Shirin Shahidi

Shirin is a Managing Associate and US-qualified lawyer with a particular focus on advising founders, entrepreneurs and companies seeking to enter and scale in the US market.

Her transactional practice spans the full company lifecycle: venture capital and growth financings, cross-border M&A, US initial public offerings and SPAC transactions, fund formation and investment structures, and corporate restructurings. She regularly guides clients through structuring US holding companies and Delaware subsidiaries, aligning governance and capital structures to meet the expectations of US investors. Shirin also advises on raising capital from US and international investors and accessing the US capital markets, including ongoing SEC reporting and public company governance obligations.

On the investor side, she works with venture capital, private equity, private credit and hedge fund sponsors on fund formation, joint ventures, financings and portfolio-level transactions, bringing a clear, practical understanding of how investors structure and de-risk their investments for long-term success.

Key Experience

Select examples of prior firm experience include:  

• Advising technology, biotech and pharmaceutical companies on funding rounds from Series Seed to Series A, including a $10 million Series A at a $50 million valuation
• Advising non-US companies seeking entry into the US market, including a German pharmaceutical company on the formation of its Delaware subsidiary and $15 million Series A financing, and a UK-founded mental-health platform on its Delaware flip, US holding company structure and Series Seed-3 financing
• Advising a Swedish-listed pharmaceutical company on all matters related to the formation of its US subsidiary and acquisition of its US distributor
• Advising investors and fund sponsors, including a leading venture capital firm on a series financing of an AI platform, and on the formation of an AI-focused venture capital fund and a $250 million climate investment fund
• Advising a technology company on its $440 million sale to an international stock exchange group
• Advising a Hong Kong-based electric vehicle manufacturer on its $400 million deSPAC
• Advising a US public company on corporate governance, securities compliance and transactional matters including its $440 million acquisition of an oilfield services business and its subsequent $280 million initial public offering
• Advising a special purpose acquisition company on its initial public offering and subsequent acquisitions of two US financial services businesses with a combined enterprise value of $643 million
• Acting as fund counsel to a private equity and special situations manager (approx. $592 million AUM) on fund formation, sponsor matters and the reorganization of a portfolio company
• Advising a London-based private equity firm (approx. €3 billion AUM) on the approximately €800 million sale of its group's European operations to funds managed by a global alternative asset manager

Career History

Managing Associate, Mishcon de Reya LLP
Associate, Brown Rudnick LLP
New York University School of Law, JD (Juris Doctor)
Trinity College, University of Toronto, Bachelor of Arts