RopesTalk

This installation of Ropes & Gray’s podcast series Non-binding Guidance focuses on The Defense Production Act (DPA), a wartime production law that gives the president a broad set of powers to influence and mobilize domestic industry in the interest of national defense, and its implications for life sciences companies. Over time, Congress has expanded the DPA’s scope to include civil crises resulting from national disasters, terrorist attacks, and other national emergencies—most recently, the COVID-19 pandemic. In this episode, Ropes & Gray life sciences regulatory & compliance attorneys Beth Weinman and Jessica Band discuss the history of the DPA, how it has been used during the COVID-19 pandemic, and what use we can expect to see going forward. The discussion also addresses the specific authorities conveyed by the DPA, how to respond to issuance of a priority-rated contract and the scope of such contracts, and what opportunities may be provided by the DPA for life sciences companies.

In this Ropes & Gray podcast, asset management partners Brian McCabe and Paulita Pike, and counsel Ed Baer, discuss digital assets and the ways these assets may be included in registered funds.

The Ropes & Gray Decoding Digital Health podcast series discusses the digital health industry and related legal, business and regulatory issues. In this inaugural episode, the co-leads of the Ropes & Gray Digital Health Initiative, Megan Baca, Kellie Combs and Christine Moundas, take a multidisciplinary approach to exploring trends and hot topics for 2021 related to their transactional, FDA regulatory and health care practices. Many of the topics covered in this initial episode will be further discussed and explored throughout the series, including developments in artificial intelligence, big data and interoperability considerations, as well as regulations and guidance around telehealth, software as a medical device, and use of real-world evidence.

Ropes & Gray’s new podcast series Talkin’ Trade explores the world of unfair import investigations at the U.S. International Trade Commission. In this episode, IP litigation partner Matt Rizzolo introduces listeners to Section 337 Investigations at the ITC and explain how the ITC is a powerful tool in intellectual property disputes.

In part six of our ETF podcast series, Ropes & Gray attorneys Paulita Pike, Brian McCabe, and Ed Baer discuss the growth of ETFs that invest using ESG considerations.

In this episode of Women @ RopesTalk, hosted by IP transactions partner Megan Baca, private equity partner Chau Le interviews Tamarah Belczyk, Managing Director and Deputy General Counsel at Audax Group, a leading middle-market alternative asset management firm. Tamarah starts by sharing the most exciting recent developments in debt financing products and legal knowledge management tools. In thinking about what attracted her to the law, Tamarah makes a case for how English majors are well suited to contract drafting. Tamarah also talks about the advantages of diverse teams, specifically in the field of private equity, and gives advice on how to succeed as a woman in a male-dominated field (hint: it doesn’t involve changing your personality).

In this fourth episode of Ropes & Gray’s podcast series addressing emerging issues for fiduciaries of 401(k) and 403(b) retirement plans to consider as part of their litigation risk management strategy, ERISA & benefits partner Josh Lichtenstein speaks with Ed McNicholas, co-chair of the data, privacy & cybersecurity practice, and David Kirchner, a principal in the benefits consulting group, about the U.S. Department of Labor’s new cybersecurity guidance, which identifies steps that plan sponsors, service providers and participants should take for safeguarding retirement benefits and personal information.

Ropes & Gray’s podcast series Conductive Discussions focuses on legal issues of interest to the semiconductor industry. In this episode, IP litigation partner Mark Rowland, and data, privacy & cybersecurity partner Ed McNicholas and associate Fran Faircloth discuss recent developments in cybersecurity, ranging from potential and actual cyberattacks to the government and industry responses to such cybersecurity threats.

In this Ropes & Gray podcast, asset management partners Isabel Dische and Adam Dobson discuss points that investors should consider when negotiating terms of co-investments in light of the dramatic growth in the fund recapitalization market.

In this Ropes & Gray podcast, Alyson Gal, Milap Patel and Jill Kalish Levy discuss recent developments in the long-awaited LIBOR cessation. In particular, our attorneys analyze the rationale and impact behind its newly announced bifurcated rollout.