The Week at Ropes & Gray

In The News
October 4, 2019

This week, Ropes & Gray clients announced the close of two funds, totaling $1.703 billion in commitments, and a major acquisition. Our attorneys also offered insights on legal developments across a range of topics, including intellectual property, asset management, health care and life sciences. Additionally, two Ropes & Gray partners were recognized for their exceptional work on finance transactions. Here’s a summary of the week’s highlights:

  • Paine Schwartz Partners, a private equity firm specializing in sustainable food chain investing, announced the final close of Paine Schwartz Fund V at $1.425 billion of total capital commitments. Ropes & Gray advised Paine Schwartz on the fund.
  • Hamilton Lane announced the final close of Hamilton Lane Private Equity Fund X, a diversified global private equity multistrategy fund, with approximately $278 million in commitments. Ropes & Gray advised Hamilton Lane on the fund.
  • AVALT, a family office that makes direct private equity investments, purchased Ned Stevens, a provider of exterior home services. Ropes & Gray advised AVALT on the acquisition.
  • Ropes & Gray published a new report highlighting key issues in the formation and operation of credit funds. The report touches on the conflicts inherent in managing both credit and private equity funds, the prevalence of key person terms, the intricacies of BDC regulation and value-based payment arrangements in the health care industry, and the potential changing landscape of foreign credit support.
  • In a new episode of IP(DC), Ropes & Gray’s podcast series covering Washington, D.C.-based developments in intellectual property law, appellate & Supreme Court partner Doug Hallward-Driemeier joins IP litigation partners Scott McKeown and Matt Rizzolo to discuss upcoming Supreme Court patent matters, current matters at the Federal Circuit and congressional legislative reform efforts.
  • A coalition of eight attorneys general have filed a lawsuit challenging recently passed SEC rule Reg BI, arguing that it does not sufficiently protect investors under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. Asset management counsel David Tittsworth contributed insights on the suit in articles appearing in Pensions & Investments and Compliance Reporter.
  • The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has revised its guidance on regulating clinical decision support software. In MedTech Dive, life sciences regulatory & compliance chair Greg Levine addresses how the new guidance is a major overhaul that largely tracks with the risk-based approach requested by industry group CDS Coalition.
  • Finance partner Patricia Lynch and capital markets practice co-chair Paul Tropp were named to The National Law Journal’s 2019 “Finance, Banking & Capital Markets Trailblazers” list. Patricia, who leads Ropes & Gray’s U.S. securitization practice from Boston, was cited for her work advising on a wide range of structured finance transactions. Paul, a member of the firm’s capital markets group in New York, was recognized for representing issuers and underwriters in a wide range of corporate finance transactions.
  • Sally Davis, a senior associate, was featured in Vault, where she offered a glimpse into a “day in the life” of a real estate lawyer at Ropes & Gray. Read about Sally’s activities in and out of the office.
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