© 2017 The Texas Lawbook.
By Brooks Igo
(June 21) – Polsinelli announced recently it is bulking up its investment funds group in Dallas with the additions of shareholders Brian Bullard and George Lee III.
Bullard practiced for the past eight years at Akin Gump. Lee, who was most recently at Gardere, is also a former general counsel of Greenway Capital, a Dallas hedge fund.
Both lawyers pointed to Polsinelli’s national platform as a reason they were attracted to the firm. Lee specifically mentioned the firm’s footprint in Phoenix, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., and New York City as important for his practice.
Bullard also highlighted the firm’s growth in Texas over the past five-plus years.
“It is a great opportunity to develop the firm’s private equity, hedge fund and capital markets practice in Dallas,” he said.
Bullard and Lee advise investment advisers and private investment groups that sponsor a variety of investment vehicles including hedge funds, real estate funds, private equity funds and venture capital funds.
Polsinelli’s depth and expertise stretches beyond forming funds to serving as deal counsel, Bullard says. He believes this will create opportunities to develop more business with existing clients.
Since joining Polsinelli one month ago, Lee helped a Phoenix client close a sale of software assets to a company that is a joint venture partner with his client. Lee credited Polsinelli’s intellectual property team with helping that deal come to fruition.
Lee and Bullard are currently working on the formation of a $25 million private equity fund in Los Angeles that will specialize in the buying and selling of residential mortgages.
Private equity has become an increasingly important focus of Bullard’s practice.
“The private equity industry is becoming a unique industry in that no deal is the same.” he said. “Private equity deals are becoming very creative.”
Bullard says private equity managers are getting smarter and more efficient by moving to more programmatic, joint venture structures. He says these private equity funds are becoming one-stop shops.
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