Overview

Matt Cohen is a partner in the Investment Funds Practice Group. His practice focuses on private investment funds and investment advisers. Matt represents clients on a wide variety of transactional and regulatory matters, including the formation, offering and operation of private equity funds, real estate funds, credit funds and hedge funds, as well as fund restructurings and secondary offerings. In addition, Matt has advised clients on the formation of alternative investment vehicle structures, including investment holding companies and permanent capital vehicles. Matt also counsels investment advisers with respect to the federal securities laws and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regulations. In this regard, he frequently represents clients in SEC examinations conducted by various regional offices of the SEC, including San Francisco and Los Angeles.

Representative Clients

  • Alpine Investors
  • Andreessen Horowitz
  • Arcline Investment Management
  • Aurora Capital Group
  • BlackRock
  • Brentwood Associates
  • Center Rock Capital Partners
  • FFL Capital Partners V  
  • Francisco Partners
  • HGGC
  • Invesco Private Capital
  • K1 Investment Management
  • LightBay Capital
  • Mainsail Partners
  • Oaktree Capital
  • Riverwood Capital
  • Symphony Technology Group
  • TPG
  • TSG Consumer Partners
  • Vance Street Capital 
  • Vista Equity Partners
  • Windjammer Capital Investors

More

Thought Leadership

Publications

"Impact of California Consumer Privacy Act on Private Fund Managers," Kirkland & Ellis LLP AIM Newsletter, August 6, 2019.

"SEC Brings Cybersecurity Enforcement Action Against Registered Adviser," Kirkland & Ellis LLP AIM Newsletter, September 24, 2015.

"ETF Confidential: A Survey of Non-Transparent Actively Managed ETFs," The Investment Lawyer, Vol. 19, No. 6, June 2012.

Seminars 

"Implementing the SEC's New Marketing Rule," Kirkland & Ellis Webinar, June 2022.

Matt has presented on several investment management panels including Kirkland & Ellis' annual Registered Investment Adviser Seminar and CCO Summit.

Speaker, RIA Update: SEC Exams, Enforcement and a Look Forward, Smarsh Webinar, June 29, 2021.

Speaker, SEC Scrutiny of Secondary Transactions / Fund Restructurings, Kirkland & Ellis Liquidity Solutions Academy, New York City, New York, November 6, 2019.

Speaker, Kirkland and KPMG Roundtable, San Francisco, California, September 9, 2019.

Speaker, SEC Regulatory Trends, First Republic NextGen Finance Professionals Conference, Monterey, California, September 14, 2018.

Credentials

Admissions & Qualifications

  • 2008California
  • 2011Illinois

Courts

  • United States District Court for the Central District of California
  • United States District Court for the Northern District of California

Education

  • Pepperdine University School of LawJ.D.2008

    Pepperdine Law Review

    Fellow, Palmer Center for Entrepreneurship and the Law

    Member, International Law Society

  • University of California, Santa BarbaraB.A., Global Studies2003
    Dean's Honors