Clifford Chance LLP

Capital Markets

Jay L. Bernstein is Chairman of the Firm’s US Corporate Finance Group. He represents, in both domestic and international markets, sponsors, investors, investment banks, specialty finance companies, REITs and other real estate, finance and hotel companies in their capital raising and merger and acquisition activities. He is also the Co-Head of the Americas Region's Financial Institutions Group, which assists a range of financial institutions, including insurance companies, specialty finance companies, asset management firms, business development companies, banks and investment banks, in their capital raising and merger and acquisition transactions. Jay's clients include leading specialty finance companies, REITs, investment banking firms, private equity and other institutional investors providing equity and debt capital to real estate, finance and hotel companies. He also advises institutional clients in the formation of private equity funds dedicated to real estate and hotel investments and represents several of these private equity funds in their investment activities. Since 1997, Jay has participated in more than US$25 billion of capital raising and mergers and acquisitions transactions involving real estate, finance and hotel companies primarily in but also outside of the US. These transactions include a variety of IPO transactions, public and private offerings of equity and debt securities, strategic investments and mergers and acquisitions. Jay also represents issuers and underwriters in public and private and equity and debt offerings in a variety of other industries, including industrial manufacturing.

Boston University School of Law (JD, cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa), 1984; Lake Forest College (BA, with highest honors), 1981