The Week at Ropes & Gray: A Steady Stream of Transactions in 2018; Leading Financial Crimes Lawyer Joins in London; 33 Promoted to Counsel; Chinese Legislation Will Tackle Corruption; DOJ’s Antitrust Division Targets No-Poach Agreements; A New Tax Podcast; Top Honors for our Private Equity and Asset Management Practices; Praise for Pro Bono Work in Massachusetts

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

• Our clients are sustaining their momentum into 2018 with a string of impressive transactions:
• New York-based Elliott Management Corporation announced its stake in a $2.5 billion equity investment in FirstEnergy Corp., one of the nation's largest investor-owned electric systems. The investment includes $1.62 billion in mandatory convertible preferred equity and $850 million of common equity. Our special situations and business restructuring attorneys are advising on the transaction.
• Nanjing, China-based Simcere Pharmaceutical Group announced a strategic collaboration with Netherlands-based Merus to obtain an exclusive license to develop and commercialize in China three bispecific antibodies using Merus’s Biclonics technology platform in immuno-oncology. Ropes & Gray advised Simcere in the agreement.
• Castanea Partners announced its investment in Yasso, a leading frozen dessert brand. Ropes & Gray is representing Castanea Partners in the investment.
• Over the next few months, the Department of Justice will announce criminal antitrust violations related to no-poach agreements. Ropes & Gray antitrust and government enforcement attorneys examine the DOJ’s announcement in this alert.
• In a new podcast, attorneys in our tax group discuss one of the most notable tax decisions from the fourth quarter of 2017, Chamber of Commerce of the United States of America et al. v. Internal Revenue Service et al., and its implications for taxpayers, particularly multinational corporations.
• The firm earned a pair of the legal industry’s most important accolades when Law360 recognized Ropes & Gray’s private equity and asset management practices with Practice Group of the Year Awards. The coveted awards highlight work that “resonated throughout the legal industry in 2017.”
• The Boston Business Journal highlighted the pro bono efforts of the largest law firms in Massachusetts, noting that “Ropes & Gray’s commitment to pro bono legal work is unmatched in the Boston market.” The firm reported 75,587 hours of pro bono work in the state in 2017.
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