The Pittsburgh office of global law firm K&L Gates has appointed Brian Vargo and Michelle Repp as partners in the firm’s investment management, hedge funds and alternative investments and corporate/M&A practices, respectively.
Vargo joins the firm from Dechert LLP, while Repp returns to K&L Gates from II-VI Incorporated, where she served as Corporate Counsel and Director of Legal Affairs.
Vargo advises investment management firms and private and registered funds on matters relating to organisation, governance, and operations, including compliance with securities and commodities laws and regulations. A founding member, officer, and former chairman of the board of the Mid-Atlantic Hedge Fund Association, Vargo also counsels clients on complex securities, financial, and business transactions, including those involving domestic and offshore hedge funds; registered and collateralized bond/debt funds; mergers, acquisitions, and reorganisations; and private placement investments.
Concentrating her practice primarily on corporate, transactional, and securities matters, Repp advises clients on domestic and international mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, and financing and investment transactions. She also counsels public and private companies on securities offerings, securities compliance, and corporate governance matters. Repp works with clients in varied industries that include manufacturing, engineered products, health care, financial services, aerospace, chemicals and coatings, metals, mining, and energy. She began her career at K&L Gates, spending nearly 10 years at the firm before moving to II-VI Incorporated.
Thomas J Smith, administrative partner of K&L Gates’ Pittsburgh office, says: “We are so pleased that Michelle has come back home, as we greatly missed her wide range of experience and knowledge in corporate matters. And we are excited that Brian has joined our growing investment management group here in the Pittsburgh office. They are strong additions to our corporate group, and our clients will benefit from their presence here.”
Vargo is the ninth new partner or of counsel addition to K&L Gates’ leading investment management practice since early 2015, with the firm also having added Derek Steingarten, Bruce MacLennan, and Edward Dartley in New York, Todd Betke in Washington, D.C., Richard Kerr and Kenneth Holston in Boston, Jacob Ghanty in London, and Michael Wong in Hong Kong.
