Robert Emerson will join the Latham & Watkins’ New York office as a partner in the investment funds practice. Emerson brings with him two decades of experience in private equity and investment funds, with a focus on GP liquidity solutions and secondaries transactions.
Emerson advises private equity firms and senior management teams on a range of legal, compliance and business matters. He has led numerous secondaries and strategic deals involving portfolio companies, co-investments and sponsor-level transactions. His broad practice includes negotiating strategic relationships, joint ventures, minority sales, spinouts and novel co-investment structures.
Emerson has extensive experience leading domestic and international fundraises, advising sponsors on governance, structuring and economics. He also brings a deep understanding of the evolving regulatory landscape for private equity and registered investment advisers.
“Rob is one of the top lawyers in the market advising on private equity secondaries transactions, and we are thrilled to welcome him to Latham and our New York office,” Marc Jaffe, office managing partner of Latham & Watkins in New York, said. “He has a demonstrated track record of leading transactions end-to-end, coordinating across fund formation, tax, regulatory, finance and M&A teams to deliver outcomes that are both technically rigorous and commercially effective. His mix of GP liquidity solutions and fund formation expertise, and his knowledge of the complex regulatory landscape, adds even more firepower to Latham’s No. 1-ranked private equity platform.”
Alex Kelly, global co-chair of Latham & Watkins’ mergers and acquisitions and private equity practice, added, “Executing sophisticated secondaries transactions is a major focus of private equity sponsor clients as fund managers navigate a prolonged exit environment and increasing LP demand for optionality. Rob’s deep experience advising on bespoke liquidity solutions aligns perfectly with the cutting-edge work that Latham is known for. His broad understanding of the private funds market will further strengthen our elite practice, especially bolstering our momentum and leadership in the secondaries space.”
Emerson will join Latham from Goodwin Procter. He received his JD, cum laude, from Fordham University School of Law and his BA, summa cum laude, from Fordham University.
