The Week at Ropes & Gray: Grant Honors Legacy of Firm’s First Woman Partner; Attorneys Partner with AbbVie to Further Diversity and Inclusion; Strong Deal Volume; IP Litigator Responds to Oral Arguments in Return Mail Inc. v. United States Postal Service; Firm Honored with “PE Firm of the Year” and “Deal of the Year” Recognition at IFLR Asia-Pacific Awards

Below are weekly highlights of what’s happening at Ropes & Gray:

• Today is International Women’s Day, an opportunity for us to celebrate the outstanding achievements of women lawyers across the firm. At Ropes & Gray, 27 percent of our global partners are women, significantly exceeding the industry average of 19 percent. In recognition of International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month, Ropes & Gray is celebrating the legacy of the firm’s first woman partner, Joan D. Fuller, by renaming a professional development grant for women attorneys at the firm in her honor. The grant’s webpage includes a tribute by partner Brenda Diana, who was mentored by Joan early in her career.

• Diversity has long been an essential part of Ropes & Gray’s culture. Our Chicago office hosted a panel discussion with the legal team at firm client AbbVie, an Illinois-based biopharmaceutical company, to explore ways in which we could work together to achieve common diversity and inclusion goals.
• Transactional activity remains strong for our clients:
• Bain Capital Private Equity and Innocor, Inc. announced Innocor’s planned merger with FXI, a producer of polyurethane foam products. Ropes & Gray represented Bain Capital Private Equity and Innocor in the transaction.
• Spirit Music Group, an independent music publisher, announced a $350 million recapitalization of the company. Ropes & Gray advised executives of Spirit Music Group on the formation of a fund used to acquire Spirit and to make future investments in music-driven intellectual property assets. Ropes & Gray also advised on the fund’s purchase of Spirit from its then-owners, which included affiliates of Pegasus Capital Advisors.
• Paulson & Co. and TriArtisan Capital Advisors have closed their previously announced acquisition of P.F. Chang’s China Bistro, Inc. from Centerbridge Partners. Ropes & Gray represented Paulson & Co. and TriArtisan Capital Advisors in the acquisition.
• Affordable Care, LLC, a dental practice management company and portfolio company of Berkshire Partners, has acquired DDS Dentures + Implant Solutions, also a manager of dental practices. Ropes & Gray represented Berkshire Partners and Affordable Care, LLC in the acquisition.
• The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Return Mail Inc. v. United States Postal Service, which raises the question of whether the government is a “person” who may petition to institute review proceedings under the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act. IP litigation partner Matt Rizzolo was quoted on the arguments in articles published by The National Law Journal and Managing Intellectual Property.
• International Financial Law Review honored Ropes & Gray as the “Private Equity Team of the Year” as part of the 2019 IFLR Asia-Pacific Awards, which celebrated legally innovative teams and deals in the region. IFLR also recognized a Bain Capital-led consortium’s buyout of Toshiba Memory Corporation as the “Private Equity Deal of the Year.” Ropes & Gray led the legal aspects of the transaction.
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