Cleary Gottlieb Adds Counsel Rachel (Grand) Gerwin to Global Private Funds Practice

Cleary Gottlieb announced today that Rachel (Grand) Gerwin has joined the firm as a counsel in the New York office, focusing on regulatory matters related to private investment funds.

“We are delighted to welcome Rachel to our firm,” said Cleary Managing Partner Michael Gerstenzang. “Rachel’s unique experience and insights on private fund regulation will be extremely valuable to our private funds clients across the globe.”

Rachel’s practice will include advising private funds and other alternative asset managers on the regulatory aspects of capital raising, investor disclosure matters, fund formation, co-investments, joint ventures, shareholding arrangements, managed accounts, and other transactions and structures. She will also advise SEC-registered investment advisers, exempt reporting advisers, and U.S. and non-U.S. asset managers on Investment Advisers Act compliance matters and SEC examination issues, as well as cross-border marketing and governance considerations.

“Rachel is deeply attuned to the needs of our private funds clients and will be a tremendous addition to our rapidly growing world-class practice,” said Elizabeth Lenas, partner in the firm’s New York office.

“I am thrilled to join Cleary’s outstanding global private funds practice,” said Rachel. “In this rapidly evolving regulatory environment, I look forward to collaborating with the Cleary team and our clients on substantive, complex matters, and to sharing in the firm’s commitment to exceptional client service.”

Prior to joining Cleary, Rachel was Vice President and Senior Counsel at Managed Funds Association (MFA). In this role, she advocated for members by analyzing the impact of legislative and regulatory developments, with a focus on SEC rulemaking under the Investment Advisers Act and on emerging regulations regarding uses of artificial intelligence by private fund managers. She worked with MFA members to develop advocacy positions, drafted comments to regulators, engaged directly with policymakers and regulators, and convened members to develop best practices.

Prior to joining MFA, Rachel was a Senior Vice President and member of the D. E. Shaw group’s Legal & Compliance department. In that role, she advised the firm’s investor relations and external communications departments and was heavily involved in efforts—at both the firm and the industry level—to respond to proposed and new final regulations affecting such functions.

In addition to her time with the D. E. Shaw group, Rachel served as general counsel and chief compliance officer at two other registered investment advisers and as deputy general counsel at another global fund manager, focusing on a wide range of legal and regulatory matters applicable to firms in the alternatives space. She began her legal career as an associate at an international law firm.

Rachel received a J.D. from New York University School of Law, where she was managing editor of the Journal of Legislation and Public Policy, and a B.A. in political science, with distinction, from Yale University. She is a member of the New York bar.

Rachel’s arrival continues Cleary’s expansion in New York and underscores its deep bench of seasoned regulatory and transactional practitioners. It also complements additional hires across the firm’s global offices, which collectively have seen 13 lateral hires since January 2023. These additions enhance the firm’s domestic and cross-border offering in antitrust, public M&A, private equity, finance, restructuring, and investigations.