Michael W. Wolitzer is a Partner at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP where he is a member of the Corporate Department. Mr. Wolitzer’s practice focuses on private investing and other facets of "alternative asset management". He has represented some of the largest and well-known sponsors of private equity funds, such as Apax Partners, Blackstone, Centerbridge, Lexington, JPMorgan/OneEquity, Patria and Silver Lake. He has also represented sponsors in other asset categories such as real estate, mezzanine, energy/infrastructure and credit/distressed debt. In addition, he has represented global financial institutions in the establishment of their employee investment programs, has been involved in a number of acquisitions of, and investments in, private investment firms, and has represented buyers, sellers and sponsors regarding the disposition of private fund interests.

Mr. Wolitzer is currently on the Editorial Board of the PLC Cross-border Private Equity Handbook.  He was previously the co-Chairman of the Subcommittee on Private Investment Funds of the International Bar Association and is a member of the Executive Committee (and former Chairman) of the Private Investment Fund Forum (a group comprising New York City attorneys who practice extensively in the private fund area). He has served on the Advisory Boards of the Private Equity Analyst (relating to its Survey of Private Equity Partnership Terms and Conditions), the Private Equity Investment Guidelines Group and the Advisory Board of the Private Equity CFO Association.

Chambers & Partners recognized Mr. Wolitzer in the top tier of Private Equity: Fund Formation lawyers in the United States in Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business 2011 and in Chambers Global: The World’s Leading Lawyers for Business 2011.  He was also named a recommended lawyer by The Legal 500 United States 2011 and a leading lawyer by the IFLR1000 2011.  Mr. Wolitzer was also recognized in Euromoney’s 2010 Expert Guides and Best of the Best series,’ and in Law Business Research’s International Who’s Who of Private Funds Lawyers 2010.

Mr. Wolitzer has served on panels at several industry conferences, including: "How to Negotiate Winning Partnership Terms and Conditions", "Best Practices in PPMs and Roadshows" and "How to Raise Money and on What Terms?" (Private Equity Analyst Conferences); "Buying, Selling and Investing in Private Investment Fund Managers", "Negotiating Fund Terms and Conditions", "Employee Investment Arrangements", "The Push for Standards in the Private Equity Business", "Mergers and Acquisitions of Private Investment Firms" and "Convergence of Private Equity and Hedge Funds" (IBA/ABA Conferences on Private Investment Funds); "Private Equity Funds: Investment Constraints and Key Issues to Watch Out For" (City Bar Conference on Leveraged Buyouts and Other Private Equity Investments); "How to Effectively Manage Multiple Funds", "Current Issues Roundtable" and "Private Equity Funds: Partnering and Strategic Alliances" (IIR Conferences on Private Equity Fund Formation); and "The Regulation of Private Funds and Their Advisers" (Private Equty CFO Roundtable).

Mr. Wolitzer has been a partner at Simpson Thacher since 1998. He received his A.B., magna cum laude, from Duke University in 1986, where he was elected a member of Phi Beta Kappa. Mr. Wolitzer received his J.D. from The Columbia University School of Law in 1989, where he was a James Kent Scholar (1987-1988) and a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar (1986-1987, 1988-1989).

Honors/Associations

•	New York State Bar Association
•	Private Investment Fund Forum, Executive Committee and former Chairman
•	PLC Cross-border Private Equity Handbook, Editorial Board
•	Association of the Bar of the City of New York, Member, Committee on Private Investment Funds
•	American Bar Association
•	International Bar Association, Member, Committee on Private Investment Funds

Publications

•	Regulations Proposed to Implement the Volcker Rule
•	Reflections on Dodd-Frank: A Look Back and a Look Forward
•	Getting The Deal Through – Private Equity 2011
•	The Final SEC Rule on Political Contributions by Investment Advisers
•	Getting The Deal Through – Private Equity 2010
•	Getting The Deal Through - Private Equity 2009
•	New Jersey Court Protects Private Equity Funds’ Confidential Agreements With State From Disclosure
•	"Fund Formation - United States" in Getting the Deal Through - Private Equity 2005. London: Law Business Research Limited, 2005
•	SEC Proposes Rule Requiring Hedge Fund Advisers to Register Under Investment Advisers Act
•	SEC Approves New Rule 2790 (Restrictions on the Purchase and Sale of IPOs of Equity Securities); Replaces Free-Riding and Withholding Interpretation
•	Anti-Money Laundering Compliance and Private Investment Funds
•	SEC Modifies Rule 205-3 Requirements for Performance Fees
•	Staff Grants No-Action Relief Finding That a Strategic Alliance Will Not Constitute a Change of Control of an Adviser for Purposes of the Investment Company Act of 1940

Speaking Engagements

•	Michael Wolitzer Speaks at Private Equity CFO Roundtable October 21, 2010
•	Michael Wolitzer Speaks at IBA/ABA Conference in London March 9, 2010

Admissions

•	New York 1990

Education

•	Columbia Law School, 1989 J.D. James Kent Scholar, 1987-1988; Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar, 1986-1987, 1988-1989
•	Duke University, 1986 A.B. magna cum laude; Phi Beta Kappa