Christian Gloger

Kleinberg, Kaplan, Wolff and Cohen, a small New York City law firm known for its intensive focus on hedge funds, has hired former Schulte Roth & Zabel lawyer Christian Gloger as a partner.

Gloger advises fund sponsors on the structuring, formation and operation of hedge funds and on regulatory issues arising from the Investment Company Act, the Investment Advisers Act and Dodd-Frank regulations.

“We are thrilled to welcome Christian Gloger to Kleinberg Kaplan,” Eric Wagner, chair of the firm's corporate department, said in a statement. “He has significant knowledge on the multitude of issues that investment funds and their managers face, and his experience on matters both in the U.S. as well as overseas provide a strategic fit with our practice.”

Kleinberg Kaplan has long occupied a distinct niche as counsel to largely New York-based funds, but Gloger brings to the boutique a highly diverse international book of clients, many of them based in Brazil. Gloger is fluent in Portuguese as well as English, French and his native German.

“I've long known Kleinberg Kaplan as a leader in providing counsel to the fund industry. I am excited to be joining a talented team of lawyers and look forward to expanding my practice as well as contributing to the overall success of the firm,” Gloger said in the firm's statement.

Acknowledging Kleinberg Kaplan's distinct identity as a hedge fund firm, Gloger said that the funds industry as a whole is moving toward a combination of liquid investments and more long-term capital structures. A growing number of clients nowadays are active in the distressed credit and hybrid funds space, he said, and the shifts necessitate the hiring of attorneys with highly diversified expertise. The other angle to Gloger's practice is his knowledge of Brazil, where he has traveled extensively and cultivated many contacts in the burgeoning funds market in recent years.

“Brazil is a highly promising—and demanding—asset management market. A lot is happening down there, especially since the elections,” Gloger said, referring to the Oct. 7 contests that made Rio de Janeiro congressman and Social Liberal Party member Jair Bolsonaro the country's president-elect.

Gloger said cross-border deal flow out of Brazil is running strong after a lull when Brazil's economy was not doing so well, many transactions were on hold, and fund managers looking to the U.S. market were grappling with added layers of regulatory complexity related to the Dodd-Frank Act.

“Things are changing now, and I definitely expect business to pick up in every category—hedge funds, private equity, and the hybrid space,” he said. “I have been working in Brazil intensively since 2006, I know every player, and the opportunities are there.”

From the clients' point of view, Gloger suggested, there are distinct advantages to working with a smaller firm such as Kleinberg Kaplan as opposed to one of the mega-firms, including more manageable hourly rates and greater attention from lawyers who don't have quite as many clients to deal with at a given time.