Leading Private Equity Partner David Blittner Joins Ropes & Gray in New York

April 4, 2016
Attorneys:

Global law firm Ropes & Gray today announced that David M. Blittner has joined its top-ranked private equity practice as a partner in the firm’s New York office.

Mr. Blittner is a seasoned corporate transactions attorney who has been practicing in New York for nearly 25 years. One of the premier private equity lawyers in New York, Mr. Blittner has advised private equity sponsors and their portfolio companies in connection with acquisitions, dispositions and financings. Clients will benefit from his experience steering leveraged buyouts and dispositions of public and private companies, as well as minority investments, public recapitalizations and restructurings. He also represents clients on general corporate matters, including governance, equity capital markets liquidity events, and securities law compliance matters. 

“We are thrilled to have David Blittner join us,” said partner Alfred Rose, co-head of the private equity practice at Ropes & Gray. “David is an accomplished private equity attorney with an impressive record of success for his clients. His experience, business acumen and entrepreneurial skills will deepen our private equity capabilities and enable us to continue providing top-notch service to clients in New York and globally.”

Mr. Blittner was most recently a partner at Weil, Gotshal & Manges in New York, where he began his legal career. He received his J.D. from Columbia Law School and his B.A. from the State University of New York at Binghamton.

Mr. Blittner is consistently ranked as a leading lawyer in private equity by Chambers Global, Chambers USA, IFLR1000 and The Legal 500. He has been described by clients in Chambers USA to be “very practical and detail-oriented” and is noted as a “very seasoned and talented deal partner” and a “rock-solid adviser.”

Ropes & Gray has been at the forefront of private equity deals since the invention of the leveraged buyout, and is active in both multi-billion-dollar and middle-market deals. U.S. News & World Report-Best Lawyers named Ropes & Gray “Law Firm of the Year” for leveraged buyouts and private equity law in 2015 and 2016.

With more than 300 lawyers in New York, Ropes & Gray is one of the 20 largest law firms in the city. The firm has expanded its presence in New York significantly in the past 15 months, and Mr. Blittner is the third partner to join Ropes & Gray in New York in 2016. His arrival follows that of Gregg Galardi, who joined as a business restructuring partner in February, and Michael Littenberg, who joined the securities & public companies practice as a partner in January. In 2015, the firm added three lateral partners to the New York office: mergers & acquisitions partner John Sorkin and business & securities litigation partners David Hennes and Gregg Weiner.

“David is a marquee addition to the firm and the thriving New York office,” said Eva Ciko Carman, Ropes & Gray government enforcement partner and co-managing partner of the firm’s New York office. “His experience and knowledge will be of great value to our clients, especially in an increasingly complex transactional market.”