Vice President, Secondary Transactions Counsel

HarbourVest Partners•Boston, MA

23h•Hybrid

About The Position

For over forty years, HarbourVest has been home to a committed team of professionals with an entrepreneurial spirit and a desire to deliver impactful solutions to our clients and investing partners. As our global firm grows, we continue to add individuals who seek a collaborative, open-door culture that values diversity and innovative thinking. In our collegial environment that’s marked by low turnover and high energy, you’ll be inspired to grow and thrive. Here, you will be encouraged to build on your strengths and acquire new skills and experiences. We are committed to fostering an environment of inclusion that promotes mutual respect among all employees. Understanding and valuing these differences optimizes the potential of both the individual and the firm. HarbourVest is an equal opportunity employer. This position will be a hybrid work arrangement. You will receive 18 remote workdays per quarter to use at your discretion, subject to manager approval. For example, you may choose to work in the office 4 days per week and take one remote day weekly (typically 13 weeks per quarter), leaving 5 additional remote days to be used as needed. The Transaction Counsel will serve as a strategic advisor and partner to the secondary investment team focused on helping the team to efficiently deploy capital in the best interests of the firm’s investors and in a manner that mitigates applicable commercial, legal and operational risks. This includes private equity secondaries, credit secondaries, and infrastructure. The Transaction Counsel will have primary responsibility for ensuring that a sound framework for legal negotiations is in place and being adhered to across the global secondary investment platform. The Transaction Counsel will work with senior leaders across the firm in the legal and compliance team, tax team, accounting team, reporting team and the secondary investment team to develop a “house view” on key transaction terms. The Transaction Counsel will also be closely involved in the management of external counsel. On a day-to-day basis, the Transaction Counsel will work with deal teams, in particular on complex transactions, in furtherance of the counsel’s broader goals of ensuring secondary investment transactions are completed in a manner that is in the best interests of the firm’s investors, and which mitigates applicable risks, reflects our “house views,” as appropriate, and is in compliance with obligations owed to our investors.

Requirements

Juris Doctor (JD)
3-5 Years at a law firm focusing on private equity fund formation and secondary-specific transactional work.

Responsibilities

Assist the investment team in developing a framework for the negotiation of legal terms for secondary investment opportunities. This includes portfolio transactions, continuation fund deals, and other bespoke and highly complex secondary transactions.
Take a lead role in developing process for and coordinating negotiation of specific legal needs of certain funds and separate accounts.
Work closely with the deal team, secondary operations team, and external counsel to support deal closing processes.
Advise deals teams on material events and other matters that may arise after a commitment is made, including amendments, investor consents, and more complex issues, including conflicts analysis.
Develop and implement policies and procedures crafted to strengthen the secondary investment team’s approach to the legal negotiations and to ensure that the “house view” on terms is adopted.
Facilitate periodic trainings for the secondary investment team on relevant legal issues.
Work with members of the deal teams, secondary operations team, and broader legal and compliance team to ensure external counsel is delivering sound advice and that legal fees charged are reasonable.