The Week at Ropes & Gray: Number 2 on AmLaw’s A-List; The “New” SEC; $1.1 Million Award in “Docs v. Glocks”; The Future of Marriage Equality; UK Tax Evasion Crackdown; Acclaim for Our India Practice

In The News
July 28, 2017

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

  • This week, Ropes & Gray ranked second on The American Lawyer’s “A-List,” the coveted ranking of the top 20 law firms in the United States. This marks our seventh consecutive year and highest ranking ever on the list. The “A-List” identifies the “best of the best” across a variety of dimensions, including pro bono, diversity, financial performance, women partners and associate satisfaction, and adds to a growing list of the firm’s accolades received in 2017.
  • Jay Clayton was sworn in as the 32nd Chairman of the SEC on May 4. Since then, he has been hiring senior staff and providing glimpses into what his regulatory and enforcement agenda will look like. In this podcast, Washington, D.C.-based counsel Jeremiah Williams and David Tittsworth discuss the “new” SEC and how Chairman Clayton’s agenda may be shaped by outside interest groups, Congress, and the White House.
  • For six straight years, the case dubbed “Docs v. Glocks” garnered headlines nationwide, as the ability of doctors in Florida to counsel their patients on critical questions of gun safety hung in the balance. In February, the Eleventh Circuit, by a 10-1 margin, struck down the three most-contested provisions of the Florida Firearm Owners’ Privacy Act. This week, Ropes & Gray announced that the State of Florida, with Florida Gov. Rick Scott’s personal approval, will pay plaintiffs’ counsel $1.1 million in legal fees for their role in vindicating the physicians’ constitutional rights. Ropes & Gray donated $100,000 from the fee award to the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, enabling the center to expand its initiatives to protect children from the risks posed by guns.
  • The National Law Journal checked in with appellate & Supreme Court partner Doug Hallward-Driemeier to discuss whether changes to the make-up of the U.S. Supreme Court could impact the landmark marriage equality decision handed down in 2015 in Obergefell v. Hodges. Doug argued Obergefell before the court; his full interview with the NLJ is available here.
  • The UK has taken aim at criminal tax evasion with a new regulation, which goes into effect in September 2017, and it targets businesses in any sector that facilitate tax evasion. In this new video, London-based tax partner Andrew Howard discusses the key aspects of the new offenses, and the steps that businesses should take in order to protect themselves. Read our recent white paper for even more in-depth coverage of this development.
  • Ropes & Gray was named this week as a top international law firm by India Business Law Journal in its 11th annual Intelligence Report, which examined hundreds of law firms that do business in India.
  • Follow us on Twitter @RopesGray for legal insights and the latest firm news.