Ropes & Gray Names 20 New Partners in Eight Offices

NEW YORK November 3, 2014 – Ropes & Gray proudly announces that 20 attorneys have been named partners of the firm, effective November 1. In addition, the firm named two attorneys as counsel.

Based in eight of the firm’s offices, including London, Hong Kong and Shanghai, the new partners reflect the development of Ropes & Gray’s global initiatives in the world’s major centers of business, finance, technology and government. Lawyers outside the United States make up more than one-third of the new partners as the firm continues to align its capabilities with client business imperatives.

The group also represents Ropes & Gray’s leading practices, emphasizing the diverse range of services the firm’s lawyers offer clients. Practices and areas of focus with new partners include business & securities litigation, government enforcement, intellectual property, M&A, private equity, finance, asset management, life sciences, TMT, real estate, executive compensation & employee benefits, and the private client group.

“Each of these attorneys represents the very best of Ropes & Gray, and we are pleased to have them join our partnership,” said Brad Malt, chairman of the firm. “They are incredibly dedicated to providing the highest level of service to our clients around the world.”

Meet Ropes & Gray’s new partners:

Alexandra Alperovich (New York) represents clients on executive compensation, equity-based, deferred compensation, and other compensatory arrangements. She also advises clients on compensation and benefits-related issues arising in the context of mergers and acquisitions and other corporate transactions, and she has extensive experience with respect to qualified and nonqualified benefits plans, ERISA fiduciary matters, and other benefits matters.

Nick Berg (Chicago) focuses his practice on SEC and other government enforcement matters, internal investigations, compliance issues, and complex litigation, including securities actions and corporate governance and transaction disputes. He has substantial experience advising clients in a broad array of industries on all aspects of the securities and anti-corruption laws, including the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, as well as insider trading and financial statement and disclosure issues.

Seth Harrington (Boston) focuses his practice on complex business litigation, including the wide array of legal issues arising out of data security breaches. In particular, he has extensive experience representing clients in connection with claims by credit card brands and financial institutions relating to payment card-related data breaches.

Thomas Holden (San Francisco) represents public companies, private equity funds, investment banks and universities in public offerings, private financings and business combinations. In addition, he counsels public company and hedge fund clients on a wide range of securities law compliance and governance issues.

Cori Lable (Hong Kong) focuses her practice on anti-corruption and white collar matters in Asia. She represents clients in the pharmaceutical, medical device and financial services industries in defense of government investigations, enforcement actions and related complex civil litigation. She has extensive experience advising multinational organizations in matters relating to potential violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, and also frequently performs anti-corruption risk assessments for corporate acquisitions and private equity investments in China and Southeast Asia.

Debra Lussier (Boston) advises clients on the formation, marketing and operation of private equity funds, including buyout funds, mezzanine funds and funds of funds. She represents private fund sponsors in a wide range of corporate matters including structuring, operations and governance of their funds and management companies, succession planning, and carried interest arrangements. In addition, Ms. Lussier has extensive experience representing institutional and other investors in connection with investing in private investment funds.

Geoffrey Mason (Boston) advises clients on all aspects of estate planning, including sophisticated gift and estate tax planning and trust administration, and serves as trustee of numerous family trusts. He also advises trust companies and major charitable organizations on charitable giving and charitable trust administration.

Daniel McCaughey (Boston) focuses his practice on securities litigation and enforcement matters and other complex commercial disputes. He regularly represents private equity firms, hedge funds, financial services firms, public companies, and boards of directors in high-profile litigation matters, regulatory and internal investigations, and corporate governance and transactional disputes.

John Newton (London) focuses his practice on acting for private equity investors. He has worked on a wide range of international private equity transactions, including buyouts, minority investments and exits. He also has broad experience in public and private mergers and acquisitions, venture capital, public market listings and general corporate law.

Kevin Post (New York) works extensively with technology companies handling their complex patent disputes. He has experience litigating patent cases in district courts and the U.S. International Trade Commission in a variety of technical fields, including telecommunications, electronics, computer software, process control systems, mechanical devices and biotechnology.

Amanda Raad (London) focuses her practice on investigations and resolutions of cross-border anti-corruption and anti-money laundering matters, as well as the development and implementation of risk-based compliance programs. She has experience across sectors with a particular focus on industries including private equity, finance, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and energy.

Hassen Sayeed, M.D. (New York) counsels life sciences clients in all aspects of complex patent litigation to help businesses achieve their strategic goals. Dr. Sayeed is one of the few trial lawyers in the United States to also hold a medical degree. He has litigated a diverse variety of technologies, including pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, and medical devices. He also has extensive experience with cases arising under the Hatch-Waxman Act on behalf of pioneer pharmaceutical companies.

Adam Schlichtmann (Boston) focuses his practice on representing clients in the investment management industry, including mutual funds, their independent directors, and investment advisers. He works closely with clients on the design and operation of registered open- and closed-end funds, including funds that use alternative investment strategies, such as multi-manager, fund of hedge fund or commodity-related strategies, or customized structures, as well as unregistered investment vehicles. He also regularly advises asset managers on compliance matters, transactions involving registered funds and the impact of new regulations affecting the investment management industry.

Paul Schoenhard (Washington, D.C.) focuses his practice on patent litigation in federal courts and before the U.S. International Trade Commission. With a technical background in mathematics and computer science, he has extensive experience litigating high-tech and high-stakes disputes relating to consumer electronics, computer software, Internet-related technologies, wireless communications and semiconductors.

Daniel Stanco (New York) represents a broad range of clients including institutional real estate investors, private equity funds, hedge funds, public REITs, developers, investment and commercial banks, and domestic and foreign investors in complex U.S. and international real estate transactions. He has extensive experience advising clients in capital markets transactions, repurchase facilities, joint ventures, co-investments, distressed acquisitions and recapitalizations, portfolio transactions, mortgage and mezzanine financing, and acquisitions, dispositions and development of commercial, hotel and multifamily properties.

Marcus Thompson (London) focuses his practice on government enforcement matters, assisting clients on issues including anti-money laundering, anti-bribery and corruption, international sanctions, and corporate investigations. He also serves as assistant general counsel to Ropes & Gray, advising the firm on legal, risk, compliance and other regulatory matters relating to the firm’s London and Asian offices.

Michelle Visser (San Francisco) focuses her practice on complex business litigation matters. She has extensive experience assisting companies in responding to the variety of legal issues that can result from data security breaches, including experience in overseeing forensic investigations and defending against claims made or threatened by credit card companies, financial institutions and regulators. She also regularly represents companies in defending against class actions, with experience in class actions involving securities, antitrust and data security claims. 

 Katherine Wang (Shanghai) Widely regarded as a leading life sciences regulatory lawyer in China, Ms. Wang assists pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical device companies on a wide range of commercial and regulatory matters. She provides day-to-day counselling on issues that life sciences companies face when interacting with Chinese government agencies, and she assists institutional investors and corporate clients in structuring transactions and conducting regulatory due diligence on investment targets and prospective business partners in China.  Ms. Wang recently was recognized as one of Asian Legal Business’ Client Choice Top 20 Lawyers in China.

Fergus Wheeler (London)focuses on debt finance, acting for lenders, private equity sponsors and portfolio companies across the credit spectrum in leveraged and corporate acquisition financing transactions. Mr. Wheeler also acts for a broad range of debt funds, private credit investors and other alternative capital providers, advising them on all forms of subordinated financing products, direct lending and unitranche transactions. He regularly counsels clients on the structuring and financing of European and other complex cross-border leveraged buyouts, along with general acquisition and asset financing.

Mimi Yang (Shanghai)has extensive experience representing clients in private securities litigation, U.S. DOJ and SEC enforcement matters, and internal investigations, including investigations involving complex accounting and disclosure issues, whistleblower claims, and potential violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. She has a particular focus on advising multinational companies operating in China, and has represented numerous Chinese companies in U.S. state and federal courts.

 

Meet our new counsel:

Kathleen Saunders Gregor (Boston) focuses her practice on tax controversy matters, as well as partnership and international tax issues. She regularly represents clients before the U.S. Tax Court, U.S. Court of Federal Claims and the IRS, as well as non-U.S. tax authorities. Ms. Gregor has worked extensively on fund investment and secondary transactions, and she advises private equity and hedge funds clients on a variety of tax issues relating to formation and investment activities.

Z. Ying Li, Ph.D. (New York) counsels biotechnology and pharmaceutical clients on patent portfolio management and strategic development. She has extensive experience in patent prosecution and contentious matters before U.S. and foreign patent offices. Dr. Li helps clients survey the competitive patent landscape and renders opinions on freedom-to-operate, non-infringement and patent invalidity. She also conducts IP due diligence for venture capital investment and corporate business development. Dr. Li has worked on a wide range of therapeutic areas including cancer and immune disorders, with expertise in antibody therapeutics and molecular diagnostics.

The international expansion of Ropes & Gray, as evidenced by the promotion of seven partners outside the U.S., reflects the globalization of the economy and of the firm’s clients. The firm’s innovative Global Opportunity (GO) program provides a range of global mobility options designed to enhance attorneys’ professional development while ensuring that the right skills and experience are in place at all times for clients. The cross-border assignments position attorneys to understand the global scope of clients’ business and the various legal regimes that must be addressed in transactions, investments and litigation. New partners Cori Lable, who moved to Hong Kong from Boston, and Amanda Raad, who relocated to London from New York, illustrate the success of the program. To read more about the GO program, click here.

 

About Ropes & Gray LLP

Ropes & Gray is one of the world’s premier law firms, with more than 1,100 lawyers and legal professionals serving clients in major centers of business, finance, technology and government.

The firm has offices in New York, Washington, D.C., Boston, Chicago, San Francisco, Silicon Valley, London, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Tokyo and Seoul, and has consistently been recognized for its leading practices in areas including private equity, M&A, life sciences, health care, finance, investment management, hedge funds, tax, intellectual property, litigation, securities litigation, government enforcement, and privacy & data security.