Shawn T. Wooden
Shawn Wooden assists clients with investment, general corporate and securities law matters with an emphasis on advising institutional investors in connection with alternative investment transactions. He also has extensive experience with the formation and regulation of private investment funds and investment advisory compliance. Shawn also advises private sector clients in connection with transactions involving local and state governmental entities.
For the last 15 years, Shawn has devoted most of his practice to representing public pension funds with private equity, real estate, venture capital, opportunistic, infrastructure, energy, hedge funds and a variety of other asset classes. He has structured single-investor investment vehicles, as well as negotiated strategic partner joint venture agreements, co-investment arrangements and hundreds of side letter agreements. He has also advised pension funds on policy development and compliance programs. Shawn has served as special advisor for corporate transactions in the AFL-CIO's Office of Investment in Washington, D.C.
From 2012 to 2016, Shawn served as the President of the City Council of Hartford, CT and chaired its Operations, Management, Budget and Legislative Affairs Committee
Represented the New York State Common Retirement Fund in connection with the major publicly reported "pay-to-play" scandal related to its hedge fund and private equity fund portfolio
Represented a large public pension fund in structuring of a unique multi-strategy separate accounts investment platform with Och-Ziff Capital Management Group (OZ), which provided for $1.3 billion of capital to be deployed to real estate related securities, senior secured loans, distressed credits, special situation credit, illiquid opportunities, real assets and commingled funds; reported by Pension & Investments
Represented a large public pension fund in connection with its investment of $180 million in Prologis European Properties Fund II, an open-ended fund focused on acquiring, owning, and operating core industrial distribution properties across Europe
Represented a large public pension fund in connection with its investment of $400 million in BlackRock Credit Investors, L.P., a credit opportunities hedge fund that is part of a master/feeder structure and invests in a concentrated portfolio of bank loan and high yield assets; also, represented the client in connection with its further investments of $144 million in BlackRock Credit Investors Co-Invest, L.P., a co-investment partnership created during the severe credit crises to invest in participating interests in the original partnership's credit facility
Representation of a major insurance company in reviewing investments in more than 20 hedge funds and fund of fund vehicles
Represented a large public pension fund in connection with its investments in a limited partnership separate account targeting middle market buyout funds. Investments were made in three tranches of $200 million, $250 million and $400 million
Named to list of "Most Influential Black Lawyers" by Savoy Magazine (Savoy Network), 2018
Named one of the "Twenty-Five Investment Professionals to Watch" by Pensions and Investments Magazine
Selected to the list of Connecticut Super Lawyers (Thomson Reuters), Securities and Corporate Finance, Business/Corporate, 2014-2016Named one of Hartford County's "40 Under 40" business leaders by the Hartford Business Journal, 2007
Recipient of the New Leaders of the Law "Community Contributions" Award, presented by The Connecticut Law Tribune, 2004
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City Council of Hartford, CT, President, 2012-2016, Operations, Management, Budget and Legislative Affairs Committee of the City Council, Chair
Connecticut Citizen's Ethics Advisory Board
Trinity College Board of Trustees
The Connecticut Forum Board of Directors