Richards, Layton & Finger Launches Registered Funds Advisory Group
October 20, 2025
Firm News| Registered Funds Advisory Group
WILMINGTON, Del. (October 20, 2025) – Richards, Layton & Finger is pleased to announce the launch of its new Registered Funds Advisory Group, focused on advising the world’s leading public investment funds on the nuances and complexities of Delaware law. The Registered Funds Advisory Group brings together a cross-disciplinary team that works with registered investment companies, business development companies, unit investment trusts, commodity pools, cryptocurrency funds, and other types of investment funds on Delaware-specific matters.
“Our attorneys have been providing Delaware law guidance to investment funds for years. Formalizing the practice better positions Richards Layton to offer more focused expertise and streamlined service delivery to help our clients achieve their objectives,” said firm president Paul Heath. “The creation of this group reflects our commitment to staying at the forefront of the evolving investment fund landscape and ensures our clients receive the most current and comprehensive Delaware law counsel.”
The Registered Funds Advisory Group is led by Wes Peterson, who has nearly two decades of experience in fund governance, structuring, and statutory trust matters. Other members of the group include Mike Allen, Brock Czeschin, Jonathan Kaplowitz, Cayla Dupuis, and Andrea Bomalaski.
The Registered Funds Advisory Group supports Am Law 100 firms and others by offering seasoned, Delaware-specific guidance that complements their federal regulatory work. With deep experience in fund governance, structuring, statutory trust matters, fiduciary duty, and corporate law, the cross-disciplinary team advises on:
- Board fiduciary duties and governance (including board presentations and special committee processes)
- Reorganizations, statutory mergers, and conversions
- Common and preferred share offerings, exchange offers, rights offerings, bond offerings, at-the-market offerings, and IPOs
- Fund formations and wind-downs
- Shareholder meeting matters and books-and-records demands
- Defensive and anti-takeover advice
- Litigation, including precedent-setting matters like Hartsel v. Vanguard
- Legal opinions related to share validity
- Advice with respect to dividend declarations and indemnification matters
About Richards, Layton & Finger
Defining Delaware law since 1899, Richards, Layton & Finger helps sophisticated clients navigate complex issues and the intricacies of Delaware law. We advise global companies, business partnerships, leading financial institutions, local businesses, and individuals across a wide range of practices, including corporate law, alternative entities, commercial law, bankruptcy and corporate restructuring, intellectual property, tax, trusts and estates, commercial real estate, and litigation.