Ropes & Gray Wins Second Consecutive ALB Japan "Deal of the Year" Award

For the second year in a row, Ropes & Gray received the ALB Japan "Technology, Media and Telecommunications Deal of the Year" award at a ceremony in Tokyo on May 28. The firm was honored for its work representing long-term client Bain Capital on its acquisition of Bellsystem24, the leading call center operator in Japan, in the largest buyout by a foreign private equity firm in Japan in nearly two years. A cross-office team of Ropes & Gray lawyers worked on the $1.1 billion transaction, including Tokyo partner Tsuyoshi Imai and U.S. partner Newcomb Stillwell. The ALB Japan Awards are sponsored by Asian Legal Business, an influential legal publication circulated throughout Asia and Australia.

The award is the latest in a series of prestigious honors for Ropes & Gray in Asia. In 2009, the firm also received the ALB Japan "Technology, Media and Telecommunications Deal of the Year" award for its work on Bain Capital’s $690 million tender offer acquisition of D&M Holdings. In April 2010, Asian Legal Business honored the firm's Hong Kong-based lawyers for their role in China's "M&A Deal of the Year," GCL-Poly Energy Holdings Ltd.'s $3.4 billion acquisition of Jiangsu Zhongneng.

Also in April, Ropes & Gray's private equity, intellectual property and capital markets practices and lawyers were highly ranked by Chambers Asia 2010: Asia's Leading Lawyers for Business, one of the region's most prestigious directories of premier law firms. Ropes & Gray was cited in Hong Kong, Japan and China. The firm was ranked among the leading firms in Japan for IP and in Hong Kong for Private Equity (Buyouts). Lawyers who were recognized include Hiroyuki Hagiwara in Japan for IP. In addition, Arthur Mok, who joined the firm in May, was ranked in Private Equity (China): Venture Capital Investment.