Jay Baris, the head of Morrison & Foerster's investment management practice, is heading to Shearman & Sterling as a partner in New York.

The move will see Baris reunite with Andrew “Buddy” Donohue, his former mentor and a one-time chief of staff to former U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission chair Mary Jo White, to help build out Shearman & Sterling's investment funds practice.

“It was just a natural fit,” said Baris about his new firm. “It was a chance to reunite with [Donohue] and to work with some of the best practitioners in funds and investment management.”

Donohue and Baris first worked together nearly three decades ago at First Investors Corp., where Donohue served as senior vice president and general counsel and Baris as his assistant general counsel.

“I really learned a great deal from [Donohue], who is not only a great teacher but an experienced and seasoned investment management lawyer,” said Baris, noting that the duo have kept in close contact throughout their careers.

But once Donohue left the SEC last year, both lawyers began discussing ways they could work together again. And when Donohue landed at Shearman & Sterling in late October, “the stars were aligned,” Baris said.

For nearly four decades, Baris has represented investment companies, investment advisers and other financial institutions in various aspects of regulation, compliance and structuring transactions. After working in-house for funds managers, Baris joined Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel in 1992. After nearly 20 years at Kramer Levin, Baris made the jump to Morrison & Foerster in 2011, where he chaired the firm's investment management practice from New York.

“We are delighted to welcome [Baris] to the firm,” said a statement from Shearman & Sterling's senior partner Creighton Condon, who in early 2012 was elected leader of the firm and began to refocus its efforts. “His stature and long tenure in the funds and investment adviser community adds significantly to our funds capabilities. Clients want industry knowledge and insight, and [Baris] adds to our deep bench.”

Throughout his career, Baris said he had worked alongside various funds partners at Shearman & Sterling, and he is now looking forward to integrating his work into their existing practice. Baris also noted plans by Shearman & Sterling to deepen its bench and capacity in order to expand into new practice areas and deal with issues like cryptocurrency, a hot topic among his clientele, exchange-traded funds and business development funds, among other areas.

“These are areas that we all have experience in,” Baris said. “But you really need the scale to be successful.”