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Lara Slachta

Partner

Lara concentrates her practice on domestic and international private investment funds. She represents fund managers in the formation of private funds and investments in portfolio companies, as well as limited partners investing in private funds. Lara also has significant experience advising startup and emerging companies on formation and venture capital financings. She forms and advises social enterprises and charities on a range of issues including the creation of for-profit and non-profit hybrid structures.  Lara provides creative structuring solutions for burgeoning industries such a social and environmental impact investing, cryptocurrencies, and digital securities.

For the past 20 years Lara has been providing pro bono assistance to victims of gender-based violence, primarily from Africa and the Middle East, representing them from their initial asylum applications through US citizenship. Prior to attending law school, she served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Amman Jordan.

Lara concentrates her practice on domestic and international private investment funds. She represents fund managers in the formation of private funds and investments in portfolio companies, as well as limited partners investing in private funds. Lara also has significant experience advising startup and emerging companies on formation and venture capital financings. She forms and advises social enterprises and charities on a range of issues including the creation of for-profit and non-profit hybrid structures.  Lara provides creative structuring solutions for burgeoning industries such a social and environmental impact investing, cryptocurrencies, and digital securities.

For the past 20 years Lara has been providing pro bono assistance to victims of gender-based violence, primarily from Africa and the Middle East, representing them from their initial asylum applications through US citizenship. Prior to attending law school, she served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Amman Jordan.

Background & Experience

Experience

In addition to practicing law, Lara founded and ran an investment bank focused on social impact investing. She currently acts as a principal in an SEC-registered, FINRA-member digital securities broker dealer. She holds the following active FINRA securities licenses: Series 7, 63, 82, 79, and 24. In that capacity she provides regulatory compliance guidance to US investment advisers and broker dealers.

Lara has nearly 20 years of experience as a corporate transactional attorney in elite international firms. Prior to joining Gesmer Updegrove she was a Partner and Chair of the Private Funds group at FisherBroyles, LLP.  Before that, she was Vice President an in-house counsel at Wellington Management Company, a global investment adviser. She also spent eight years at the international firms WilmerHale in Boston and Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP in their New York and London offices.

Education/Training

  • Yale Law School, J.D., 2004
    London School of Economics, M.Sc., 1998
    Providence College, B.A., 1997, summa cum laude

Contact Lara Slachta

Admissions

  • Massachusetts
  • New York