White & Case Taps Goodwin Secondaries Chief, Sees Fund-M&A Blend

White & Case is bringing on a top secondaries lawyer from Goodwin Procter as the firm seeks to expand its M&A and funds work.

Oreste Cipolla is joining as a partner in New York, White & Case said Wednesday. He most recently was co-leader of the secondaries practice at Goodwin, where he worked for more than a decade.

“We’re continuing to build depth in key areas of client demand, and Oreste’s perspective at the intersection of investments, funds and secondaries will enable us to expand deal flow and connect sponsors with our cross-practice finance and regulatory capabilities,” firm Chair Heather McDevitt said in a statement.

Cipolla expects to see continued growth in the secondary markets, including as smaller funds begin to implement these newer exit strategies. He said law firms will need to train associates to have fluency in both fund formation and traditional M&A to steer the transactions.

Secondary deal volume for private assets surged 41% to a record $226 billion last year, according to data from Evercore Inc.

Cipolla’s past clients include Macquarie Capital, Level Equity Management, K1 Investment Management and Danone Ventures. He said he was particularly drawn to White & Case for its network of offices around the globe and coverage of key industries.

“The deep expertise that White & Case has in strategic areas that are particularly interesting to me—including energy, infrastructure, mining, minerals—is important to my practice because there is an increased interest from private equity sponsors in those areas,” Cipolla said in an interview.

White & Case unveiled an ambitious three-year plan earlier this year, seeking to grow its revenue by more than 50% to $5 billion. The firm seeks to leverage expertise in key practice areas—such as energy and infrastructure, technology, and private capital—along with US hiring.

White & Case has hired more than 20 partners in the US since the start of the year. The additions include David Adams, a financial services partner who joined the Washington office from Mintz LLP this month.

Growing Market

Cipolla expects to see a surge in secondaries activity among smaller funds.

“The growth is exponential, so I would expect that in a year from now, even smaller mid-market firms will be implementing secondaries in one way or another,” he said.

Lawyers will remain key as the market further develops and catches the attention of regulatory bodies. Issues under scrutiny include conflicts posed by general partners on both sides of deals, as well as liquidity and valuations, which may require external fairness opinions.

Deals require lawyers who can address both M&A and fund formation aspects, according to Cipolla.

“It’s been very important to have the insight and the experience of working with fund formation lawyers in fund formation deals, because that’s when you truly understand the regulatory and contractual dynamics of that particular practice area,” Cipolla said.