About Brian Clayton
Brian Clayton Wheeler is an attorney who combines an Ivy League law degree with experience in both private practice and in-house roles. He earned a B.A. from the University of Chicago in 1997 and a J.D. from New York University School of Law in 2002. His academic background provided a foundation for work that bridges transactional and investment-related questions.
After law school, Wheeler built a career that moved between law firm practice and corporate legal departments. He has served as Special Counsel at Cooley Godward Kronish LLP, where he advised on matters that arose from corporate clients and investors. He has also worked in-house, including at SoftBank Investment Advisers, gaining exposure to the operational and regulatory concerns of investment-adviser businesses.
Wheeler is admitted to practice in both California and New York. Those dual admissions have allowed him to handle matters that cross state lines and involve multiple regulatory regimes. Colleagues describe him as pragmatic in approach and attentive to the details that matter to corporate counsel and outside counsel alike.
Across his roles, Wheeler has worked on transactions and regulatory matters connected to investment advisers and corporate entities. He has experience drafting and negotiating agreements, counseling on compliance issues, and coordinating between internal business teams and outside counsel. His time in-house gave him a view of client priorities; his firm work exposed him to the demands of complex deals and litigation support.
Wheeler has maintained professional affiliations for many years. The record shows ongoing memberships that began in 2003 and 2014 and continue through the present. Those memberships have kept him engaged with peers and current developments in areas relevant to corporate and investment-adviser practice.
He remains based between corporate and advisory settings. As Special Counsel at Cooley Godward Kronish LLP, he continues to represent clients on corporate and investment-adviser matters and handles transactional and compliance work for institutions and funds.
