Law360 Recognizes Ropes & Gray Attorneys as Rising Stars

Law360 has named four Ropes & Gray attorneys to its 2020 “Rising Stars” list. Corporate partner Zachary Blume (Boston) was recognized as a Life Sciences Rising Star; litigation & enforcement associate Helen Gugel (New York) was recognized as a Sports Rising Star; and private equity transactions partner Eric Issadore (San Francisco) was recognized as a Private Equity Rising Star. 

About our winners: 

Zach Blume advised Wright Medical Group in its $5.4 billion sale to Stryker, one of the largest medical device deals announced in 2019. The transaction has demonstrated many of the complexities of selling a multi-national company organized in a foreign country, including structuring challenges due to the cross-border nature and regulatory reviews in multiple jurisdictions, as well as the novel issues caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Helen Gugel, in the firm’s litigation & enforcement practice, served as the lead associate on the high-profile, 10-month independent investigation commissioned by the U.S. Olympic Committee into the abuse of hundreds of elite and Olympic athletes by former USA Gymnastics national team doctor Larry Nassar. The team of attorneys issued a highly anticipated, comprehensive 233-page report in December 2018 that not only determined “who knew what when” and what was and was not done in response, but also examined the structural framework and cultural conditions that were conducive to Nassar’s system of abuse. 

In a headline-grabbing March 2020 transaction, Eric Issadore represented tech investment giant Silver Lake Partners in its $1 billion investment in Twitter, a sum that Twitter said would go toward a $2 billion share repurchase program. Eric guided Silver Lake through an agreement to purchase $1 billion in aggregate principal amount of Twitter’s convertible senior notes. As part of the deal, Silver Lake co-CEO and managing partner Egon Durban was appointed to the Twitter board of directors.