The Week at Ropes & Gray: Finance Practice Earns Recognition; A Coworking Revolution; General Catalyst Announces Deal; Other Insights into Legal Developments; Ropes & Gray’s Commitment to Practice with Purpose; Honors for a Pro Bono Team

In The News
June 14, 2019

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

  • In recognition of its counsel for Altice USA on various legal issues concerning the combination of two businesses under a single credit silo, Ropes & Gray was named Transatlantic Finance Team of the Year at the 2019 Transatlantic Legal Awards. The distinction comes on the heels of a strong first half for the firm’s London finance practice.
  • Coworking has snowballed into a global phenomenon that is disrupting the traditional commercial real estate market. To share its insights on this trend, Ropes & Gray surveyed 100 senior executives in real estate, culminating in a report on the effects of coworking on the real estate industry. Among the key findings, the report reveals that more than two-thirds of survey respondents believe that the trend of coworking providers buying assets will accelerate, and nearly 90% agree that traditional office landlords have adopted, and will continue to adopt, services inspired by the coworking sector.
  • General Catalyst announced a financing agreement with Vade Secure, a French predictive email defense company. Ropes & Gray represented General Catalyst in the agreement.
  • In a new credit funds podcast, asset management partner Joel Wattenbarger and finance counsel Jill Kalish Levy explore the pros and cons of the various approaches market participants are taking in reaction to the impending expiration of LIBOR and its proposed replacement, SOFR.
  • A variety of key industry publications addressed legal developments that are affecting companies. To shed light on these legal issues, Ropes & Gray lawyers shared their insights:
    • Three asset management partners were quoted in a Private Equity International special feature on legal issues in the PE industry. Jason Brown and Joel Wattenbarger discussed the increasing sophistication of the Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations, and Morri Weinberg offered insights on potential conflicts in GP-led fund restructurings.
    • Partner David Hennes discussed risks, common missteps and best practices for board directors involved in corporate litigation in an article published by Agenda.
    • IP litigation partner Matt Rizzolo offered insight in multiple publications on the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Return Mail v. U.S. Postal Service. The court ruled that the government is not a “person” that has standing to challenge a patent under the America Invents Act.
    • Recent U.S. Senate hearings could lead to a rewrite of the law on patent eligibility. IP litigation partner Scott McKeown noted the connection between this development and the passage of the 2011 America Invents Act in Law360.
    • The U.S. Department of the Treasury is unlikely to change reporting requirements of the U.S. Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act in response to European complaints. Tax partner Kathleen Saunders Gregor weighed in on this development in Law360.
  • Ropes & Gray released a new video that highlights the firm’s commitment to practice with purpose—the way in which we strive to make a difference for our clients, communities and people through attorney development programs, pro bono service and volunteerism, and diversity and inclusion initiatives.
  • A Ropes & Gray pro bono team received The Political Asylum/Immigration Representation Project’s 2019 “Pro Bono Asylum Award.” The award recognizes the team’s work successfully representing the Guevara-Reyes family in its application for asylum.   
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