Key Takeaways
- • K&L Gates hired Edward Baer as a partner in its San Francisco Asset Management and Investment Funds practice, recruiting him from Ropes & Gray to bolster its ETF and digital assets capabilities.
- • Baer brings deep expertise managing $800 billion in ETF assets as former chief legal officer of the largest U.S. ETF platform, where he oversaw compliance and legal matters for more than 300 ETFs.
- • His practice encompasses the full fund lifecycle—product structuring, compliance, board governance, ETF creation/redemption mechanics, and digital asset regulatory strategy, including cryptocurrency fund structures and token investments.
- • This hire represents K&L Gates' continued expansion of its Asset Management and Investment Funds practice, which now employs more than 150 lawyers globally and added five partners over the past year across major financial centers.
- • Baer's prior experience includes managing director and senior counsel roles at a major global asset manager, positioning him to advise on exemptive relief, exchange listings, and innovative ETF structures for institutional clients.
Summary
K&L Gates announced the addition of Edward Baer as a partner in its Asset Management and Investment Funds practice in San Francisco, strengthening the firm's capabilities in ETF regulation and digital assets. Baer joins from Ropes & Gray and brings extensive experience advising exchange-traded funds, investment companies, and asset managers on regulatory, governance, compliance, operational, and capital markets matters.
Baer's background includes substantial tenure at major financial institutions, most notably serving as chief legal officer of the largest U.S. ETF platform, where he oversaw legal and compliance operations for more than 300 ETFs representing approximately $800 billion in assets under management. In that capacity, he gained deep expertise in ETF registration, exemptive relief applications, exchange listing and trading compliance, and the development of novel ETF structures and strategies. He also held a managing director and senior counsel position at a major global asset manager earlier in his career.
His practice at K&L Gates will cover the complete lifecycle of fund development and operations, including product structuring, compliance framework design, board governance matters, ETF trading mechanics, and creation and redemption processes. A notable dimension of his practice is digital assets and cryptocurrency-related advisory work, encompassing fund structures, regulatory strategy, token investments, and emerging market products—a growing practice area for institutional asset managers.
The hire reflects K&L Gates' deliberate expansion of its Asset Management and Investment Funds practice. Over the past year, the firm added four additional partners: Thoreau Bartmann in Washington, D.C.; Huberta Chow in Hong Kong; Marianna Tothova in London; and Robert Leonard in New York. The practice group now operates with more than 150 lawyers across Asia, Australia, Europe, the Middle East, and North America, positioning the firm to serve institutional clients across major regulatory jurisdictions and financial markets.
Baer's background includes substantial tenure at major financial institutions, most notably serving as chief legal officer of the largest U.S. ETF platform, where he oversaw legal and compliance operations for more than 300 ETFs representing approximately $800 billion in assets under management. In that capacity, he gained deep expertise in ETF registration, exemptive relief applications, exchange listing and trading compliance, and the development of novel ETF structures and strategies. He also held a managing director and senior counsel position at a major global asset manager earlier in his career.
His practice at K&L Gates will cover the complete lifecycle of fund development and operations, including product structuring, compliance framework design, board governance matters, ETF trading mechanics, and creation and redemption processes. A notable dimension of his practice is digital assets and cryptocurrency-related advisory work, encompassing fund structures, regulatory strategy, token investments, and emerging market products—a growing practice area for institutional asset managers.
The hire reflects K&L Gates' deliberate expansion of its Asset Management and Investment Funds practice. Over the past year, the firm added four additional partners: Thoreau Bartmann in Washington, D.C.; Huberta Chow in Hong Kong; Marianna Tothova in London; and Robert Leonard in New York. The practice group now operates with more than 150 lawyers across Asia, Australia, Europe, the Middle East, and North America, positioning the firm to serve institutional clients across major regulatory jurisdictions and financial markets.
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