A FULL SERVICE INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT LAW FIRM
2018 Voted US Hedge Fund Law Firm of the Year
​by ACQ5 Global Awards
2017 Voted US Hedge Fund Law Firm of the Year
​by ACQ5 Global Awards
2015 Best Hedge Fund Law Firm in New York
by Acquisition International Hedge Fund Awards
COMMITMENT
RESPONSIBILITY
EXPERTISE
SERVICE
TRUST
PRACTICE
AREAS
Registration Services
SEC & State Registered Investment Adviser & Broker/Dealer
Exempt Reporting Adviser
CFTC - CPO/CTA/IB
SEC Filings
Entity Formation
Regulatory
Investment Management
Fund Formation
Examinations, Investigations & Enforcement Actions
Offering Documents, IMAs & Side Letters
Special Purpose Vehicles
Operating Agreements
Transactional Legal Service
Mock Audits & Internal Investigations
Private Equity Services
Fund and SPV Formation
PB & ISDA Agreements
Policy & Procedure Drafting
Service Provider Reviews & Third Party Marketing Agreements
Private Equity Services
Fund and SPV Formation
Credit Facilities
Legal Opinions
Form ADV & Form PF
Section 13 & 16 Filings
Form D
PRACTICE
AREAS
Registration Services
SEC & State Registered Investment Adviser & Broker/Dealer
Exempt Reporting Adviser
CFTC - CPO/CTA/IB
SEC Filings
Form ADV & Form PF
Section 13 & 16 Filings
Form D
Entity Formation
Regulatory
Investment Management
Fund Formation
Examinations, Investigations & Enforcement Actions
Offering Documents, IMAs & Side Letters
Special Purpose Vehicles
Operating Agreements
Transactional Legal Service
Mock Audits & Internal Investigations
Private Equity Services
Fund and SPV Formation
Credit Facilities
Legal Opinions
PB & ISDA Agreements
Policy & Procedure Drafting
Service Provider Reviews & Third Party Marketing Agreements
Private Equity Services
Offering Document Review
Operational Due Diligence
Annual Reviews
PRACTICE
AREAS
Registration Services
Entity Formation
Regulatory
Investment Management
SEC & State Registered Investment Adviser & Broker/Dealer
Fund Formation
Examinations, Investigations & Enforcement Actions
Offering Documents, IMAs & Side Letters
Special Purpose Vehicles
Exempt Reporting Adviser
CFTC - CPO/CTA/IB
SEC Filings
Form ADV & Form PF
Section 13 & 16 Filings
Form D
Operating Agreements
Transactional Legal Service
Mock Audits & Internal Investigations
Private Equity Services
Fund and SPV Formation
Credit Facilities
Legal Opinions
PB & ISDA Agreements
Policy & Procedure Drafting
Service Provider Reviews & Third Party Marketing Agreements
Private Equity Services
Offering Document Review
Operational Due Diligence
Annual Reviews
PRACTICE
AREAS
Registration Services
Entity Formation
Regulatory
Investment Management
SEC & State Registered Investment Adviser & Broker/Dealer
Fund Formation
Examinations, Investigations & Enforcement Actions
Offering Documents, IMAs & Side Letters
Special Purpose Vehicles
Exempt Reporting Adviser
CFTC - CPO/CTA/IB
SEC Filings
Form ADV & Form PF
Section 13 & 16 Filings
Operating Agreements
Transactional Legal Service
Mock Audits & Internal Investigations
Private Equity Services
Fund and SPV Formation
Credit Facilities
PB & ISDA Agreements
Policy & Procedure Drafting
Service Provider Reviews & Third Party Marketing Agreements
Private Equity Services
Offering Document Review
Operational Due Diligence
PRACTICE
AREAS
SEC & State Registered Investment Adviser & Broker/Dealer
Entity Formation
Regulatory
Investment Management
Fund Formation
Examinations, Investigations & Enforcement Actions
Special Purpose Vehicles
Exempt Reporting Adviser
CFTC - CPO/CTA/IB
Operating Agreements
PB & ISDA Agreements
SEC Filings
Form ADV & Form PF
Section 13 & 16 Filings
Form D
Service Provider Reviews & Third Party Marketing Agreements
Investor Due Diligence
Fund and SPV Formation
Offering Document Review
Credit Facilities
Operational Due Diligence
Legal Opinions
Annual Reviews
Contract Negotiation
Service/Licensing/Research
Employment/Leases
PRACTICE
AREAS
Registration Services
SEC & State Registered Investment Adviser & Broker/Dealer
Exempt Reporting Adviser
CFTC - CPO/CTA/IB
SEC Filings
Form ADV & Form PF
Section 13 & 16 Filings
Form D
Entity Formation
Fund Formation
Special Purpose Vehicles
Operating Agreements
Regulatory
Examinations, Investigations & Enforcement Actions
Mock Audits & Internal Investigations
Policy & Procedure Drafting
Investment Management
Offering Documents, IMAs & Side Letters
Transactional Legal Service
PB & ISDA Agreements
Service Provider Reviews & Third Party Marketing Agreements
Private Equity Services
Fund and SPV Formation
Credit Facilities
Legal Opinions
Investor Due Diligence
Offering Document Review
Operational Due Diligence
Annual Reviews
Contract Negotiation
Service/Licensing/Research
Joint Ventures
Employment/Leases
ABOUT US
Florio Leahy LLP ("Florio Leahy") is a full service investment management law firm with over 100 clients in the U.S. and abroad. The top investment management law firm and extensive in-house industry experience of our professionals enables Florio Leahy to provide investment managers with timely, practical advice and hands-on assistance with a unique understanding of the real world issues facing today’s investment managers. Florio Leahy is also the firm of choice for regulatory counsel, fund formation, regulatory registration, audit assistance, internal investigations, fund document review and operational due diligence services related to investment management, private fund and other alternative investments.
​
Our business model is to provide extremely responsive and cost-effective expert legal services.
MANAGEMENT TEAM
Gregory Florio
Managing Partner
Gregory L. Florio is a founding partner of Florio Leahy LLP and a founding member of Orical LLC with over 21 years of legal and regulatory experience. Mr. Florio is an expert in investment adviser and broker/dealer compliance programs, regulatory examinations and investigations, and has extensive registration and fund formation experience with state, federal, and various international jurisdictions. Mr. Florio assists the firm’s clients on establishing compliance manuals and code of ethics, supervisory procedures and operational controls and provides independent operations reviews, compliance audits and testing. Mr. Florio also leads the firm’s technical solutions efforts designed to augment a client’s compliance and conflicts monitoring capabilities.
​
Prior to establishing Florio Leahy LLP in 2010, Mr. Florio was a senior counsel and the chief compliance officer of a multi-billion global fund manager, Marathon Asset Management, LP. Mr. Florio was responsible for all aspects of the firm’s global compliance program including transforming its program to a state-of-the-art, electronic based system, successfully handled all regulatory audits, inquiries, and filings, and assisted in various legal and operational matters affecting the firm’s day-to-day operations.
​
Prior to Marathon, Mr. Florio served as a regulatory specialist in the Investment Management division of Seward & Kissel LLP and was an attorney in the Investment Funds Group of Sidley Austin LLP, where he represented various leading financial institutions, assisted in hundreds of investment adviser and broker-dealer registrations, and advised private funds on all aspects of compliance, legal, regulatory, formation and operational matters. Mr. Florio began his career as an Assistant District Attorney for the County of the Bronx, NY.
​
Mr. Florio graduated with honors from Fordham University School of Law in 1995 and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Consumer Economics from Cornell University. Mr. Florio is a member of the New York State Bar Association.
James Leahy
Managing Partner
James Leahy is a partner of Florio Leahy LLP and a member of Orical LLC with over 30 years of finance, operations, and legal experience. Prior to joining these firms in 2013, Mr. Leahy served as chief financial officer of Marathon Asset Management, LP where he managed a team of approximately thirty professionals responsible for the firm’s tax, accounting and operations functions across multiple business lines. Mr. Leahy was responsible for, among other things, monitoring the firm’s cash and PnL as well as the firm’s financing lines and relations with external service providers such as: prime brokers, accountants and fund administrators. Mr. Leahy met regularly with investors as part of their due diligence process. He also met with the Board of Directors and served on several committees, including Conflicts, Trade Allocation, Expense Allocation and Best Execution.
​
Prior to Marathon, Mr. Leahy was a vice president, senior credit officer and team leader at Moody’s Investors Service and was also a member of the CDO team. Mr. Leahy helped found the Hedge Fund Operations Quality business where his group was responsible for assigning Operational Quality Ratings to hedge funds.
​
Prior to Moody’s, Mr. Leahy was a lawyer at Skadden Arps and Milbank Tweed in New York City. His legal practice involved corporate, securities and financing transactions. He also has extensive experience with structured finance transactions including CLOs.
​
Prior to practicing law, Mr. Leahy was a surface warfare officer in the United States Navy. He served aboard three warships and taught at the Navy’s Gas Turbine Engineering School in Newport, Rhode Island.
​
Mr. Leahy holds an honors law degree from Boston College Law School and an undergraduate degree in English from Dartmouth College. Mr. Leahy is a member of the Bar in New York and Massachusetts.
Vanessa Sasson
Partner
Vanessa Sasson is a partner at Florio Leahy LLP. Her practice focuses on advising alternative asset managers on a broad range of legal and regulatory matters relating to their investment management businesses, including: adviser structuring, registration, and governance; private fund formation and fundraising; SEC and CFTC examinations and investigations; various transactional matters; and Investment Advisers Act compliance programs and their practical effect on day-to-day operations. She has experience representing both emerging and established managers, each implementing a variety of investment strategies and structures, including hedge funds, private equity funds, private credit funds, venture capital funds, funds of funds, and real estate funds. Vanessa also works with institutional investors and family offices to conduct due diligence on and negotiate private fund investment opportunities.
Vanessa has been instrumental in the success of our firm's diverse client base, with her unwavering dedication since she joined us in 2014. She fosters long-lasting and meaningful relationships with clients, distinguishing herself through exceptional legal skills, outstanding client service and efficient problem-solving.
Vanessa received her J.D. from the Fordham University School of Law in 2014 and her B.A., magna cum laude, from the University of Miami in 2011. She is admitted to practice law in New York.
Nicole Amitrano
Director of Operations
Michael Makovoz
Chief Technology Officer
Mekyas Moges
Director of Compliance
Mike Norris
Director of Information Security
CONTACT
FLORIO LEAHY
OUR ADDRESS
641 Lexington Avenue
17th Floor
New York, NY 10022
Tel: 212.257.5790
Fax: 212.257.5788
For any general inquiries, please fill in the following contact form:
