The Week at Ropes & Gray: Borrowers Prevail in Student Loan Litigation with Widespread Implications; Three Transactions; New Credit Funds Podcast; U.K. Privacy and Data Protection Predictions; Black History Month Celebrations

In The News
March 1, 2019

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

  • A Ropes & Gray pro bono team led by partner Chong Park secured an important victory on behalf of three individual student loan borrowers, including two former American Bar Association employees. The lawsuit challenges the U.S. Department of Education’s determination of eligibility for the government’s public service loan forgiveness program. The New York Times and The Washington Post reported on the win, among other major outlets.
  • Noteworthy transactions announced by our clients include:
    • Vista Equity Partners announced a joint growth investment with TA Associates in Aptean Partners, a provider of enterprise software solutions. Ropes & Gray advised Vista on the transaction.
    • Bain Capital Credit and Intermediate Capital Group will serve as lenders for Ardian’s proposed acquisition of Study Group, a provider of international education, from Providence Private Equity. Ropes & Gray advised Bain Capital Credit and ICG in the financing.
    • Preferred Freezer Services, a global network of temperature-controlled warehouses, announced its acquisition by Lineage Logistics. Ropes & Gray advised Preferred Freezer Services in the transaction.
  • In this new podcast in our credit funds series, tax partners Brenda Coleman and Andy Howard discuss strategies credit fund managers can use to address interest withholding tax issues on European investments in light of a complex and changing landscape.
  • Last year, data protection went mainstream with the implementation of the EU General Data Protection Regulation. This alert, co-authored by two Ropes & Gray privacy & cybersecurity lawyers, sets out five predictions for privacy and data protection in the United Kingdom.
  • Ropes & Gray concluded its Black History Month celebration with two presentations broadcast live to several offices about cross-cultural collaboration for social justice. The event featured two renowned scholars, Alexsandra Mitchell and William H. “Smitty” Smith.
  • Follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram for legal insights and the latest firm news.

Alexsandra-Mitchell-Black-History-Month
Brooklyn-based international research scholar Alexsandra Mitchell (right) discusses black internationalism at Ropes & Gray's Black History Month celebration. Diversity & inclusion specialist Jasmine McElroy is pictured at left.