The Week at Ropes & Gray: Advising SquareTrade in $1.4B Sale to Allstate; Collaborating with GLAD on Transgender ID Project; Regulatory Developments in Europe; Honors for Shanghai Life Sciences Lawyer

Weekly highlights of what’s happening at Ropes & Gray:   

• A Ropes & Gray cross-practice deal team advised SquareTrade, a consumer protection plan provider, in its $1.4 billion acquisition by The Allstate Corporation, the largest publicly held personal lines insurer in the United States. Allstate’s agreement to purchase SquareTrade from shareholders including Bain Capital Private Equity and Bain Capital was announced Nov. 28. 
• Ropes & Gray, together with GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders and the Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition, has launched the Transgender ID Project. The initiative provides legal guidance and representation to transgender people living in New England in completing legal name changes and updating identity documentation, including social security cards, U.S. passports, driver’s licenses or state identification cards, and birth certificates issued in New England. Boston office co-managing partner Jane Goldstein discussed the firm’s involvement with the project in The Boston Globe.  
• On Nov. 22, the EU Council, Commission and Parliament reached an informal final agreement on a conflict minerals regulation. A memo authored by lawyers from our Boston, London and New York offices reports on the new regulation, which generally will require EU smelters and refiners and direct importers of tin, tantalum, tungsten and gold (3TG) into the EU to conduct due diligence using the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Guidance framework if they are sourcing from conflict-affected and high-risk areas anywhere in the world. 
• After months of uncertainty over the future of the Unified Patent Court Agreement (UPCA) following the UK’s Brexit vote, the UK government announced on Nov. 28 that it will proceed to ratify the UPCA, which will establish a single unified court with exclusive jurisdiction over patent enforcement and validity actions in all contracting countries. This FAQ provides information on the major points of the UPC and how it affects IP strategy.
• Shanghai-based life sciences partner Katherine Wang was named to the China Business Law Journal’s “A-List” of top 100 private practice lawyers for the China market. The A-List, which recognizes the best legal partners to handle significant transactions and matters in China-related businesses, is based on surveys of thousands of in-house counsel in China and around the world, as well as partners at Chinese and international law firms. This is just the latest recognition for Ms. Wang, a leading regulatory authority in China’s life sciences community, who is also ranked in Chambers Asia, Chambers Global, Asian Legal Business’ Client Choice Top 20 Lawyers in China, and many other premier publications.