Associé

Cynthia Marian

Corporate & Securities, Private Equity, Funds & Investment Management

"Cynthia is an excellent lawyer. We are very pleased with her level of service, her focus on the detail, the robustness of her legal insights and her commercial instinct."

"The quality of her work product is excellent. Her technical acumen and negotiation skills are excellent. Her tax background is super helpful."

"She has a remarkable and unique combination of sophistication, substance, creativity and service. I am extremely impressed and look forward to our continued engagement."

Chambers USA

Aperçu

Cynthia A. Marian advises private equity fund sponsors, hedge fund managers, large and complex asset managers, and many smaller and start-up alternative investment advisers on the suite of corporate, tax, regulatory compliance, and operational matters germane to their investment management businesses, including a wide variety of issues arising from the activities of the private investment funds and accounts that they manage, invest in, or both. Cynthia focuses on the structuring, formation, offering of interests in, and ongoing operations of, private funds and other special purpose and alternative investment vehicles globally. She also represents institutional investors making investments in private funds, including in the negotiation of seed deals, side letters, and co-investments.

Cynthia has a broad corporate background, having represented clients on an array of fund formation, transactional, regulatory compliance, and tax matters over the course of her career, including those arising in the contexts of: minority and growth equity investments, co-investments, joint ventures, public and private mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, private equity fund secondary transactions, SEC and NFA examinations, and general corporate governance and organizational matters. Frequently invited to speak at investment management industry conferences and symposia, Cynthia is sought after for her commercial approach and her experience with a range of issues that present themselves during the life cycle of a private fund manager.

Before returning to private practice, Cynthia held successive in-house General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer positions with private equity and hedge fund managers. Her responsibilities included establishing new fund vehicles, managed accounts, and bespoke investment products; negotiating side letters and seed transaction documents with strategic investors; advising on marketing materials and placement agent relationships; counseling on management company-level business and human resources matters; creating and implementing compliance policies and procedures; and managing SEC, CFTC, and NFA registrations and examinations as well as day-to-day operational compliance with regulations imposed by domestic and international regulators.

Cynthia also previously counseled several investment management firms, the founders thereof, and other entrepreneurs, as an “outsourced general counsel” and senior compliance advisor. She has co-taught an undergraduate seminar on hedge fund management and has been a guest lecturer on investment management regulations and compliance at multiple New York-area law schools.

Concentrations

  • Private Equity Funds and Venture Capital Funds
  • Hedge Funds
  • Upper-tier / Sponsor entity structuring, Seed Deals, and GP Stake Transactions
  • Private Credit Funds
  • Co-Investment Funds and SPVs
  • Investment Management and Regulatory Compliance

Expérience

Prior to joining Mayer Brown, Cynthia represented:

Fund Formation and Fund Sponsor / Manager Representations

  • A new private fund sponsor in connection with the formation and structuring of interests in a hybrid evergreen fund targeting at least $1 billion in total capital commitments.
  • A successful private equity fund portfolio manager in connection with his exit from a well-known global asset manager and his formation and structuring of a new private equity fund sponsor that is pursuing an opportunistic take-private strategy with respect to publicly-traded companies in several industries, and in his related seed deal with an established, well-known hedge fund management firm.
  • A large, minority-owned and controlled private investment firm managing approximately $2.3 billion in assets across several private credit funds in connection with the formation, structuring, and offering of interests therein, and in the negotiation of a seed deal with two substantial anchor investors.
  • An established, industry-agnostic private equity fund sponsor and SEC-registered investment adviser focused on investments in operating businesses with up to $200 million in enterprise value in connection with several portfolio company transactions, a continuation vehicle, and various firm-level and carry vehicle matters.

Compétences et Secteurs liés

Distinctions

  • Listed, Chambers USA Guide, 2025
    • Private Equity: Fund Formation – USA Nationwide
    • Hedge Funds – USA Nationwide
  • Listed, Chambers USA Guide, 2025 – Private Equity: Fund Formation practice
    • Band 4
  • Listed, Chambers Global Guide, 2025
    • Private Equity: Fund Formation – USA Nationwide
    • Hedge Funds – USA Nationwide
  • Listed, Chambers USA Guide, 2024
    • Private Equity: Fund Formation – USA Nationwide
    • Hedge Funds – USA Nationwide

Formation

  • New York University School of Law, 2010, LLM, Taxation
  • University of Chicago Law School, 2008, JD
    • Russell Baker Scholar
  • University of Virginia, 2003, BS
    • McIntire School of Commerce, with concentrations in Finance and International Business
    • Completed requirements for B.A. in Economics

Inscription au Barreau

  • Florida
  • New Jersey
  • New York

Langues

  • Anglais
  • Français
  • Italien

Engagement professionnel et communautaire

  • Former Member, Board of Directors, Futures and Options, Inc., 2009-2018
  • Member, Board of Governors, Regulatory Compliance Association; Co-Chair, Compliance Subcommittee
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