Leading Corporate Attorney Michael Littenberg Joins Ropes & Gray as Partner in New York

Global law firm Ropes & Gray today announced that Michael R. Littenberg is joining the firm as a partner in the securities & public companies practice in the firm’s expanding New York office.

Mr. Littenberg is an accomplished public company, capital markets, and mergers & acquisitions attorney with more than 25 years of experience practicing at the highest levels in New York. Clients will benefit from his deep experience across a wide range of products, types of transactions and industries.

Throughout his career, Mr. Littenberg has enjoyed a diversified client base that includes U.S. and foreign public and private companies, investment banks, private equity funds, and other private investment funds. His clients have ranged from large well-known institutions to younger, growing companies. Over the course of his career, Mr. Littenberg has worked on more than 200 capital markets and M&A transactions totaling tens of billions of dollars of value.

In addition, as a part of his practice, Mr. Littenberg advises a significant number of leading companies on corporate social responsibility, supply chain compliance and responsible sourcing, and is widely viewed as the leading practitioner in these areas.

“We are excited to welcome Michael to the firm,” said Patrick O’Brien, co-leader of the securities & public companies practice at Ropes & Gray. “He brings a wealth of securities and capital markets experience that will deepen our capability to serve our global public company client base. Michael’s sophisticated understanding of corporate and securities law is invaluable as we continue to strengthen our services for our clients.”

Mr. Littenberg joins from Schulte Roth & Zabel LLP, where he was a partner. He received his J.D. from Tulane University Law School and his B.S. from Indiana University. He is a prolific author, frequent speaker at conferences and seminars, and is often quoted in the business and specialty press on topics pertaining to his areas of focus.

“Ropes & Gray is a preeminent firm in my areas of practice. When it comes to separating the wheat from the chaff, these attorneys are wheat of the highest quality,” said Mr. Littenberg. “I look forward to working with a team of extremely talented lawyers in the firm’s capital markets and public companies practices, as well as with the other practices across the nation and globally. I feel privileged to be a part of the firm’s exciting growth in New York and to delivering ever better service to our clients.”

With more than 300 lawyers in New York, Ropes & Gray is now one of the 20 largest law firms in the city. It recently expanded its presence in New York significantly, adding three lateral partners in the past year. The firm welcomed mergers & acquisitions partner John Sorki, and business & securities litigation partners David Hennes and Gregg Weiner.

Attorneys in Ropes & Gray’s securities & public companies practice group provide seasoned advice to public companies and leading investment banks on a full range of sophisticated disclosure, governance and transactional issues. The practice’s core components include capital markets, M&A, and corporate governance & compliance. Recent representations include advising on Shire’s $6.5 billion acquisition of biopharmaceutical company Dyax Corporation and Pfizer’s $17 billion acquisition of pharmaceutical company Hospira; advising on initial public offerings for clients including IMS Health and Planet Fitness and the underwriters for Seres Therapeutics and Multi Packaging Solutions; and advising numerous clients on high-yield and investment-grade debt offerings, including Party City Holdings, Dunkin’ Brands and the underwriters for Sabre Corporation.

The firm currently serves as general or special counsel to more than 100 public companies, advising clients on critical compliance and governance issues. This includes providing practical advice on SEC requirements and other complex laws and regulations; NYSE and NASDAQ compliance; disclosure and reporting requirements; and shareholder proposals, proxy matters and takeover issues.