RopesTalk

We are pleased to introduce a new podcast series, Alumni @ RopesTalk, for our alumni interviews. Today’s podcast features Ropes & Gray alum Jeff Gleason in conversation with IP litigation partner Matt Rizzolo. Jeff and Matt were summer associates together back in 2007, and have stayed in touch over the years since Jeff left the firm to go in-house. Most recently, Jeff joined Delaware North, a global leader in hospitality and food services management, as assistant general counsel for gaming. Jeff discusses the challenges associated with moving in-house and offers advice to attorneys who may be looking to make the transition. Additionally, Jeff and Matt reminisce about their early days at Ropes & Gray. Tune in to hear more!

In this podcast, Jill Kalish Levy and Joel Wattenbarger discuss the impending cessation of LIBOR at the end of 2021 and its proposed replacement, SOFR, and how they differ. Market participants are already taking different approaches to the replacement of LIBOR from the documentation and logistical perspectives. This podcast explains the pros and cons of the various approaches, including the advantages and challenges associated with the “amendment approach” and the “hardwired approach” in documentation, and what actions credit fund managers may want to consider taking in 2019 to begin the transition away from LIBOR.

This new Ropes & Gray podcast series, The PEP Talk, Ropes & Gray’s Private Equity Podcast, focuses on legal issues of interest to the private equity industry. In the first episode of the series, asset management partners Peter Laybourn and Debra Lussier are joined by Keith Higgins, chair of the firm’s securities and governance practice and former SEC director of corporation finance, to discuss the opportunity for private equity funds to engage in general solicitation during fundraising under Rule 506(c) of Regulation D of the Securities Act.

In this podcast, Isabel Dische and Melissa Bender discuss the recent impact investing standards published by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), an arm of the World Bank. This discussion provides a high-level overview of the IFC impact investing framework and related considerations for asset owners and managers.

In this podcast, Isabel Dische and Josh Lichtenstein discuss President Trump’s April 10, 2019 Executive Order on Promoting Energy Infrastructure and Economic Growth and its possible implications for Department of Labor guidance with respect to ERISA plan fiduciaries’ consideration of environmental, social and governance (ESG) risks and opportunities as part of their investment processes and related proxy activities.

The second installment of Ropes & Gray’s new podcast series, Non-binding Guidance, addresses the departure of former FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, who resigned from his position last month. During his time at FDA, Commissioner Gottlieb employed an ambitious policy agenda, taking significant steps to combat the opioid crisis, improve access to generic drugs and biosimilars, confront the use of e-cigarettes by minors, and more. In this episode, Ropes & Gray lawyers Greg Levine, Kellie Combs, and Beth Weinman explore several areas of uncertainty that remain in the wake of Dr. Gottlieb’s resignation: the regulation of laboratory developed tests, dietary supplements, and off-label communications. Tune in to this discussion to learn more about the unfinished business of the Gottlieb administration, the impact of his resignation, and how the agency will move forward under Acting Commissioner Ned Sharpless.

In this podcast, Sarah Clinton and David Sullivan discuss interval funds registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, an increasingly common vehicle for credit strategies. As interval funds have risen in popularity recently, with the number of interval funds and amount of AUM having essentially doubled in the past two years, credit fund managers may be considering using this alternative strategy for the first time. This podcast explains what interval funds are and outlines advantages and challenges to these funds to provide credit fund managers a quick view into why they may want to consider registered interval funds.

Ropes & Gray’s new podcast series, Non-binding Guidance, highlights FDA regulatory developments and trends affecting the life sciences industry. In this inaugural episode, Ropes & Gray lawyers Al Cacozza, Sarah Blankstein and Joshua Oyster discuss how the FDA is currently regulating products containing cannabidiol, or CBD, and what to expect from FDA and Congress in the wake of FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb’s surprise resignation this month. The 2018 Farm Bill, signed into law last December, legalized hemp and its non-psychoactive ingredient CBD and distinguished both from marijuana, which is still considered by the federal government to be an illegal narcotic. But the Farm Bill left a cloud of uncertainty hanging over the emerging CBD industry because it expressly allowed FDA to continue unchanged its oversight and regulation of CBD products. Tune in to this lively discussion of the repercussions of the Farm Bill, how the FDA and state agencies are responding, and what investors and other stakeholders should know.

This Ropes & Gray podcast series highlights developments in Washington, D.C., affecting private funds and their legal, regulatory and compliance obligations. In this second installment, asset management partner Joel Wattenbarger and counsel David Tittsworth pick up on their conversation from January 2019, when the U.S. government was in partial shutdown, to discuss the aftermath of the shutdown and other legislative updates from Capitol Hill, as well as recent developments at the SEC, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the Financial Stability Oversight Council. Topics include Regulation Best Interest and related SEC initiatives; legislative updates related to capital formation, data collection and FinTech; recent developments related to the CFTC; and the FSOC’s proposed changes to how non-bank financial institutions are designated.

This new Ropes & Gray podcast series, Conductive Discussions, focuses on legal issues of interest to the semiconductor industry. In the first episode of the series, IP litigation partners Mark Rowland and Matt Rizzolo, and IP transactions associate Georgina Suzuki, discuss recent FRAND developments that impact supply chain and global patent licensing practices and recent trends in civil and criminal trade secret enforcement. This podcast also includes SiliconSpeak, a report of recent legal news in the semiconductor industry.