Overview
Wes Peterson is an authority on the use of Delaware and New York trusts in investment management and structured finance transactions.
Wes’s diverse practice also includes representing banks and trust companies in a wide variety of commercial transactions. In the area of investment management, Wes’s experience includes providing advice to open- and closed-end investment companies in connection with entity formation and dissolution, capital raising transactions (including rights offerings), credit facilities, fiduciary duty issues, fund reorganizations and acquisitions, defensive planning, proxy contests, and shareholder meetings. He also works extensively with exchange traded funds, business development companies, and private investment funds, and has written a number of articles that have appeared in The Investment Lawyer.
In the structured finance area, Wes is deeply experienced in providing advice on the organization, structuring, and operation of grantor trusts, owner trusts, master trusts, series trusts, titling trusts, and liquidating trusts in connection with their use in marketplace lending and other asset-backed transactions (including credit cards, residential and commercial mortgages, auto loans and leases, student loans, solar loans, insurance policies, mortgage servicing rights, litigation settlements, and intellectual property), tender option bonds, covered bonds, hybrid capital securities, equipment leases, and collateralized debt and loan obligations.
Wes also counsels banks and trust companies in connection with their trust and agency services in a wide variety of domestic and cross-border commercial transactions, including representing banks and trust companies as custodians, verification agents, master servicers, depositaries, exchange agents, administrative agents, and collateral agents, and as owner, indenture, and liquidating trustees.
Wes also provides advice in the establishment of investment funds that hold digital currencies such as Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, Litecoin, and similar digital currencies.
Wes serves on the Delaware State Bar Association’s Statutory Trust Committee, which is responsible for drafting amendments to the Delaware Statutory Trust Act. He was an adjunct professor at George Mason University School of Law.
PRACTICES
- Boston University School of Law, J.D., magna cum laude, 1994
- University of Delaware, B.A., with distinction, 1990
Education
Publications
Like Herding Cats: An Analysis of Common State-Law Shareholder Meeting Questions
The Investment Lawyer | June 2020
For many registered investment companies under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (1940 Act) (which we will refer to generally as funds), persuading retail investors to vote their shares at shareholder meetings can be a challenge. This challenge can be compounded by the somewhat arcane rules relating to shareholder meeting mechanics. This article addresses some common…
The Delaware Rapid Arbitration Act: Considerations for Commercial Real Estate Finance
The Abstract | Fall 2017
On April 2, 2015, Delaware Governor Jack Markell signed into law the Delaware Rapid Arbitration Act (“Act”).This Act allows for alternative dispute resolution consistent with arbitration’s origins as a rapid and efficient means of resolving disputes. The Act responds to growing complaints by Delaware’s companies about the incrustation of costs and delays onto non-judicial dispute resolution.…
The Investment Lawyer | August 2012
This article will discuss recent Delaware case law addressing derivative actions involving registered investment companies organized as Delaware statutory trusts.
Protecting the Protectors: Indemnification of Trustees of Delaware Statutory Trusts
The Investment Lawyer | July 2011
The board members of registered investment companies play a critical role in protecting the interests of shareholders. In order to encourage the diligent discharge of their duties, the board members of registered investment companies in turn need to be protected. Indemnification and advancement, along with insurance, are key components of the protections available to board members with respect to the discharge of their duties.
The Investment Lawyer | November 2010
In light of recent public discussion with respect to the use of defensive measures by closed-end funds to counteract takeover attempts, this article addresses some of the more common defensive measures that have been adopted by closed-end funds organized as Delaware statutory trusts and the permissibility of such measures under Delaware law.
Delaware Series Trusts – Separate but Not Equal
The Investment Lawyer | February 2009
This article discusses the history of the use of trusts organized in series under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the 1940 Act); the series provisions of the Delaware Statutory Trust Act (the DSTA); the common issues and questions that arise as a result of the use of series; and the future of the series concept…
The Investment Lawyer | January 2008
This article highlights the provisions of the Delaware statutory trust likely to be of most interest to investment companies and their advisers (particularly those provisions designed specifically to address the needs of investment companies) as well as provides some practical considerations for the drafting of governing instruments, including with respect to those areas that can prove…
Leadership
- Delaware State Bar Association, Statutory Trust Committee
Recognition
- The Best Lawyers in America, since 2022; Wilmington, DE Securitization and Structured Finance Law Lawyer of the Year, 2025
- Delaware Today Top Lawyer, 2022
Bar Admissions
- Delaware, 2005
- New York, 1995
