Paul Downs

Retired Partner, Hogans Lovells

Paul practiced international law for more than four decades, most recently as a partner at Hogan Lovells in New York, where he co-founded the Sovereign Investor Practice and initiated the annual Sovereign Investor Conference.

Paul is co-author of The Hunt for Unicorns: How Sovereign Funds are Reshaping Investment in the Digital Economy (Wiley 2020). He has represented sovereign investors transacting in assets globally, has spoken and published on the topic and guest lectured at Columbia and New York University law schools.

In addition to acting for LPs, sponsors and placement agents, Paul has been active as a lawyer, investor, mentor and board member in startups and growth stage private companies, bringing cross border expertise to international ambitions for US and non-US based companies. Paul has also served on the board of a NYSE-listed company and has represented numerous publicly-traded companies in transactions, particularly cross border M&A.

He served as President of the American Foreign Law Association and is a member of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York, the International Bar Association and the American Bar Association.

He is a current or past director of not-for-profit organizations, including International House, New York, The Council for the United States and Italy, the China US Business Alliance and EST/LA. Paul is fluent in Italian and conversant in Spanish.

Paul is the father of two millennials and lives in Manhattan with his wife, Rebecca, where he is also an amateur boxer.

Paul is a graduate of Princeton University and Harvard Law School.