Ropes & Gray LLP

THE FIRM 

Ropes & Gray is a preeminent global law firm with approximately 1,400 lawyers and legal professionals serving clients in major centers of business, finance, technology and government. It is London’s leading international law firm for private capital clients. It also advises some of the world’s largest companies on their most challenging issues. The firm acts for sophisticated private capital investors and providers giving them all the legal services they need: from fundraising to transactional deal-making and financing, and from antitrust to compliance, data protection, restructuring, real estate, financial regulation and tax. It acts for leading European, US and Asian clients on deals across the EMEA market and globally.

PRINCIPAL AREAS OF WORK 

Private Equity: The firm is at the forefront of the European private equity market, advising a broad roster of leading sponsors and their portfolio companies who retain us for our deep understanding of their legal needs and the ability to synergise with market conditions. It routinely advises leading large and middle-market and clients in multiple industries on every aspect of their largest and most complex global transactions.

Finance & High Yield: The firm is one of a select group of firms with on-the-ground London capability to execute high-yield bond offerings and term loan facilities under both English and New York law. This provides clients with cross-border and cross-product expertise with the flexibility and responsiveness of being in the same time zone. Coupled with its international capabilities, the firm is able to advise on all forms of leveraged finance transactions across the capital structure and jurisdictions, providing seamless coverage across products and time zones.

Capital Solutions & Special Situations: The firm helps clients find solutions in event-driven, stressed and distressed situations, and complex and dislocation opportunities. These solutions include bespoke capital solutions and structures, distressed M&A, restructuring advice, leveraged and direct lending, convertible debt, hybrid debt/equity instruments, and equity upside structures.

Private Equity Real Estate: The firm is an investor-led platform advising on significant UK and European real estate investment transactions. Working across the risk spectrum, it advises its investor clients on structuring and executing joint ventures, direct and indirect sales and purchases, minority and majority equity investments and co-investments, real estate M&A, distressed transactions and restructurings, sales and leasebacks, development projects and all related financings. It has a deep understanding of real estate as an asset class, encompassing transactions from traditional asset deals to complex corporate and finance arrangements, and tax efficient structures.

Life Sciences: The firm's European team is an integral part of Ropes & Gray’s preeminent global life sciences practice, and provides seamless regulatory compliance and commercial strategic advice to pharmaceutical and medical device companies. It offers clients, including private equity houses and their portfolio companies, advice on UK, EU and cross-border regulatory issues in this space. The team is uniquely part of a global one-stop-shop offering compliance and enforcement, including litigation, internal investigations and public policy matters.

Asset management: The firm advises a global client base of asset management firms, including fund sponsors, investors and investment advisers, on all aspects of their business. Its experience across the spectrum of private and registered fund structures and vehicles, investment strategies, asset types and industries allows it to identify commercial, regulatory and economic issues, understand emerging trends and craft innovative solutions that are unique to the concerns of clients throughout the industry and around the world.

Financial Crime, Global Investigations & Risk: The firm advises clients who are facing the myriad challenges of regulatory investigations and enforcement, and have been involved in some of the most high-profile and complex cross-border regulatory investigations of recent years. It focuses on both proactive resolutions and reactive investigations with authorities including the SFO, FCA and PRA, as well as overseas authorities, including the US DOJ and SEC. It also provides a comprehensive suite of risk assessment and advisory services which enables clients in the financial sector to identify, monitor, and mitigate or eliminate regulatory risk.

Antitrust: The firm advises sophisticated clients on a wide range of issues, including merger control matters, complex multi-jurisdictional cartel or abuse of dominance investigations and follow-on damages actions.

Privacy, Data Protection & Cybersecurity: The firm helps clients manage the full array of issues that arise from the collection, use, storage, commoditisation, disclosure, transfer and disposal of data, including privacy and cybersecurity compliance and counseling, corporate and transactional support, and regulatory investigations and litigation.

Tax: The firm advises multinational business enterprises, financial institutions and investors on the international and domestic tax aspects of private investment funds, private equity transactions, M&A, financings, business restructurings and JVs. It also advises on cross-border investment structures, the international tax aspects of financial products, ongoing tax planning for multinational business entities and individuals, transfer pricing and cross-border tax controversies.

International Offices: Boston, Chicago, Dublin, Hong Kong, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Seoul, Shanghai, Silicon Valley, Tokyo, Washington DC