Joyce Abernethy is the General Counsel to the New York State Common Retirement Fund (CRF), one of the largest pension funds in the country. She oversees the day-to-day work of investment, corporate governance, and securities litigation attorneys and provides advice across the portfolio on investment negotiations and existing investments, as well as on new investment strategies and structures. The CRF’s $267 billion portfolio includes allocations to public equity, fixed income, real estate, private equity, real assets, credit, opportunistic, and absolute return strategies. In addition to serving as CRF’s fiduciary counsel, she also regularly advises on operational, risk, compliance, and regulatory matters.
Prior to her time at CRF, Joyce was the lead attorney advising the private equity and real estate groups in the New York City’s Comptroller’s Office where, among other things, she closed on over 100 private equity and real estate fund transactions representing nearly $10 billion in committed capital.
Joyce started her career as an M&A attorney in the New York City Office of Skadden Arps. She received her J.D. from the University of Virginia Law School and her B.A. from Barnard College.
