Cleary Gottlieb Grows Premier Private Funds Practice With Partner Xin Florence Zhang

Cleary Gottlieb announced today that Xin Florence Zhang joined the firm as a partner in its Private Funds and Sponsor Solutions groups, based in New York. She will focus on advising sponsors and investors on complex private funds and asset management transactions, including GP stakes, GP seeding, strategic GP-led transactions, and asset management M&A transactions.

“We are delighted to welcome Florence to Cleary,” said Cleary Managing Partner Michael Gerstenzang. “Florence’s multifaceted transactional experience will strengthen our ability to serve private funds clients across the full spectrum of alternative investment transactions. The growth of our Sponsor Solutions Group reflects the increasing importance of sponsor-led transactions in today’s market. With Florence joining, we are expanding our ability to deliver creative solutions at the cutting edge of private fund liquidity and strategic transactions.”

Florence is an experienced asset management transactional practitioner with extensive capabilities involving GP stakes and asset management M&A transactions. She advises financial sponsors, investors, and asset managers in different jurisdictions on various liquidity transactions, especially on GP staking and seeding through equity, debt, or preferred equity structures. In her asset management M&A practice, Florence advises sponsors undergoing changes to their “upper tier” governance structures on equity ownership, governance arrangements, compensation structures, and related matters that arise from business combination transactions.

“We are thrilled to have Florence joining our team,” said Liza Lenas, partner and leader of Cleary’s Global Private Funds Group. “Her broad knowledge of liquidity and strategic transactions, combined with her experience advising on some of the most complex and high-value M&A matters of recent years, will further strengthen our ability to deliver exceptional results for clients and accelerate the growth of our practice.”

Cleary’s Sponsor Solutions Group is a multidisciplinary global practice integrating the firm’s private funds, M&A, finance, real estate, tax, regulatory, and executive compensation capabilities. The group represents sponsors and lead investors in a wide range of liquidity and strategic transactions, including GP-led secondaries, continuation funds, NAV facilities, GP stakes, seeding, succession planning, and fund restructurings.

“Our strategic vision is for the Sponsor Solutions Group to be the first call for sponsors and investors navigating complex liquidity and strategic transactions. Florence’s arrival represents an important milestone in realizing that vision and reflects the strong trajectory and growth in this practice,” said Ken Blazejewski, partner and co-leader of Cleary’s Sponsor Solutions Group.

“I am excited to join Cleary’s leading and growing Private Funds and Sponsor Solutions groups,” said Florence. “I look forward to collaborating across disciplines and geographies with my colleagues to advise sponsors and investors on complex transactions, while also helping to expand the firm’s GP stakes platform and building on its strong momentum in this growing area.”

Prior to joining Cleary, Florence was a partner at another international law firm in New York. She received her J.D. from Northwestern Pritzker School of Law, L.L.M. from Wake Forest University School of Law, and L.L.B. from Shandong University.