Management Team
Meet our team of compliance experts and professionals who are dedicated to your business
Principals
Gregory L. Florio is a founding partner of Florio Leahy LLP and a founding member of Orical LLC with over 21 years of legal and regulatory experience. Mr. Florio is an expert in investment adviser and broker/dealer compliance programs, regulatory examinations and investigations, and has extensive registration and fund formation experience with state, federal, and various international jurisdictions. Mr. Florio assists the firm’s clients on establishing compliance manuals and code of ethics, supervisory procedures and operational controls and provides independent operations reviews, compliance audits and testing. Mr. Florio also leads the firm’s technical solutions efforts designed to augment a client’s compliance and conflicts monitoring capabilities.
Prior to establishing Florio Leahy LLP in 2010, Mr. Florio was a senior counsel and the chief compliance officer of a multi-billion global fund manager, Marathon Asset Management, LP. Mr. Florio was responsible for all aspects of the firm’s global compliance program including transforming its program to a state-of-the-art, electronic based system, successfully handled all regulatory audits, inquiries, and filings, and assisted in various legal and operational matters affecting the firm’s day-to-day operations.
Prior to Marathon, Mr. Florio served as a regulatory specialist in the Investment Management division of Seward & Kissel LLP and was an attorney in the Investment Funds Group of Sidley Austin LLP, where he represented various leading financial institutions, assisted in hundreds of investment adviser and broker-dealer registrations, and advised private funds on all aspects of compliance, legal, regulatory, formation and operational matters. Mr. Florio began his career as an Assistant District Attorney for the County of the Bronx, NY.
Mr. Florio graduated with honors from Fordham University School of Law in 1995 and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Consumer Economics from Cornell University. Mr. Florio is a member of the New York State Bar Association.
James Leahy is a partner of Florio Leahy LLP and a member of Orical LLC with 28 years of finance, operations, and legal experience. Prior to joining these firms in 2013, Mr. Leahy served as chief financial officer of Marathon Asset Management, LP where he managed a team of approximately thirty professionals responsible for the firm’s tax, accounting and operations functions across multiple business lines. Mr. Leahy was responsible for, among other things, monitoring the firm’s cash and PnL as well as the firm’s financing lines and relations with external service providers such as: prime brokers, accountants and fund administrators. Mr. Leahy met regularly with investors as part of their due diligence process. He also met with the Board of Directors and served on several committees, including Conflicts, Trade Allocation, Expense Allocation and Best Execution.
Prior to Marathon, Mr. Leahy was a vice president, senior credit officer and team leader at Moody’s Investors Service and was also a member of the CDO team. Mr. Leahy helped found the Hedge Fund Operations Quality business where his group was responsible for assigning Operational Quality Ratings to hedge funds.
Prior to Moody’s, Mr. Leahy was a lawyer at Skadden Arps and Milbank Tweed in New York City. His legal practice involved corporate, securities and financing transactions. He also has extensive experience with structured finance transactions including CLOs.
Prior to practicing law, Mr. Leahy was a surface warfare officer in the United States Navy. He served aboard three warships and taught at the Navy’s Gas Turbine Engineering School in Newport, Rhode Island.
Mr. Leahy holds an honors law degree from Boston College Law School and an undergraduate degree in English from Dartmouth College. Mr. Leahy is a member of the Bar in New York and Massachusetts.
Vanessa Sasson is a partner of Florio Leahy LLP and a principal of Orical LLC. Her practice focuses on advising alternative asset managers on a broad range of legal and regulatory matters relating to their investment management businesses, including: advertising structuring, registration and governance; private fund formation and fundraising; SEC and CFTC examinations and investigations; various transactional matters; and Investment Advisers Act compliance programs and their practical effect on day-to-day operations. She has experience representing both emerging and established managers, each implementing a variety of investment strategies and structures, including hedge funds, private equity funds, private credit funds, venture capital funds, funds of funds, and real estate funds. Vanessa also works with institutional investors and family offices to conduct due diligence on and negotiate private fund investment opportunities.
Vanessa has been instrumental in the success of our firm’s diverse client base, with her unwavering dedication since she joined us in 2014. She fosters long-lasting and meaningful relationships with clients, distinguishing herself through exceptional legal skills, outstanding client service and efficient problem-solving.
Vanessa received her J.D. from the Fordham University School of Law in 2014 and her B.A., magna cum laude, from the University of Miami in 2011. She is admitted to practice law in New York.