Julie H. Jones
Partner
Julie Jones is chair of Ropes & Gray and has been a member of the firm’s management committee since 2011. One of the world’s premier corporate lawyers, Julie has won countless accolades for her work on behalf of clients that include some of the world’s largest companies and investors. In 2022, under Julie’s leadership, Ropes & Gray was named as The American Lawyer’s “Law Firm of the Year” and ranked #1 on The American Lawyer’s prestigious “A-List”, an unprecedented achievement for a law firm. Julie has also been honored as one of Financial Times’ “Top Law Firm Leaders”, one of The American Lawyer’s prestigious “45 Under 45”, and later named “Corporate Lawyer of the Year” for both 2017 and 2019 and as “M&A Lawyer of the Year” in 2016 and 2018 by The Best Lawyers in America. Chambers ranks Julie as an “Eminent Practitioner” for Corporate/M&A.
Over the course of her career, Julie has led numerous multibillion-dollar deals, prompting clients to describe her as a “preternaturally cool-headed negotiator.” She has guided blockbuster deals across industries, including in health care (represented IASIS Healthcare in its sale to Steward Health Care, creating the largest for-profit hospital operator in the United States), technology (represented TPG in its investment in Etsy), medical devices (represented TPG in its acquisition of Exactech, a leading provider of innovative bone and joint restoration products) and retail (represented Petco in its sale to CVC Capital Partners and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board).
Julie’s ability to combine her market-leading knowledge of federal securities laws with business acumen has caused clients to describe her as unique in the marketplace Chambers commented that “she can get down into the nitty-gritty and go head to head with the nerdiest, but she can also step back and be a field general for the client, seeing the big picture.”
Working out of the firm’s New York and Boston offices, Julie is a member of the Committee on Federal Regulation of Securities of the Business Law Section of the American Bar Association. She is a graduate of Wellesley College and Cornell Law School.
Experience
- Represented TPG in its agreement to make a strategic minority investment in Anastasia Beverly Hills, a high-growth, prestige beauty company.
- Represented TPG in its acquisition of Exactech, a leading provider of innovative bone and joint restoration products.
- Represented IASIS Healthcare in its sale to Steward Health Care, creating the largest private for-profit hospital operator in the United States.
- Represented TPG in its investment in Etsy, Inc.
- Represented TPG in its acquisition from Intel of McAfee Security Unit.
- Represented TPG Capital in its definitive agreement to acquire Mediware Information Systems, Inc. from Thoma Bravo.
- Represented TPG in its acquisition of Beaver-Visitec International, a leading provider of specialized surgical devices.
- Represented Petco, a leading pet specialty retailer, in its sale to CVC Capital Partners and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board.
- Represented TPG in the sale of Par Pharmaceuticals to Endo International.
- Represented Thomas H. Lee Partners in its acquisition of Curo Health Services, a leading hospice care provider.
- Represented TPG in its acquisition of Arden Group.
- Represented TPG in its investment in Advent Software, Inc.
- Represented Taylor Morrison, one of the largest public homebuilders in North America, in its IPO.
- Represented Avaya, Inc. in its bond exchange offer and proposed IPO.
- Represented LPL Financial, the nation’s largest independent broker-dealer network, in its IPO, believed to be the largest U.S. IPO of 2010 for a private equity portfolio company.
- Represented TPG in the acquisition of J. Crew Group, Inc., a leading American clothing retailer.
- Represented Thomas H. Lee Partners in its acquisition of inVentiv Health, Inc., a pharmaceutical services provider.
Publications
- Quoted, “The 2022 A-List: The Firms Climbing Greater Heights,” The American Lawyer (July 27, 2022)
- Featured, Interview with Julie Jones, Sixth Street’s “It’s Not Magic” Podcast (July 22, 2022)
- Quoted, “Political Events and Office Returns May Lead to Pro Bono Resurgence in 2022,” The American Lawyer (July 19, 2022)
- Quoted, “Ropes’ DC Leader Keeps Focus on Retaining and Fostering Talent,” The American Lawyer (January 26, 2022)
- Quoted, “Ropes & Gray announces lateral hire, says it will open LA office,” The Los Angeles Daily Journal (December 21, 2021)
- Quoted, “Ropes & Gray Opens Los Angeles Office,” Bloomberg Law (December 20, 2021)
- Quoted, “The 2021 A-List: With Change a Constant, Top Performers Are Always Reevaluating,” The American Lawyer (August 5, 2021)
- Featured, “As Ropes & Gray Returns to the Office, Julie Jones Emphasizes Patience and Adaptability,” The American Lawyer (July 2, 2021)
- Quoted, “Is the Push to Return to the Office a Macho Thing?,” Bloomberg Law (June 18, 2021)
- Featured, “Female lawyers are slowly gaining a seat at the table. Here are 9 women in charge of elite law firms,” Business Insider (March 10, 2021)
- Featured, “Women Leaders, Junior Attys On Gender Equity Battles Ahead,” Law360 (March 8, 2021)
- Quoted, “Our 'North Star': What RBG Means To Women In Law,” Law360 (September 20, 2020)
- Featured, “How Ropes & Gray Hit 31% Female Partners: Its Women's Group Is Not Just For Mommies.,” The American Lawyer (August 31, 2020)
- Quoted, “BigLaw Among Scores Of Firms In New Anti-Racism Alliance,” Law360 (June 25, 2020)
- Quoted, “Raj Marphatia, at 60; first non-white Harvard Law Review president was known for his brilliance and kindness,” The Boston Globe (May 21, 2020)
- Quoted, “Meet the New Boss: The Changing Faces of Big Law Leadership in 2020,” The American Lawyer (January 2, 2020)
- Quoted, “Women in PE: Into the Man Cave,” The Deal (December 20, 2019)
Education
- JD, magna cum laude, Cornell Law School, 1994; Order of the Coif
- BA, magna cum laude, Wellesley College, 1991
Admissions / Qualifications
Qualifications
- Massachusetts, 1994
- New York, 2012
- England and Wales, Registered Foreign Lawyer, 2019
Awards
- The American Lawyer – Law Firm of the Year (2022)
- The American Lawyer – #1 on the A-List (2022); Top-Three on the A-List (2020, 2021)
- Chambers Global – The World's Leading Lawyers for Business (2008-2023)
- Chambers USA – America's Leading Lawyers for Business (2008-2022)
- Financial Times Innovative Lawyers — Top Law Firm Leaders (2020)
- The Boston Globe – Top 100 Women-Led Businesses (2021, 2022)
- IFLR 1000 – Women Leaders (2021, 2022)
- Crain’s New York Business – Notable Women in Law (2021)
- Boston Magazine – Top Lawyers (2021)
- Women in Business Law Awards – Outstanding Achievement Lawyer of the Year (2021)
- Corporate Counsel – Innovative Leadership Award (2021)
- Lawdragon 500 – Leading Dealmakers in America (2021-2023)
- IFLR 1000 (2023)
- The Best Lawyers in America – Boston Corporate Law “Lawyer of the Year” (2017, 2019)
- The Best Lawyers in America – Boston Mergers and Acquisitions Law “Lawyer of the Year” (2016, 2018)
- The Best Lawyers in America (2006-2023)
- The Legal 500 (2013-2018)
- Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly “Top Women of Law” (2018)
- Massachusetts Super Lawyers (2008-2021)
- The Business Journals – Influencers List: Law (2018)
- The American Lawyer – 45 under 45 (2011)
- Law360 – Top 10 Female M&A Lawyers (2011)
- The American Lawyer – Dealmaker of the Week (2010)