The Week at Ropes & Gray

This week, Ropes & Gray attorneys advised clients on a variety of matters, including the development of a new ETF model, and contributed commentary on topics in asset management and life sciences. The firm also filed a pro bono immigration lawsuit, released a cutting-edge report on digital health and published a summary of the SEC’s final ETF Rule. Three lawyers earned recognition for exceptional work in life sciences and litigation. Here’s a summary of the week’s highlights:

• Invesco, a leading global provider of exchange-traded funds, filed an application with the SEC requesting exemptive relief to build its own proprietary non-transparent active ETF model. Ropes & Gray is advising Invesco. The firm also published a new alert identifying key provisions of the SEC’s newly adopted ETF Rule. 
• Private equity investment firm Golden Gate Capital acquired Invo Healthcare, a provider of autism and childhood behavioral health services. Ropes & Gray advised Golden Gate Capital on the transaction. 
• HDT Global acquired Berg Companies, a manufacturer of wall shelter systems, fuel and water systems, and power management solutions. Ropes & Gray represented HDT in the acquisition. 
• Lawyers for Civil Rights and Ropes & Gray filed a federal lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia challenging the Trump administration’s plan to implement an aggressive “expedited removal” plan—a process that allows low-level immigration officers to short-circuit normal immigration procedures and deport individuals without counsel and oversight by an immigration judge.
• Ropes & Gray and Crain’s released a new report, “Digital Health: From Innovation to Solutions,” that reveals how digital health and artificial intelligence companies are navigating privacy, data security and intellectual property issues as they seek to strengthen partnerships with health care providers and life sciences companies.
• In a new podcast, asset management partner Isabel Dische and finance partner Patricia Lynch examined the use of capital call facilities by private investment funds.
• The drug compounding industry has expanded significantly in recent years, with an estimated U.S. market size of $8.9 billion in 2019 and annualized market growth of 2.3 percent over the past five years. Life sciences regulatory & compliance partner Greg Levine and associates Joshua Oyster and Rebecca Williams addressed drug compounding risks at outsourcing facilities in a Law360 article. Greg, based in Washington, D.C., was selected as “Regulatory Attorney of the Year: FDA Medical Device” at the Legal Media Group Life Sciences Awards; colleague Megan Baca, an IP transactions partner in Silicon Valley, was recognized as a “U.S. Rising Star – Financial & Corporate.”
• Litigator Timothy Farrell was named by Chicago Lawyer and the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin to the “40 Under Forty Illinois Attorneys to Watch” class of 2019. The award recognizes the 40 most talented attorneys under age 40 practicing in Illinois. Previous winners from Ropes & Gray include private equity transactions partner Tim Castelli (class of 2018) as well as litigation partners Nick Berg (class of 2017) and Laura Hoey (class of 2016).
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