Norm Law has added John Budetti as Partner and Co-Head of Global Private Capital Funds. The appointment expands the AI-native law firm’s capabilities for advising institutional investment managers and private capital sponsors.
Budetti brings approximately 20 years of private funds experience, including time as a senior investment funds partner at Kirkland & Ellis and other AmLaw 20 firms. He has advised on transactions with an aggregate value exceeding $100 billion.
His practice covers primary investment fund formation and fundraising. He also advises sponsors on general partner-led transactions, secondary market solutions, co-investments, GP stakes, seeding arrangements and strategic matters affecting fund management businesses.
GP-led transactions typically allow an investment fund manager to transfer one or more portfolio assets into a new vehicle while providing existing investors with liquidity or the option to continue their exposure. GP stakes transactions involve investors acquiring an ownership interest in an asset management firm.
Budetti also advises clients on the use of artificial intelligence in institutional legal work. Norm Law said his experience aligns with its strategy of combining experienced transactional lawyers with legal AI agents developed by affiliated technology company Norm AI.
Norm AI developed the underlying technology before establishing Norm Law as a full-service legal practice. Lawyers at the firm work with Norm AI engineers to refine agents based on their use in client matters.
The model is designed to have AI agents perform initial legal work while attorneys supervise, review and provide strategic advice. Norm Law prices its services based on outcomes rather than relying exclusively on hourly billing.
Norm Law believes the structure allows clients to receive the benefits of greater automation and efficiency. The firm is targeting sophisticated institutional matters that have traditionally been handled by established global law firms.
Budetti’s appointment follows Norm AI’s $120 million Series C financing at a $1.2 billion valuation. Khosla Ventures led that round.
Before entering private practice, Budetti worked in healthcare policy in Washington, D.C., including a period at the White House. He holds a law degree from Northwestern University’s Pritzker School of Law and an MBA from Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management.
As Co-Head of Global Private Capital Funds, Budetti will help build Norm Law’s fund formation and transactional capabilities. He will work with the firm’s lawyers and technology teams to expand its services for private equity firms, asset managers and other institutional sponsors.
KEY QUOTES:
“The best lawyers in the world are making a choice about the next decade of the profession. They can add AI to a model built for a different era, or they can join a firm built for this one from the ground up. Budetti is a leading-edge example that elite attorneys are making that choice.”
John Nay, Founder and CEO of Norm AI
“Trust and technology, that is the formula for success. I spent my career at firms that define the best of Big Law, and I looked hard at what is being built today.”
“Norm Law stands apart because its world class lawyers integrate technology that was built first to align with the client. The aim is to put tech-forward attorneys in the shoes of our clients to understand and ease their process friction points in conjunction with our top-tier legal services.”
“I’m joining a growing core of accomplished fund and other transactional attorneys executing this together.”
John Budetti, Partner and Co-Head of Global Private Capital Funds at Norm Law
“John is exactly the kind of partner we are building Norm Law around: a leader at the top of private funds law who understands both the practice and the technology.”
“We are building this deliberately, and the caliber of lawyers joining the practice areas where we are choosing to compete for high-end work is an exciting substantiation of our strategy.”
Mike Schmidtberger, Chairman of Norm Law
