RopesTalk

Following the recent publication relating to continued global pressure on drug pricing, this episode of Ropes & Gray’s podcast series Non-binding Guidance focuses on the significant changes to global business and legal environments for drug pricing brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic and the impacts on the pharmaceutical supply chain and patient access to innovative cutting-edge therapies. Hear from Ropes & Gray’s head of European life sciences practice Lincoln Tsang and health care partner Margaux Hall as they discuss the trend of rising health care drug costs in the U.S. and the UK, significant implications of the Inflation Reduction Act and similar drug pricing policy in the countries outside the U.S., the increasing role of real-world evidence in decision making, and impacts from these changes across the U.S., Europe and worldwide.

In this Ropes & Gray podcast, Michael Littenberg, global head of the ESG, CSR and business and human rights practice, and Josh Lichtenstein, a benefits partner and head of the ERISA fiduciary practice, speak with Reagan Haas, an ERISA and benefits associate, about the increasing activity at the state level dictating what role, if any, ESG factors should play in managing public retirement plan assets, and other related developments. Later in the episode, Chong Park, an antitrust partner, joins the conversation to discuss assertions that some states are making that managers’ ESG commitments violate antitrust laws.

In this episode of Fully Invested, Ropes & Gray asset management attorneys Nicole Krea, Jessica Marlin, and litigation & enforcement attorney Matt McGinnis introduce listeners to the contours and typical lifecycles of SEC examinations for registered investment advisers.

Ropes & Gray’s podcast series Talkin’ Trade explores the world of Section 337 unfair import investigations at the U.S. International Trade Commission. Much of the focus of Section 337 litigation at the ITC is on the “violation” phase, where the Commission determines in the first instance whether to issue an exclusion order or cease and desist order. But ITC litigants should not lose sight of follow-on proceedings where these remedial orders can be modified or rescinded, or the ITC can impose civil penalties to enforce these orders. In this episode, Ropes & Gray IP litigators Matt Rizzolo, Matt Shapiro, Brendan McLaughlin, and Becca Gentilli shed some light on these so-called “ancillary proceedings,” explaining why and how they are used, who presides over them, and comparing and contrasting them to other post-violation procedural options.

In the latest installment of Ropes & Gray’s Alumni @ RopesTalk podcast, health care partner Ben Wilson interviews Erin Abood, senior university counsel at Stanford University. Erin was a health care associate at Ropes & Gray for five years before joining the in-house team at Stanford in 2010. Her practice focuses on digital health, international medicine, fraud and abuse, and privacy issues for Stanford Medicine. In this interview, Erin discusses her transition from Big Law to a small in-house team, what her team at Stanford values most about outside counsel, how her secondment to Stanford while still an associate helped smooth the path for her, and the phenomenal training she received at Ropes & Gray that she feels was critical to her development as a lawyer. She also reflects on the dramatic shift to digital health during the pandemic, and offers advice to associates who are considering an in-house move.

In this episode of Fully Invested, Ropes & Gray asset management attorneys Laurel FitzPatrick and Jessica Marlin introduce listeners to private credit funds and the different types of debt in which such funds invest. They further discuss how a credit fund’s underlying assets affect fund terms and structure.

In this episode of Fully Invested, Ropes & Gray asset management partners Marc Biamonte and Lindsey Goldstein introduce listeners to the “fund of funds” product, an alternative investment fund designed to invest in other privately offered alternative investment vehicles. They provide an overview of the different types of investments typically made by a fund of funds (primary, secondary and co-investment), the evolution of the fund of funds structure, and what both sponsors and investors should keep in mind when considering providing or investing in a fund of funds product.

In this episode of Women @ RopesTalk, hosted by IP transactions partner Megan Baca, IP transactions partner Erica Han interviews Mallory Capasso, general counsel and vice president of legal and regulatory at Luxury Brand Partners (LBP), a company that develops and nurtures prestigious, artist-driven beauty brands. Mallory shares her experience moving from a law firm to becoming the only in-house counsel at LBP, where she handles everything from trademark policy to employment issues, corporate work, board work and privacy laws, to running the company’s regulatory department. Reflecting on the keys to success in this multi-faceted role, Mallory emphasizes the importance of communication, staying curious, nurturing a great culture, having mentors and role models—especially seeing other successful women—and having the courage and confidence to bring new ideas to the table and be a changemaker.

In this episode of Fully Invested, Ropes & Gray asset management attorneys Molly Moore, Egan Cammack and Lindsey Jones provide an overview of key areas of focus for GCs and asset managers when negotiating and entering into derivatives transactions, including credit and counterparty risk, documentation, potential CFTC registration, and other regulatory considerations.

In a follow-up to our recent podcast regarding stablecoins, in this Ropes & Gray podcast, asset management attorneys Melissa Bender, Glen Chen and Charlie Humphreville discuss what is happening more broadly in the crypto markets, including the decline in the price of bitcoin and other tokens, and the consequences of these trends on fundraising for crypto funds.