Fried Frank Adds Goodwin Partner to Asset Management Team in NYC

Fried Frank is picking up Goodwin’s Amy Johnson as a partner in its private equity funds group and asset management practice in New York, the firm said Tuesday.

Johnson, a former Kirkland & Ellis associate, joined Goodwin in 2018 before becoming partner in its private investment funds group in 2022. She was a part of the Goodwin team that advised global asset manager Dawson Partners on the closing of a $425 million transaction with Churchill Asset Management and its closing of a more than $900 million transaction with a large US-based asset manager earlier this year.

“Amy has an impressive background advising clients on the formation, operation and maintenance of private investment funds in the United States and globally, which immediately strengthens our global platform,” said Kenneth Rosh, Fried Frank’s new chair in the US.

Fried Frank is growing its core practices, which include asset management, M&A and real estate, and building in areas such finance and capital markets, litigation and white collar, Rosh said. The firm has added several partners from Goodwin in recent months, including investment funds partner Audra Cohen in New York and a three-partner private equity team in London. It also added Monica Thurmond, former deputy co-chair of Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison’s corporate department.

Fried Frank’s private equity funds and asset management groups regularly do work for Goldman Sachs, BlackRock and Bain Capital, among others. The firm’s asset management practice is co-led by Lawrence Barshay, who leads alternative funds, and Rosh, who leads private equity funds, along with Kate Downey, who leads the practice in Europe.

“Fried Frank’s asset management group is one of the premier global practices,” Johnson said in an interview. “I’m confident that my clients benefit.”

Johnson advises major sponsors on all aspects of the formation, operation and ongoing maintenance of private investment funds. She advises clients on their formation and fundraising activities, as well as their ongoing operational affairs.

Rosh took over as chair in March, succeeding David Greenwald who led the New York-founded firm since 2014. Leading the firm alongside Rosh is Steven Epstein, the firm’s managing partner and co-head of Fried Frank’s M&A practice, while Scott Luftglass, co-head of the securities and shareholder litigation practice, serves as vice chair.