Head of Corporate & Fund FormationNew YorkPhone +1 (212) 858-9968kliu@reidwise.com |
Karen Liu is head of the firm’s Corporate & Fund Formation practice. Karen advises onshore and offshore private funds and their sponsors on fund formation and ongoing operational and compliance matters. Karen also has extensive experience in helping companies and founders on business formation, debt and equity financings, joint ventures, mergers and acquisitions, and inbound and outbound investments. In addition, Karen routinely represents investors in various investment and transactional matters. As Chair of the Collaboration Subcommittee of the American Bar Association's CSR Committee and a member of the New York State Bar Association's ESG Committee, Karen also counsels clients on the implementation and regulation of environmental, social and governance (ESG) strategies and responsible investing. Karen holds degrees in economics as well as in U.S. law and Chinese law. To better understand clients’ businesses, Karen has passed the NASAA Series 66 exam administered by FINRA and also been awarded a Certificate of Specialization in Finance and Accounting by Harvard Business School Online. By leveraging her unique background in economics and multi-jurisdictional legal experience, Karen is keen on understanding the business essence and legal concerns of each corporate, investment and fund formation project, so as to provide clients with customized and practical legal services. Before joining Reid & Wise, Karen worked in the New York offices of Tannenbaum Helpern Syracuse & Hirschtritt LLP and MagStone Law, LLP for seven and a half years, focusing on fund formation, investment management, private equity, venture capital, mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, cross-border reorganization transactions, and general corporate matters. Prior to that, Karen worked at the Beijing office of Steptoe LLP for three and a half years, focusing on cross-border corporate, compliance and transactional legal matters as well as international arbitration. Karen was selected as a New York Metro Super Lawyers Rising Star in 2023. Representation Highlights: - Advised a private equity fund on fund formation, co-investments and secondary purchases; - Advised a hybrid fund on fund formation and then on restructuring the fund from a close-ended fund into an open-ended fund; - Advised formation of various hedge funds and VC funds with different strategies; - Advised an offshore sponsor on formation of multiple real estate funds in the U.S.; - Advised various investment advisers on regulatory matters such as investment adviser registration, CFTC registration, Sections 3(c)(1) and 3(c)(7) compliance, cross-trade transactions, Marketing Rule compliance, and Sections 13 and 16 filings; - Advised GPs and investment managers on business formation, operating agreements and profit-sharing agreements; - Advised investment managers on IMAs for separately management accounts; - Advised startup companies on SAFEs, convertible notes, and equity financing rounds; - Advised a U.S. company on global reorganization using a VIE structure; - Advised a U.S. company on spin-off of a business unit; - Advised various clients on stock or asset acquisitions/sales; - Conducted due diligence on various U.S. entities and drafted due diligence reports and legal opinions in connection with financing or M&A deals or upper-tier parents’ IPOs. |
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