Robert Cleveland

Career path: Received his JD from Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law in New York, where he served as Editor-in-Chief of the Cardozo Law Review. Cleveland has been associated with Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom in Wilmington, Delaware, and with Sullivan & Cromwell in New York. Prior to joining Hamilton Lane, he was a partner at the law firm of Klehr, Harrison, Harvey, Branzburg & Ellers in Philadelphia. He met Hamilton Lane cofounder Les Brun socially before Klehr Harrison signed on the investment advisor as a client. When a prior general counsel took a new role in the firm in 2000, Cleveland was hired to the position.

Different hats: Cleveland faces general partners and Hamilton Lane' s own investors in his role at the firm. ?I work on a lot of agreements with clients as well as forming and maintaining the funds that Hamilton Lane manages,? says Cleveland. ?I'm also the point person for new separate account clients in terms of getting an agreement prepared and signed.? On the investment side, Cleveland oversees two other attorneys who, on a day to day basis, handle the reviews and negotiations with GPs. Hamilton Lane also manages a secondary fund and two co-investment funds, where Cleveland plays a more hands-on role. Although Hamilton Lane's investors sometimes have different requirements and expectations with regard to partnership investing, ?we try to take a collective approach? to negotiations, says Cleveland. ?It's extremely rare for a client to feel its interests are not aligned with other clients.?

Compliance: One of Cleveland's many hats is that of chief compliance officer at Hamilton Lane. ?The regulatory environment has changed quite a bit over the last few years, and as a result I spend a lot more time now than I did before on compliance related matters.? Cleveland oversees one attorney who is dedicated full time to managing compliance issues.

Non-legal eagle: The human resources and information technology professionals of Hamilton Lane also report to Cleveland. ?I do a fair amount on the HR side, not as much on the IT side, because I'm no IT expert.? Cleveland, as corporate secretary, is also responsible for maintaining records from board meetings and the like. He also sits on the compensation committee and even chimes in on space-planning issues – Hamilton Lane has expanded greatly over the past few years.