Joan McPhee Recognized as Law360 White Collar MVP

Litigation and enforcement partner Joan McPhee has been recognized by Law360 as a 2019 White Collar MVP. A founder and one of the first chairs of Ropes & Gray’s government enforcement practice, Ms. McPhee has been spearheading white collar defense and government investigation matters since she joined the firm. This year, she is honored by Law360 for her work on high profile matters including the 10-month independent investigation into decades of sexual abuses by former USA Gymnastics national team doctor Larry Nassar.

"The 'who knew what when' is a classic investigative function, but the U.S. Olympic Committee matter required us to go beyond that and to look at systemic factors," Ms. McPhee said in her Law360 MVP profile. "To look at governance, to look at cultural conditions, to look at Nassar's system of abuse, and then to attempt, through that work, to get to the bottom of the complex contributing factors that led to the Nassar tragedy."

Law360 notes that while women lawyers have long been underrepresented in white-collar defense work, women partners comprise nearly 50% of Ropes & Gray’s government enforcement and white collar practice group, a statistic that surpasses industry averages. "Many at Ropes & Gray have contributed to that accomplishment, but we achieved it through hiring, mentoring and advancing talented women and giving them opportunities early and often," Ms. McPhee told Law360. "Those talented women, in turn, have gone on to thrive in their practices and light the path for those coming along behind."