Dechert established an office in San Francisco in 2003 to advise corporations and financial institutions on their most sophisticated, high-stakes corporate, financial and litigation matters.

Our San Francisco lawyers provide clients with practical, results-based solutions in the fields of finance and real estate, financial services, litigation and antitrust.

  • With lawyers in key global business and legal centers, Dechert’s antitrust/competition team is well-positioned to service clients wherever issues arise. We offer practical solutions and bring a strategic focus to high-stakes litigation, securing timely government agency review of complex business combinations, defending against sensitive criminal investigations and resolving government antitrust investigations.

    Our areas of deep specialism make us a repository for the industry experience that supports our delivery of sound commercial advice to the world’s leading companies.

  • Dechert’s trial lawyers have a strong track record defending the most significant, multiple class actions — and the claims by state and federal agencies and third-party suits that frequently follow.

    We are adept at minimizing exposure to class action claims before they arise. Clients rely on us to identify risk factors and develop defensive steps in order to mitigate the threat of costly litigation.

    Our experience covers every phase of class action practice, from defeating certification and achieving de-certification on appeal to securing defense jury verdicts in complex class action trials.

  • Widely recognized as a ‘go-to’ team, our commercial litigators in San Francisco fight the biggest, toughest litigation matters, including class actions and multi-district cases. Companies across a broad range of industries see the benefits when seeking successful outcomes to disputes related to consumer fraud, false advertising, insurance and banking litigation, corporate governance, commercial agreements and mergers and acquisitions.

    Our litigators are renowned for devising strategy, managing virtual law firms, facilitating pre-trial resolutions, defeating class certification, managing e-discovery, obtaining summary judgments or voluntary dismissal of claims, negotiating favorable settlements — and prevailing at trial.

    Moreover, working with Dechert lawyers throughout the United States, Europe and Asia, we deliver multi-jurisdictional expertise to guide clients through disputes wherever they arise.

  • Dechert provides wide-ranging services for complex financings and deal structuring. With a focus on sophisticated and efficient deal structuring and execution, we advise on corporate finance, leveraged finance, real estate finance, structured finance and securitization matters. Our global finance practice gives clients access to a responsive interdisciplinary, multi-jurisdictional team. Working together, we immediately react to the changing international landscape and increasing complexity facing finance transactions.

  • Dechert lawyers are recognized as innovators and thought leaders in the legal and regulatory matters that affect investment advisers and fund managers in the U.S. and abroad. Our firm represents the full spectrum of advisory firms, from small boutiques and family businesses to some of the world’s largest financial institutions. Dechert also has one of the largest investment fund practices in the world, with a record of innovation stretching back 40 years. We are the only firm with lawyers in all of the EU’s leading investment fund jurisdictions as well as numerous others throughout the U.S., Europe, Asia and the Middle East.

    Our lawyers advise on fund formation across the full range of asset classes, management company issues, regulatory and compliance matters, fund and management company transactional matters, commodities and derivatives law, and financial institutions regulation.

  • Dechert’s litigation and enforcement team possesses the multi-jurisdictional capabilities, experience, skills and judgment to assist clients through the most complex regulatory and litigation disputes — anywhere in the world.

    Our fund litigators are involved in all strategic legal issues that currently affect the industry. We represent many of the leading fund complexes and boards, hedge funds and banking institutions, in addition to working closely with industry organizations.

  • Dechert delivers exceptional and comprehensive services, skills and advice to the FinTech industry around the globe. We have been serving clients in this industry sector for decades, which has given us a broad understanding of the competitive, technological and regulatory challenges facing companies in this rapidly-evolving business arena.

    Our multidisciplinary FinTech Team comprises lawyers throughout our offices, including San Francisco, who integrate their knowledge and experience to help clients innovate technologically, pursue market opportunities, and navigate interwoven regulatory schemes across geographies, jurisdictions and time zones. A diverse group of clients rely on our FinTech solutions, including banks, broker-dealers, exchanges, investment managers and funds, and private equity and venture capital investors. We work extensively with alternative trading systems, high frequency and algorithmic trading firms, robo advisers, data companies and other financial services innovators. 

  • Dechert represents buyers, sellers and advisers in sophisticated, complex mergers and acquisitions around the globe. Our deal portfolio includes public and private, negotiated and hostile and multi-million and multi-billion dollar transactions across scores of industries, including financial services, life sciences, healthcare, technology, industrial, consumer, retail, agribusiness, food and beverage, and travel and hospitality.

  • Dechert is among the most active law firms in the private equity industry. Our private equity practice began more than 35 years ago - before it was even called "private equity" - when we advised on some of the first fund formations and buyout transactions.

    With approximately 300 private equity and private investment clients, we are involved in a broad cross- section of transactions and can see and spot deal issues from multiple sides of the table.

  • Dechert advises private fund sponsors on all aspects of the fundraising lifecycle. Our lawyers have extensive experience of raising funds in all major fund domiciles and all private asset classes, including:

    • Fund formation, including global advice on investor preferences, tax efficiency, regulatory compliance and market terms
    • Managed accounts, co-investments and other investment programmes
    • Secondaries, liquidity solutions and fund restructurings
    • Global regulatory advice
    • Tax efficient investment structuring
    • Seeding/cornerstone arrangements and joint ventures
    • Private fund manager M&A
    • Carried interest, management equity arrangements and other incentive structuring
  • We have a long track record of helping clients successfully navigate and resolve their toughest product liability and consumer class action matters. Our award-winning litigators consistently earn the highest accolades as proven mass tort case defense specialists.

    We have successfully defended thousands of individual cases and consumer class actions in all 50 states and in federal courts, including in many cases brought by state attorneys general. We have expertise addressing personal injury, toxic exposure, consumer fraud, punitive damages, and medical monitoring class claims as well as cases brought by attorneys general and local governments asserting public nuisance, RICO, and state law conspiracy claims. We also advise clients on federal and state regulatory matters, including warnings and recall issues, and help our clients mitigate litigation risks.

  • Extensive litigation experience and a deep understanding of the securities laws inform Dechert’s creative, effective defense of clients in the securities industries. Our experienced lawyers, many of whom have held senior positions at the SEC, DOJ and other agencies, bring an invaluable credibility in having been key government decision makers.

    We represent public and private corporations, private equity funds, officers and directors, special committees and professional service firms in securities litigation, securities enforcement matters, corporate governance, fiduciary, mergers and acquisitions, and banking and financial institution litigation.

    Our team’s presence in the main U.S. financial hubs and in key global jurisdictions has made Dechert a go-to firm for high-profile clients in some of the most important securities litigation and regulatory enforcement matters, coast-to-coast and around the world.

  • Dechert’s global white collar practice defends clients facing government investigations. We frequently represent clients in criminal cases brought by the DOJ and defend clients in investigation and enforcement proceedings initiated by diverse federal agencies, as well as by state attorneys general, district attorneys and other government and regulatory bodies.

    Dechert’s white collar defense team has particular expertise in handling simultaneous inquiries by multiple federal and state government agencies and in defending the companion civil cases that frequently follow.

    In addition, we frequently direct the most complex and challenging internal investigations. In pursuing investigations to a successful conclusion, we help our clients resolve critical concerns such as whether to disclose findings, waive privileges or take remedial measures.

Office

45 Fremont Street, 26th Floor, San Francisco, CA, United States of America 94105