Akshay Belani (NY) brings experience in capital markets and derivatives transactions; Patrick Menasco (D.C.) focuses on ERISA and governmental plan investments

Starting the second half of the year with fresh growth in strategic areas of focus, Stroock has added two partners in New York and Washington, D.C. Joining in New York is capital markets and derivatives partner Akshay Belani and in Washington, D.C., ERISA and governmental plan investments partner Patrick Menasco. Joining Stroock with Mr. Menasco is associate Bibek Pandey.

The incoming lawyers continue a string of recent lateral arrivals to Stroock, including new lawyers in financial restructuring, regulatory support, corporate, private client services and insurance.

Mr. Belani, previously a partner at Morgan Lewis, joins Stroock’s Commodities/Derivatives and Energy Group. He advises financial institutions on derivatives, futures and commodities trading, and on related structured products and capital markets transactions. His clients include hedge funds, institutional investors and broker-dealers.

Mr. Belani also focuses on regulatory and compliance issues related to Dodd-Frank derivatives regulation including rules affecting both buy- and sell-side market participants. He is actively involved in the development of standardized documentation in the over-the-counter derivatives markets and is a frequent commentator on the global derivatives market and U.S. regulations governing derivatives transactions. Mr. Belani graduated from St. John’s University School of Law in 2004 and earned his undergraduate degree from Tufts University in 1998.

Mr. Menasco, formerly a partner at Steptoe, helps domestic and foreign financial institutions navigate regulatory, compliance, and contractual matters, capital market transactions, government investigations and disputes involving highly-regulated corporate and public benefit plan assets. He is a highly regarded ERISA professional with public sector experience and familiarity with governmental plan investment regulation in virtually every state. His clients include major financial institutions, including banks, broker-dealers, asset managers, and fund service providers.

Mr. Menasco is also a frequent lecturer on employee benefit investment issues at the Practicing Law Institute in New York and has served as an adjunct professor at the George Washington University Law School for ten years. He clerked for the Honorable Gerrilyn G. Brill, US District Court, Northern District of Georgia after earning his law degree, magna cum laude and Order of the Coif, in 1994 from Tulane University Law School, where he was associate editor of the Tulane Law Review. Mr. Menasco graduated from Tulane University in 1991.

Stroock co-managing partner Jeff Keitelman said, “We enjoyed a strong first half in 2018 and it is great to start the second half with the continued addition of lawyers in some of our most important service areas. Akshay Belani and Patrick Menasco are highly skilled, mid-career lawyers with substantial matters and longstanding client relationships – we expect them to quickly become impact partners in fortifying our capital markets, derivatives and ERISA platforms. Their arrival underscores our commitment to continue attracting top-flight laterals who fit with our core business units.”

Stroock provides strategic transactional, regulatory and litigation advice to advance the business objectives of leading financial institutions, multinational corporations and entrepreneurial businesses in the U.S. and globally. With a rich history dating back 140 years, the firm has offices in New York, Los Angeles, Miami and Washington, D.C. For more, visit www.stroock.com.