RopesTalk

In this Ropes & Gray podcast, asset management partners Melissa Bender and Isabel Dische discuss how market participants are rethinking social factors – the “S” in ESG – in light of the Covid-19 pandemic. Their conversation focuses on why asset managers may want to consider integrating social factors into their investment analysis and some challenges in doing so.

In this Ropes & Gray podcast, asset management partner Jason Brown and litigation partner Dan O’Connor discuss the SEC’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (“OCIE”) risk alert providing observations and guidance on compliance issues for registered investment advisers that manage private equity funds or hedge funds. Based on years of experience representing registered investment advisers, Jason and Dan provide their own observations on the compliance deficiencies that OCIE highlighted: (1) conflicts of interest, (2) fees and expenses; and (3) codes of ethics, including material nonpublic information (MNPI).

The tenth installment of Ropes & Gray’s podcast series, Non-binding Guidance, focuses on FDA regulation of COVID-19 diagnostic tests, with a particular focus on employee testing. In this episode, chair of Ropes & Gray’s FDA regulatory practice, Greg Levine, interviews Lauren Silvis, a former FDA official and currently Senior Vice President of External Affairs for Tempus, a clinical molecular technology company, to hear her input on the role employee testing can play in maintaining a safe workplace. Topics covered include the role of antibody tests, testing of asymptomatic persons, pooled sample testing, and evolving technologies such as Next Generation Sequencing (NGS). Prior to joining Tempus, Lauren spent a number of years at the FDA, first as deputy center director for policy in the agency's Center for Devices and Radiological Health, and subsequently as the FDA chief of staff, where she was responsible for overseeing the daily management of the agency and leading the agency's activities on major initiatives. Additionally, Lauren co-authored several reports and articles on COVID-19 – most recently, “How Businesses Can Keep Employees Safe From Coronavirus.”

In this Ropes & Gray podcast, asset management partners Isabel Dische and Lindsey Goldstein discuss what it means for a fund to “fall out of carry,” as recent months have shown some significant market declines in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic. They’ll also discuss considerations that both fund sponsors and investors will want to keep in mind if their funds no longer accrue carry.

In this episode of Ropes & Gray’s podcast series, Culture & Compliance Chronicles, litigation & enforcement attorney Tina Yu talks with Julian Danobeitia, an executive coach and director at DownTheCorridor. The first of a two-part discussion, this episode focuses on how the legal and compliance functions are often perceived within organizations, and why that impacts their ability to perform. Drawing on professional experiences, movies and psychology, the two also drill down on what kind of relationships among co-workers tend to foster a more healthy compliance culture.

The Criminal Division of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Enforcement Division of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) released the Second Edition of A Resource Guide to the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) on July 3, 2020 (the “2020 Resource Guide”), updating the first edition released in November 2012 (the “2012 Resource Guide”). The 2020 Resource Guide does not make fundamental changes to its predecessor, but serves as a repository of various legal and regulatory developments since 2012. This includes highlighting developments in case law such as United States v. Hoskins, as well as new sections dedicated to discussing guidance such as the DOJ FCPA Corporate Enforcement Policy, Selection of Monitors in Criminal Division Matters, Coordination of Corporate Resolution Penalties (or Anti-Piling On Policy), and the Criminal Division’s Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs. In this Ropes & Gray podcast, Alex Rene, co-chair of the firm’s litigation & enforcement practice, moderates a conversation with the co-leaders of the firm’s anti-corruption and international risk practice—María González Calvet, Amanda Raad and Ryan Rohlfsen—on the updates in the 2020 Resource Guide, as well as their implications on liabilities and responsibilities under the FCPA, including regulator views on compliance programs and culture.

The latest installment of Ropes & Gray’s podcast series, Culture & Compliance Chronicles, explores company culture in times of crisis. In the final part of a three-part discussion, litigation & enforcement attorney Amanda Raad talks with three partners at EY—Maryam Hussain, Melissa Myatt and Katharina Weghmann—all of whom study decision-making in the corporate context. In this episode, the group explores what effective remediation looks like and how it all ties back to the root cause of the issue. They also circle back to how companies can create a culture of compliance and the role ethics plays in this, especially for companies that use data analytics to measure culture.

The latest installment of Ropes & Gray’s podcast series, Culture & Compliance Chronicles, explores company culture in times of crisis. In part two of a three-part discussion, litigation & enforcement attorney Amanda Raad talks with three partners at EY—Maryam Hussain, Melissa Myatt and Katharina Weghmann—all of whom study decision-making in the corporate context. In the last episode, the group considered what the research says about the drivers of firm culture. In this episode, they shift to how companies can actually define and measure culture. They explore innovative approaches that go beyond the usual employee surveys. They also discuss why now is a particularly unique moment for companies to study their cultures, and how focusing on particular aspects of culture can make the inquiry less overwhelming and more fruitful.

In this Ropes & Gray podcast, moderated by health care associate Michael DiMaio, the co-leaders of the firm’s Global Health Care Compliance Initiative, Amanda Raad, Andy Dale and Alison Fethke, discuss compliance concerns related to the COVID-19 pandemic. They address issues that are top-of-mind for health care and life sciences clients, including shifts in business practices and enforcement risks, and operational challenges such as drug supply limitations.

In the latest installment of Ropes & Gray’s alumni podcast series, Alumni @ RopesTalk, IP litigation partner Matt Rizzolo interviews Jason Idilbi, general counsel at Passport Labs, a mobility software platform that facilitates mobile parking and transit ticketing applications. Jason reflects on his “non-linear” legal career path, which began at Ropes & Gray in 2008 and led to roles as a judicial clerk, litigator and in-house counsel. Now at Passport, Jason talks about the most difficult project he’s had to tackle in the last three years, and also what he looks for when engaging outside counsel.