LAW296

Private capital-capital allocated to private equity funds, hedge funds and other privately managed investment funds-is dislodging traditional banks and capital markets as a source of financing worldwide. Private capital is deployed through funds as non-bank lenders (the so-called "shadow banking" system) in the form of equity, debt and every instrument in between, and finances companies from early stage to maturity and beyond. Private funds buy and manage every conceivable kind of company and asset, including those traditionally run by public instrumentalities for the common good. As the biggest users of leverage themselves, private investment funds drive terms and therefore systemic risk in credit markets and the real economy. This course will ground students in the structure and operation of, and issues raised by, private investment funds, principally through the study of private equity and hedge funds. It will equip students with an understanding of the language, players and concepts of the industry so that students may operate as effective legal and compliance professionals, knowledgeable regulators, or general practitioners. Using private investment funds and their ecosystem as the delivery mechanism, students will further develop basic facility in partnership, tax, regulatory, corporate governance, transactional practice-of-law, conflicts and ethics.