NEWS
Paul Hastings Continues to Bolster Global Funds and Sports Practices with Premier Boston Partner
July 08, 2026
Paul Hastings LLP today announced that premier funds and sports partner Chidi Oteh has joined in Boston, continuing the strategic expansion of its leading Investment Funds practice.
Joining from Band 1-ranked funds practice at Ropes & Gray, Oteh brings extensive experience representing investment advisers, hedge funds, private equity funds and institutional investors on fund formation, governance, compliance and transactional matters. Oteh also advises asset managers and their principals as well as teams broadly in the sports sector, including a broad range of matters touching professional and collegiate sports.
“We have a stellar list of over 500 asset manager clients across virtually every asset class from credit to PE buyout, infrastructure, real estate and entertainment, sports and media. It is a strategic priority for us to continue the growth of our premier funds platform globally and the addition of premier talent like Chidi adds further depth to our existing elite team,” said firm Chair Frank Lopez. “Chidi fits with our culture driven by excellence and collective ambition and his reputation and skillset will be invaluable to our extensive list of leading asset manager and institutional investor clients as we continue to gain market share at the top of the market.”
Oteh has represented a roster of world class clients including Bain Capital, Benefit Street Partners, Bracebridge Capital, The Golden State Warriors, HarbourVest, the National Association of Basketball Coaches, the Carolina Panthers, the NFL, PIMCO, The Seattle Seahawks, and the Vistria Group and Westwood Global spin out Aralan Capital.
Oteh is the seventh partner this year to join Paul Hastings’ global funds team, reuniting with elite investment funds lawyer and practice co-chair Amanda Persaud, who recently joined from Ropes & Gray. Since the start of 2023, 12 other partners, including laterals from the Band 1-ranked practices at Paul Weiss, Kirkland & Ellis, Simpson Thacher and Ropes & Gray, have joined the firm’s Investment Funds & Private Capital platform, driving practice revenue growth of more than 70% in that span. The group was recognized as Law Firm of the Year – Fund Formation: Europe at the Private Debt Investor Awards and earned the Fund Formation Law Firm Award at The Drawdown Awards, reflecting Paul Hastings’ growing reputation as one of the premier funds practices in the industry.
Oteh was named in the National Black Lawyers’ Top 40 Under 40 list and is included in the 2026 edition of The Best Lawyers in America: Ones to Watch Sports, recognizing the top 5% of attorneys in the United States.
“I am excited to join Paul Hastings at such a pivotal moment in the evolution of its platform at the intersection of private funds and sports,” said Oteh. “My capabilities and clients align seamlessly with the firm’s offerings, and I look forward to reconnecting with Amanda and working with the broader team. Sports-focused private funds and transactions are an emerging strategy, and Paul Hastings is one of the very few law firms well positioned to advise clients in the space.”
Paul Hastings advises the world’s most sophisticated asset managers, sponsors and institutional investors, including Apollo Global Management, Ares Management Corporation, Atlas Holdings, Barings, Blackstone, Brookfield, Carlyle, Charlesbank Capital Partners, EQT Group, Fortress Investment Group, Francisco Partners, Goldman Sachs Asset Management, Great Hill Partners, H.I.G. Capital, ICG, Jefferies, KKR & Co, Morgan Stanley Capital Partners, New York Life, Nuveen, Pantheon, PGIM, Related Funds Management, Sixth Street Partners, STG and TPG.
Consistently ranked among the top practices in global league tables, Paul Hastings’ Investment Funds Group provides elite counsel across fund formation, transactional, tax, and regulatory and compliance matters.
About Paul Hastings
With widely recognized elite teams across 17 core practices, Paul Hastings is a premier law firm with a culture of excellence focused on providing intellectual capital and superior execution globally to the world’s leading investment banks, asset managers and corporations. For more information, visit www.paulhastings.com.