Ropes & Gray Names 16 New Partners

Global law firm Ropes & Gray announced today that 16 attorneys have been named partners of the firm, effective November 1.

The new partners illustrate the characteristics that have established Ropes & Gray as one of the world’s premier global law firms. They are proven industry leaders with deep knowledge of our clients’ businesses, and deliver exceptional results on our clients’ most important and complex matters. They are also devoted stewards of the firm and committed to the communities we serve.  

“During such an unprecedented year, the making of new partners is a wonderful moment to pause, celebrate and look to the future of the firm. We are excited to welcome these talented colleagues into the partnership. Their client-focus and unparalleled excellence will make us all the stronger,” said Julie Jones, chair of the firm.

The new partners represent practices and specialties of critical importance to the firm’s clients across multiple industries, including asset management, private equity, life sciences and health care, and technology.

“These lawyers represent the very best of Ropes & Gray, and we are proud to welcome them as our newest partners,” said David Djaha, the firm’s managing partner. “They go all-in for their clients, 24-7. They are trusted advisors who deliver cutting edge, commercial and strategic advice and the great results our clients expect from Ropes.”  

Meet Ropes & Gray’s newest partners:

Christina Bergeron – Christina counsels prominent health care and private equity clients on complex health care related transactions, providing clear guidance on the complex regulatory issues that arise in such transactions. Clients laud her ability to negotiate challenging provisions, and finding creative ways to resolve the myriad of issues and challenges which arise in the transactional context. During the COVID-19 crisis, she has also become a leader in providing advice and guidance to clients with respect to their application, use and documentation of government funding under the Provider Relief Fund and Payroll Protection Programs, serving clients in need of funding to continue to support their operations. 

Alexander (Sandy) Boer – Sandy, a private equity lawyer, is praised by clients for taking complex issues and providing creative solutions. He has deep experience representing private equity sponsors and private and public companies on a broad range of mergers and acquisitions, leveraged buyouts and structured minority investments. Clients also praise Sandy’s work advising them on internal processes, including his guidance formulating and implementing plans to address recurring issues in their legal departments. Sandy also has an active pro bono practice working with The Nature Conservancy, Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing, and the Transgender ID Project.

Jennifer Cormier – Described as a “go-to” advisor for our clients, Jen is a stellar all-around employment and executive compensation lawyer who serves as a single point of contact on employment, executive compensation and equity issues in transactions. Jen’s experience ranges from negotiating senior management arrangements, to advising on sensitive executive separations. Jen also counsels on all aspects of the employment relationship, including wage and hour law compliance, employee discipline and disputes, and workforce planning. She serves as a steering committee member for the firm’s Women’s Forum and Multicultural Forum.

Adam Dobson – Adam, in the firm’s asset management practice, is a skilled transactional and private funds lawyer, who represents asset managers and institutional investors, including sovereign wealth funds, fund of funds, secondary buyers, and other large investors with respect to their direct, secondary, and co-investment programs, as well as direct and bespoke transactions. In the red-hot secondary market, where institutional knowledge is prized, Adam is viewed as a highly effective adviser. Adam’s pro bono contributions include working at the Texas-Mexico border to reunite, and provide legal representation to, families separated in the immigration process.

Hannah H. England (Freeman) – Clients describe Hannah as a highly skilled and dynamic adviser who is emerging as a significant player in life sciences law. Hannah has worked on an extraordinary number of life sciences collaboration, licensing and commercial transactions, including guiding Sarepta Therapeutics in a $1.15 billion collaboration and license agreement with Roche, winner of LMG Life Sciences’ 2020 “Impact Deal of the Year”. She serves as a leader of a Ropes & Gray Women’s Forum mentoring circle, and, she regularly rides with the firm’s Pan Mass Challenge team and runs with the firm’s half-marathon “road warrior” team.

Elizabeth Gallucci – One of the top PE/M&A lawyers in the Bay Area, Elizabeth is focused on leveraged buyouts, sales and minority investments for private equity sponsors and their portfolio companies. She has executed deals across a diverse range of industries, especially for dealmakers in the middle-market. She is an active member of the San Francisco Private Equity Network, with which she organizes targeted events with female investment professionals, including women lawyers. Prior to joining Ropes & Gray, Elizabeth was a fellow at the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights, whose mission is to fighting discrimination through litigation and advocacy.

Abigail Gregor – Abby, in the firm’s life sciences licensing practice, is indispensable to the life-sciences focused investment funds, large pharmaceutical companies, small biotech companies, academic and institutional clients she serves. She excels in licensing, complex collaborations (including complex clinical trial funding agreements) and royalty monetization transactions, with a pragmatic, solutions-oriented style that differentiates her practice from others. She is also committed to pro bono work, specifically organizations focused on children’s rights (such as education and immigration), and serves on the host committee for the My Life My Choice Gala – an organization that seeks to combat the trafficking of young women.

Justin Kliger – Justin is key member of Ropes & Gray’s fund formation practice. He has a full range of experience advising closed end investment funds and investors in all stages of their lifecycle, including complex formation, compliance, and operational and governance issues. Justin’s accomplishments include representing buyout firms in fund formations ranging from $100 million to in excess of $1 billion in value. Justin is committed to pro bono, including serving as a director at Discovery Museum, a popular children’s museum complex in greater Boston.

Adam Leamon – Adam is a driven lawyer focused on a diverse array of private equity transactions, including control acquisitions and minority investments across a broad range of industries, including technology, health care and life sciences. He also represents investment management firms in connection with strategic transactions including mergers and acquisitions and divestitures. Clients have gone out of their way to say that Adam “punches above his weight” and that he is an exceptional relationship lawyer. He also participates in pro bono clinics at Rosie’s Place and supports the non-profit initiatives of our clients.

Chune Loong Lum – An attorney in our Hong Kong private funds practice, Chune Loong, who is fluent in Mandarin, is a trusted advisor to our sponsor-side fund clients, while he continues to represent institutional investors in their primary, secondary and co-investment transactions. Prominent asset managers rely on Chune Loong to guide large and complex fundraises, particularly in the growth equity, buyout, credit and real estate sectors. On the investor client side, Chune Loong focuses on PE and Venture Capital fund investments, co-investments and hedge fund style investments. He also regularly helps guide clients through China’s regulatory landscape.

William Michener – Will, a capital markets and public company attorney, is a sophisticated securities practitioner, acting for both issuers and underwriters in securities offerings and other complicated public company transactions. Will’s practice encompasses a diverse client base spanning a wide variety of industries, and he has established himself as a preferred attorney for leading pharmaceutical, consumer brand and financial services companies, as well as bulge-bracket banks acting as underwriters. He is also a key resource for securitization offerings, including whole business securitizations. Clients, and attorneys at the firm, value Will’s securities law expertise and dedication.  

David Peloquin – Clients routinely praise David for his thorough and high-quality work. His health care practice focuses on the complex legal and ethical questions around scientific integrity, medical research and clinical trials. His work is especially important for researchers sharing information across borders, and his client base includes prominent research institutions. This year, David’s talent has been particularly in demand, guiding clients on COVID-19-related issues. David is committed to pro bono and advises the Multi-Regional Clinical Trials Center of Harvard and Brigham & Women’s Hospital. He also is a Community Member of Brigham & Women’s Hospital Institutional Review Board.

Rob Roberts – Rob is a versatile civil litigator who focuses on commercial litigation, including high stakes deal litigation and bankruptcy litigation, among other areas. He recently played a major role on an expedited high-profile litigation win in Delaware that enabled a multi-billion-dollar leveraged buyout to proceed to signing this summer. Clients note his “immense knowledge,” “careful preparation” and his ability to keep his composure in high-stakes situations. He is also deeply civic-minded and committed to pro bono work; Rob has played an essential role in litigation focused on COVID-19 issues in Massachusetts prisons. He is also a member of the Massachusetts Black Lawyers Association and vice-chair of the board of directors for the Volunteer Lawyers Project of the Boston Bar Association. 

Andrew Silver – Andrew’s practice focuses principally on leveraged buyouts and strategic acquisitions for private equity sponsors and their portfolio companies. Over his career, Andrew has guided billions of dollars in transactions, including myriad deals for middle market private equity sponsor clients. PE firms routinely reach out to Andrew directly regarding new platform acquisitions and add-on acquisitions for their portfolio companies. Clients and attorneys at the firm alike describe him as a strong relationship lawyer who is adept at anticipating complex issues and providing carefully thought-out solutions. 

Benjamin Wilson – Ben stands out both for his versatility and intellectual prowess, known for thoughtfully unpacking complicated statutory and regulatory frameworks. He has a remarkable understanding of Medicare and Medicaid regulations as well as federal and state payment reform initiatives, and he applies his deep regulatory knowledge to a broad range of transactions, including affiliations among academic medical centers, health systems and universities, acquisitions by strategic buyers, and private equity transactions. His knowledge is critical for for-profit and not-for-profit health care providers and payers. Ben also counsels on all aspects of health care corporate financing advice.

Sarah Young – Sarah, based in our New York office, is renowned for her client focus, and has extensive experience in public company M&A transactions, representing clients across all industries. Clients have lauded Sarah for her “rare combination of extraordinary work ethic plus commercial judgment.” Sarah represents clients in industries such as technology (semiconductors, software, cloud computing and other), health care and life sciences, consumer and retail, and financial services, among others. In these areas, she has guided numerous, headline-grabbing deals. Sarah has been a past co-lead for Ropes & Gray’s New York Corporate Women’s Forum circle. Since April 2018, she has also devoted more than 200 hours to representing The Nature Conservancy on a pro bono basis.