IVCA Feature: New Member Profile of Sheppard Law Firm

Throughout 2026, new member participants in the Illinois Venture Capital Association (IVCA) will keep it expanding. These new members also will give the current membership new opportunities for networking … in addition to optimizing support and partnerships … which leads to guidance and new ideas for Venture Capital, Private Equity and the support industries.

The latest new member is the global law firm Sheppard (recently rebranded from Sheppard Mullin), “a full-service law firm with more than 1,200 lawyers dedicated to helping clients at every stage of the business cycle,” including Private Equity.

The following is a Q&A profile with Sheppard, which explores the firm’s background and their expectations for interacting with the IVCA.

New Member: Sheppard
Representatives: Eileen Hirsch, Business Development and Marketing Manager

IVCA: What is a brief history of and background of Sheppard?

Sheppard: Sheppard is a full-service, Am Law 50 law firm with an international platform and a long-standing focus on serving innovative companies, investors, and financial sponsors. Over decades, the firm has built multidisciplinary strength across corporate, tax, employment, executive compensation, IP, real estate, finance, and complex litigation; capabilities that matter across the full lifecycle of Private Equity and venture-backed businesses.

We advise clients from formation and early growth through financings, acquisitions, strategic partnerships, and exits, and we support fund sponsors across structuring, governance, portfolio operations, and regulatory matters. Our approach is practical and business-minded … we aim to be responsive, solutions-oriented partners who help clients execute transactions efficiently while managing risk.

IVCA: Why did the firm decide to join the Illinois Venture Capital Association?

Sheppard: We joined IVCA because it is the leading voice and convening organization for Illinois’ Venture Capital and Private Equity community. The Midwest continues to produce high-quality companies and durable investment opportunities, and we see IVCA as an important forum for connecting sponsors, founders, and service providers who are building those businesses. Membership reflects our commitment to the region and to being an active participant, not just a legal resource, in the ecosystem.

IVCA: As a large and multiple disciplined firm, what advantages does that give your Private Equity (PE) practice?

Sheppard: Private Equity work is rarely confined to one discipline. Diligence findings often implicate tax, employment, benefits, IP, real estate, privacy/cyber, and regulatory issues, and those issues can affect both pricing and structure. Our multidisciplinary firm can address those work streams in parallel and help keep the deal process efficient and consistent.

The advantage is also post-close, as portfolio companies frequently face operational and compliance questions where responsive, coordinated legal support can protect value. Our objective is to be practical and integrated, helping clients move quickly without losing sight of the issues that tend to matter later.

IVCA: What distinguishes the Chicago office as a representative for the midwestern ethos of commerce and PE in the Windy City and beyond?

Sheppard: Chicago is a sophisticated deal market that tends to value pragmatism, discipline, and long-term commercial relationships. Our Chicago team reflects that approach. We focus on clear advice, efficient execution, and a grounded understanding of how sponsors and management teams operate.

We also appreciate the regional footprint. Many Midwest businesses are operationally complex and built for durability, which influences diligence, integration planning, and growth strategy. At the same time, we can draw on our international, firm-wide resources when transactions or portfolio issues require additional depth, including regulatory or cross-market considerations.

IVCA: What are the key issues currently in PE law that the firm keeps up to date in the ever changing landscape of governmental and regulatory hurdles?

Sheppard: We’re focused on the issues that create real friction for sponsor … heightened regulatory scrutiny, which includes SEC expectations; antitrust and competition considerations, especially in add-on and roll-up strategies; tax developments that affect structure and returns; and the employment/benefits and classification issues that can materially impact portfolio companies. We’re also spending more time on privacy/cyber risk allocation and incident readiness, because those can turn into fast-moving value events.

IVCA: In the complex and multi-investor contract based world of PE law, what factors in litigation do you think are most preventable and why

Sheppard: Many disputes arise less from ‘bad facts’ than from ambiguity, misalignment, or incomplete process. The most preventable drivers typically include unclear governance and decision rights … especially around consents, vetoes, and board control); imprecise economic terms like waterfalls, earn outs, indemnities and adjustment mechanics; inadequate disclosure and diligence documentation; inconsistent communications that later become ‘the record’; and weak post-close integration around compliance, financial controls, or employment matters.

These are preventable because they can be addressed with disciplined drafting, careful diligence scoping, clear closing deliverables, and early alignment between sponsors and management teams on expectations and escalation pathways. Investing a bit more upfront in clarity and process often saves significant time and cost later.

IVCA: What does Sheppard hope to achieve in their interaction with the VC/PE community within the IVCA?

Sheppard: We hope to be an engaged, long-term contributor to the IVCA community. That means building relationships with sponsors, founders, and service providers; sharing practical insights on market terms, regulatory developments, and risk management; and supporting IVCA programming that strengthens the Midwest’s innovation and investment ecosystem. We also want to learn by staying close to what investors and portfolio companies are seeing which helps us provide more effective, commercial advice.

For the website of Sheppard, click here.

The Upcoming IVCA Education Session … Fundraising Market Conditions & Best Practices … will take place at he Conference Center at the UBS Tower, One North Wacker Drive in Chicago, on May 28th, 2026, starting at 1:00pm. For details and to register, click here.