2022 DIVERSITY DATABASE UNDERWRITER Ropes & Gray

With 11 offices across the U.S., Europe, and Asia, Ropes & Gray is an international firm that prides itself in handling cutting-edge work. A regular atop legal industry rankings, the firm is adept at assisting clients in complex, highly regulated industries like asset management, health care, life sciences, private equity, and technology. 

From Boston to Worldwide

John Codman Ropes and John Chipman Gray, Harvard Law grads, founded the firm in Boston in 1865. The Great Depression saw the firm develop its bankruptcy practice, the New Deal sparked the firm’s labor practice, and the creation of the SEC added financial reports to its services. By the 1960s, the firm had grown to nearly 75 attorneys. Today, the firm is home to more than 1,400 lawyers in offices worldwide advising across 60-plus practice areas. 

Boardrooms and Courtrooms

While its practice is wide ranging, Ropes & Gray is best known for its work in private equity. Ranked among the top 10 in Vault’s Private Equity practice area ranking, the firm’s private equity practice has also been recognized by the likes of Chambers USA, IFLR1000, The Legal 500 U.S., and U.S. News & World Report’s Best Lawyers “Best Law Firms.” The firm has claimed Law360’s honor of Private Equity Practice Group of the Year seven times. Clearly, Ropes & Gray is a private equity powerhouse. With around 200 lawyers focused on the practice, the firm assists private equity clients with acquisitions, compliance matters, financings, and more.

Ropes & Gray also boasts a strong asset management practice, combining the firm’s deep experience in hedge funds, private investment funds, and registered funds. The firm is particularly attuned to evolving trends and regulatory matters. Offering a multi-disciplinary approach, Ropes & Gray assists asset management clients in a range of areas, including business restructuring, compliance, labor and employment, M&A, and securities litigation—to name some.

On the litigation side, Ropes & Gray is home to hundreds of litigators whose work is wide ranging. The firm has been recognized time and again for its work in privacy and data security, securities litigation, and white collar defense. Of particular note, the firm smashed ground as co-counsel in the marriage equality case Obergefell v. Hodges before SCOTUS, which extended marriage rights to same-sex couples across the United States. 

Come Home

Ropes & Gray develops deep ties with its lawyers for the length of their careers—from starting as summer associates to exploring opportunities outside of the firm. Notably, many attorneys return to the firm—more than 50 attorneys have returned to the firm since January 2012. These “re-ttorneys” bring valuable experiences back to the firm after stints in-house, within government, or elsewhere. But as some attorneys return, others launch. The firm’s GO (“Global Opportunities”) program offers firm lawyers the opportunity to work in a new city at one of the firm’s other offices or temporarily for one of the firm’s clients.

• Prevailed at the U.S. Supreme Court in Obergefell v. Hodges, a historic victory that extended marriage to same-sex couples nationwide. 
• Steered the largest-ever leveraged buyout in Asia, of Toshiba's memory chip business, valued at $18 billion.
• In DirectTV's $16.7 billion spinout from AT&T, represented TPG in its $1.8 billion all-cash investment.
• Guided Pfizer in four of its five largest M&A deals in the last six years, including its May 2022 $11.6 billion acquisition of Biohaven.
• Sold Dunkin’ Brands to Inspire in an $11.3 billion transaction, one of the largest restaurant deals in the last decade. 

• “Kings of the Hill” – AmLaw – The Most Powerful, Profitable and Prestigious Firms of 2022
• "A-List" – AmLaw – Ranked in the Top 5 of the “Best of the Best” Law Firms
• "Top Midlevel Firms” – AmLaw – Ranked in the Top 10 for Associate Satisfaction
• "A Top Firm for Private Equity and M&A by Deal Volume and Size” – MergerMarket - 2022
• "Corporate Department of the Year” – AmLaw – Ranked for Excellence in Health Care - 2020