19 Resource Center, which addresses current regulatory issues.
"Katten continues to play a key role in both the establishment and success of hedge funds," said Wendy E. Cohen, partner and co-chair of Katten's Investment Management and Funds practice, part of the Financial Markets and Funds department. "We are delighted to be recognized for our leadership in the hedge fund space, especially during this unprecedented year."
Katten's Financial Markets and Funds department is led by Zinman and is comprised of more than 70 attorneys in both the United States and London. Cohen co-chairs the Investment Management and Funds practice with Allison C. Yacker. The group's counsel is informed by the team's collective experience as former regulators, including attorneys who have held senior positions at the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the Department of Justice, major US exchanges as well as former senior in-house counsel and former business advisors to global investment banks.