John O. Chesley
Partner
John Chesley has been a member of the health care group at Ropes & Gray since 1985. For over 25 years he has focused on meeting the needs of clients in complex transactions and challenging regulatory contexts. Most recently, he has been advising clients on critical legal and regulatory issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
John blends transactional skills with knowledge of tax-exempt organizational law, regulatory issues and securities law.
John's practice is broad. He has served as lead transaction counsel in nonprofit mergers and affiliations (including a major provider-insurer affiliation noted by Modern Healthcare, the Wall Street Journal and others as a "game changer"), as outside general counsel to a health care system, and as borrower's counsel and underwriter's counsel on numerous higher education, health care and other 501(c)(3) financings. He advises a leading university on capital finance matters. He counsels boards on governance matters. His practice ranges from AAA-rated institutions to distressed credits, with a particular emphasis on complex structuring and strategic relationships at the intersection of industry change.