Nathaniel Marrs
Partner, Asset Management
Nathaniel Marrs is a partner in Willkie’s Chicago office, where he is a member of the Asset Management Department and Private Funds practice. Nathaniel has over 25 years of fund formation experience and is a recognized leader in the market. His practice is focused on the structuring and formation of private funds and their management companies, particularly in the real estate, infrastructure and energy sectors.
Nathaniel has formed many hundreds of private funds, including closed-end funds, open-end funds, hybrid funds, co-investment funds, funds of one, and semi-discretionary funds, representing sponsors of all types based in the United States and throughout the world, including Canada, the UK, Ireland, Japan, Singapore, China and India. The sponsors he has represented run the gamut of type and size and include some of the largest publicly-traded investment managers, public REITs, and other institutional sponsors, as well as a variety of principal-led firms. He has helped establish a number of emerging managers following spin-offs from their original firms and has represented larger sponsors in connection with the acquisition of new management teams, assisting in each case with the establishment of new management companies, general partners and related vehicles. He has also represented a number of private fund sponsors and investors in connection with a variety of minority and majority GP stakes transactions.
Nathaniel has formed many hundreds of private funds, including closed-end funds, open-end funds, hybrid funds, co-investment funds, funds of one, and semi-discretionary funds, representing sponsors of all types based in the United States and throughout the world, including Canada, the UK, Ireland, Japan, Singapore, China and India. The sponsors he has represented run the gamut of type and size and include some of the largest publicly-traded investment managers, public REITs, and other institutional sponsors, as well as a variety of principal-led firms. He has helped establish a number of emerging managers following spin-offs from their original firms and has represented larger sponsors in connection with the acquisition of new management teams, assisting in each case with the establishment of new management companies, general partners and related vehicles. He has also represented a number of private fund sponsors and investors in connection with a variety of minority and majority GP stakes transactions.
Experience
- Who's Who Legal - Private Funds 2025
- Chambers USA – Band 5, Nationwide Private Equity: Fund Formation (since 2021)
- Chambers Global – Band 5, USA Private Equity: Fund Formation (since 2022)
- The Legal 500 United States – Recommended, Private Equity Funds (including Venture Capital) (since 2020)
- Selected as a Leading Lawyer in Illinois by Leading Lawyers Network
- Advisory Board Member of The University of Chicago Booth School of Business Real Estate Alumni Group.
- Member of PREA.
Publications
- Co-Author, “Private Investment Fund Team Compensation Arrangements: Structuring and Terms (Part 1)” and “Private Investment Fund Team Compensation Arrangements: Continuity Considerations (Part 2),” LexisNexis Practical Guidance Practice Notes, July 13, 2022
- Co-Author, “Launching a Real Estate Fund: Key Strategies, Structures and Terms (Part One)” and “Launching a Real Estate Fund: Important Tax, Regulatory and Securities Law Considerations (Part Two),” Private Equity Law Report, May 29, 2020
Speaking Engagements
- Moderator, “Secondaries, Co-Investments & Funds of Funds” Private Equity Chicago Forum, hosted by Markets Group, July 30, 2024
- Speaker, "Private Equity Waterfall and Carried Interest Provisions," Strafford, November 28, 2023
- Speaker, "Tax Implications of Private Equity Waterfall and Carried Interest Provisions," Lorman, May 2, 2023
- Active speaker on investment fund topics, including at The University of Chicago Booth School of Business, Northwestern Law School and Northwestern Kellogg School of Management
Credentials
Education
University of Chicago Booth School of Business, M.B.A., 2004 University of Michigan, J.D., 1996 University of Michigan, B.A. (summa cum laude), 1993