Ropes & Gray Adds Three Private Equity Partners in London

Global law firm Ropes & Gray has strengthened its global private equity offering with the additions of Dan Oates, Simon Saitowitz and Angela Becker as partners. 

Dan, Simon and Angela, who will be based in the firm’s London office, are recognised as leading private equity lawyers. They advise private equity and financial sponsor clients, as well as their portfolio companies, on all forms of private equity transactions in the UK and Europe, across a range of industries. 

Dan is recognised as a leading M&A and private equity lawyer by numerous industry publications, including Legal 500 and IFLR 1000.  Additionally, he has been named in The Lawyer’s ‘Hot 100’ list and Private Funds Management 30 most influential lawyers in private equity under the age of 40, as well as a "Superstar Lawyer of Tomorrow” in the Private Equity Manager's “Roll of Honour.” 

Simon has more than 15 years of top tier private equity and M&A experience and is recognised by Legal 500 in Private Equity Transactions-High Value Deals. His practice focuses on domestic and cross-border private equity transactions, mergers and acquisitions, co-investments and joint ventures. He is also a leading practitioner in both the private equity secondaries space and the GP stakes space (where he advises on the acquisition and disposal of stakes in fund managers). 

Angela’s practice focuses on private equity and M&A transactions across a range of jurisdictions, including acquisitions and leveraged buyouts, disposals, co-investments, acquisitions and disposals of stakes in fund managers, joint ventures and public-to-private transactions. 

They join one of the world’s leading private capital law firms, whose 300+ private equity and M&A lawyers advised on 290 transactions worth $230 billion in 2021. Their appointments build on the success of Ropes & Gray’s London private equity transactions team which enjoyed its strongest ever year in 2021.  The team advised on 105 transactions worth £97 billion throughout the year, working on a diverse range of transactions for leading US, European and Asian clients. 

They will work alongside London private equity partners Helen Croke, John Newton, Elizabeth Todd and Victoria McGrath.  In total, the team will now number approximately 50 lawyers, including eight partners. 

David Djaha, managing partner of Ropes & Gray, said: “With one of the world’s premier private equity practices, demand for our services has grown significantly in recent years, both globally and in London. Dan, Simon and Angela add strength to our winning team.” 

“They are all are highly accomplished private equity lawyers. Their arrival will bolster our growing 300-strong global private equity transactions team, as we advise our clients on every aspect of their largest and most complex global transactions,” said David Blittner, co-chair of Ropes & Gray’s global private equity transactions group. 

Jane Rogers, acting managing partner of Ropes & Gray’s London office, said “We welcome Dan, Simon and Angela to the team.  Their arrival is another significant step towards our goal of becoming London’s pre-eminent international law firm for private capital and other sophisticated clients. We have enjoyed an impressive trajectory in recent years, as our clients entrust us with their largest and most complex matters. Dan, Simon and Angela will further enhance our top tier private equity offering and add to the firm’s momentum in London as we continue to see growing demand for our services. 

“Their arrival also builds on the three other partner hires, and four partner promotions, we have made in London over the past 12 months. We are ambitious for further growth and will continue to invest in areas such as funds and restructuring, as well as private equity and finance.” 

Dan Oates said: “Angela, Simon and I are honoured to be joining the Ropes & Gray London private equity team. We very much look forward to bolstering and integrating with Ropes & Gray’s talented London private equity group and becoming part of the rest of the firm’s preeminent global private capital transactions team in their incredible work advising financial sponsors on their largest and most complex matters.” 

Dan, Simon and Angela join Ropes & Gray from the London office of another global law firm.  Their arrival adds to the firm’s continued momentum in London. It follows the additions of funds counsel Alexandra Chauvin in March this year and funds counsel Chris Townsend and life sciences regulatory partner Dr Lincoln Tsang in 2021. Additionally, EMEA private funds head, Tom Alabaster, restructuring partner Matt Czyzyk and special situations partner Samuel Norris joined in 2020. 

Ropes & Gray now has 33 partners and a total of 170 lawyers in London.