Sidley Expands Investment Funds Capabilities With New York Partners Cliff Cone, Michael Sabin, and Dan Drabkin

New York – Sidley is pleased to announce that Cliff Cone, Michael Sabin, and Dan Drabkin have joined the firm’s Investment Funds group as partners in the firm’s office in New York. All three join from Clifford Chance, where Mr. Cone and Mr. Sabin were co-heads of the U.S. Funds and Investment Management practice.

Mr. Cone’s practice focuses primarily on the investment management sector and broadly advises alternative investment managers, registered investment companies (including innovative interval funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs)), business development companies (BDCs), specialty finance companies, and boards of directors with respect to all aspects of the Investment Company Act and the Investment Advisers Act. He has extensive experience with the organization and ongoing representation of U.S. registered close end investment companies, crypto-focused funds, hedge funds, private equity funds, and commodity funds.

Mr. Sabin has extensive experience advising investment managers on the structuring, formation and operation of closed-end and hybrid private funds, and accounts across strategies, including private equity, credit, asset-backed lending, growth, real assets, energy and infrastructure, from first-time funds through multi-billion dollar fundraises, as well as related strategic manager transactions and internal arrangements. In addition he advises sponsors, and investors in connection with a variety of complex GP-led liquidity solutions and fund restructurings. Mr. Sabin also represents sponsors, investors, and management teams in minority investments in investment managers, investment manager joint ventures, spinouts, platform launches, and seeding arrangements.

Mr. Drabkin advises fund sponsors across the spectrum of private capital, with significant experience in the formation of real assets, credit and private equity funds, and funds-of-funds. Daniel is also highly regarded for his experience in secondaries transactions and establishing continuation funds, where he represents fund sponsors in implementing liquidity solutions for their LPs, as well as lead and syndicate investors investing into continuation funds. He is a leading adviser in the area of private credit secondaries and has counseled fund sponsors on launching private credit secondaries funds and on numerous transactions in the sector.

“Cliff, Michael, and Dan bring a wealth of experience to our growing funds practice and have key relationships with many of the top investment funds and asset managers,” said Brian Fahrney, chair of Sidley’s Executive Committee. “While they work together closely, Cliff, Michael, and Dan each focus primarily on a separate part of the investment funds sector of asset management, bringing broad and complementary experience to clients.”

“Adding Cliff, Michael, and Dan strengthens multiple aspects of our New York Investment Funds group with one team,” said Elizabeth Fries, leader of Sidley’s global Investment Funds practice and a member of the Executive Committee. “Cliff’s work with innovative and complex registered funds, ETFs and BDCs is strategically important to our practice, while Michael’s and Dan’s private fund experience across sectors and fund sizes will further the growth in our private equity fund formation practice. Dan’s experience in liquidity solutions and continuation vehicles will be particularly valuable to lead investors and sponsor clients, especially in the credit sector. We look forward to collaborating with them.”

Mr. Cone, Mr. Sabin, and Mr. Drabkin join Sidley as the firm continues to strengthen and broaden its Investment Funds capabilities. Sidley has recently added Shane Goudey in Palo Alto, who leads the Venture Funds practice; John Muno in Chicago, who leads the Private Equity Funds practice; Mathew Eapen in Boston, who focuses on venture capital, growth equity, and technology- and healthcare-focused funds; and Ed Gander, Stephen Fox, and Peter Boulle in London, who serve global fund managers across private equity, infrastructure, real estate, credit, and secondaries funds.

Sidley has a premier, global practice in structuring and advising asset management businesses. The Investment Funds practice group serves virtually every type of investment fund and asset manager, as well as many other market participants. The group has approximately 130 corporate, securities, and derivatives lawyers dedicated to investment funds, investment management, and derivatives work worldwide, and works closely with our sophisticated tax, benefits, regulatory, enforcement, and other related practices.

Sidley is an elite global law firm. With approximately 2,300 lawyers and 160 years of experience, we have established a reputation for deploying innovative legal strategies to achieve powerful results for our clients in complex transactional, restructuring, crisis management, investigation, regulatory, and litigation matters.

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