Departments: Corporate

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The Corporate Department is the largest department in the firm, with more than 400 lawyers and other professionals focusing on business law. Our clients range from start-up ventures to Fortune 500 companies; from community medical centers and local school districts to world-renowned hospitals and universities; and from individual investors to nationally known investment funds that manage billions of dollars. To help you understand our practice, we present below the answers to Frequently Asked Questions.

FAQs
What do we do?
How are we organized?
Do corporate lawyers practice in more than one practice group?
How and when do associates choose a practice group?
Are associates required to rotate through practice groups?
How are work assignments distributed?
How are work assignments allocated among different offices?
Do associates have an opportunity to work with different partners?
How much partner contact and client contact will I have as a first-year associate?
What is the range of projects I can expect in my first year?
How can I make sure that I won’t get “lost in the shuffle” in such a big department?
What sort of formal training will I get to supplement the courses I took in law school?
Can you give me a sense of what I would actually do as a corporate associate?

What do we do?
Among other things, we help our clients borrow money, issue stock, merge companies, acquire and sell businesses, contract with suppliers and customers, bring products to market, protect intellectual property, and achieve regulatory compliance. In serving our clients, we regularly counsel chief executives and boards of directors, and we work hand in hand with inside counsel.

We advise a broad array of companies on a wide variety of corporate matters, including some of the largest and most prominent mergers and acquisitions ever accomplished. For example, we’ve represented Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, which operates in the specialty coffee industry, in its acquisitions of Van Houtte, Inc., Diedrich Coffee and in its sale of shares of common stock to Luigi Lavazza. Ropes & Gray has also represented Green Mountain Coffee Roasters in its acquisitions of Timothy’s Coffees of the World, Inc., Tully’s Coffee Corporation, and Keurig Corporation. We represented Genzyme Corporation, one of the world’s leading biotechnology companies, in its $20.1 billion acquisition by Sanofi-Aventis S.A. We have also represented Genzyme in the divestiture of three of its business units, including Genzyme Genetics’ sale to Laboratory Corporation of America for $925 million.

Thanks to our Investment Management clients, we have one of the largest and most diversified investment funds practices of any U.S. firm. The principal focus of our practice is the representation of investment companies, hedge funds and investment advisers. In 2009, Ropes & Gray received Chambers and Partners' Award for Excellence, recognizing us as the law firm having the preeminent Investment Funds practice in the United States. This award reflects the combined strengths of our top ranked national leading practices in the mutual funds, private equity funds and hedge funds practice areas.

How are we organized?
The Corporate Department is headed by two partners, Cary Armistead and Merrill Ulmer, and is divided into practice groups; descriptions of each can be accessed by clicking on the links shown below.

Colleges & Universities
Finance
Health Care
Hedge Funds
Intellectual Property Rights Management
Intellectual Property Transactions
Investment Management
Life Sciences
Private Equity
Private Investment Funds
Real Estate
Securities & Public Companies
Sports Law

In addition to these practice groups, the Corporate Department also has partners and associates engaged in a broad variety of corporate work, including public finance, clean energy, retail & consumer and broker-dealer.

Do corporate lawyers practice in more than one practice group?
Many lawyers in the department practice in more than one practice group. We encourage junior lawyers to develop a broad base of knowledge by taking assignments from a variety of corporate department practice groups during their first two years. Associates then select one practice group as their “home room.” This means that most of an associate’s work will come from that practice group. However, associates are encouraged to work with partners and associates in other practice groups to help meet client needs and to develop into well-rounded corporate attorneys.

John Ayer, a partner in the Boston office and associate Richard Moore (Northeastern University School of Law '07), frequently work together on private investment fund formations. Richard also works with a number of other partners in the Private Equity group.

How and when do associates choose a practice group?
New associates with an interest in corporate practice are actively encouraged to take on assignments in a wide variety of the department’s practice groups. As they gain experience, associates begin to develop preferences. We have found that by the conclusion of an associate’s second year of practice, the associate is in an excellent position to select a practice group in which to join.

Heidy Abreu (Cornell ’08), bottom, based in our Boston office, have had experiences that reflect the flexibility the firm affords junior associates. Heidy did not join the firm with a definite concentration in mind. During her first two years at the firm, she received assignments from the Investment Management, Securities and Public Companies, Private Equity, Financing and Intellectual Properties Transactions practice groups. At the conclusion of Heidy’s second year, she decided to join the Securities and Public Companies group. Heidy’s experience is typical of many first-year associates at Ropes & Gray who start with us without any practice group leanings and sample a variety of projects during their first couple of years at the firm before selecting an area in which to specialize.

Are associates required to rotate through practice groups?
No. In contrast to an assignment system that requires junior associates to spend a fixed amount of time working exclusively in one practice group, we have a flexible assignment system that allows associates to work on projects from several different practice groups simultaneously.

How are work assignments distributed?
Merrill Ulmer, oversees the corporate work assignment process. The Manager of Corporate Staffing and Development coordinates assignments for the junior associates and works with the Corporate practice groups to assign work to those associates who have self-selected to take on work in a specific practice area. Once an associate has joined a practice group, the staffing partner for that group manages the associate’s workload. In distributing work assignments, the department and practice groups try to ensure that each junior associate has an opportunity to work for a variety of practice groups and that assignments are spread as evenly as possible among associates.

Charlie Boer (Georgetown University Law Center '07) experience reflects the opportunities available through the firm’s flexible assignment system. He is in the Private Equity group and has worked on both mid-market and large transactions. During the past three years, Charlie has also received work from Securities & Public Companies and Private Investment Funds practice groups

How are work assignments allocated among different offices?
We operate the Corporate Department as a unified global practice. Although for geographical reasons our preference is to staff a particular project with lawyers from the office that is closest to the location of the client, this is not an absolute rule. Projects are staffed firmwide to balance the levels of activity in different offices. This approach also allows lawyers from different offices to work together to develop strong professional and personal ties and to help us achieve our goal of working as a unified firm, rather than a collection of autonomous branch offices. From an associate’s perspective, the advantage of this system is that the associate is not limited to working with the partners or clients of a particular office but can access the resources and clients of the entire firm.

Do associates have an opportunity to work with different partners?
Yes. In contrast to a system where associates work for only one partner, we have a flexible system that enables associates to work on projects for partners from different practice groups around the world. We believe it is important for associates to work with and learn from many different partners throughout their career because it helps the associates develop their own distinct approach to lawyering.

Junlin Ho (The University of Chicago Law School ‘07) primarily focuses on transactional work for publicly and privately held Life Sciences companies, advising companies and investors on venture capital transactions. During the past four years, she has had the opportunity to work with both partners and clients located throughout the United States.

How much partner contact and client contact will I have as a first-year associate?
A significant amount of both. The Corporate Department has a ratio of roughly two associates to each partner. As a result, most transactions are staffed with one partner and one or two associates. Except on very large transactions, our associates typically work directly with partners and, when appropriate, will participate in client meetings and on many occasions interface directly with clients. To get a sense of the type of work that junior associates actually do on a corporate project, please review the illustrative transactions for each practice group by clicking on the practice group hyperlinks above.

What is the range of projects I can expect in my first year?
Because there is no prescribed combination of projects to be assigned to first-year associates who have expressed an interest in the Corporate Department, and because the department strives to accommodate the expressed practice area interests of each corporate-oriented first-year associate, there is a wide variation in the projects that associates are assigned during their first year. Please see the link below to learn more about the types of assignments a corporate associate worked on during the course of her first year at Ropes & Gray.

Tara Fisher
For a description of the projects she worked on in her first year, click here.

How can I make sure that I won’t get “lost in the shuffle” in such a big department?
The Corporate Department understands this concern and has numerous structures in place to ensure that all associates participate meaningfully and successfully in the department’s practice. First, each first year corporate associate will have a continuing assignment with one practice group and will receive up to 25% of his or her work assignments from this practice area. This allows the new associate to develop experience and a depth of understanding in one practice area, as well as the opportunity to cultivate client relationships from the outset. Next, many project and client teams consist of just two or three lawyers — one partner and one or two associates. These small teams promote the informal mentoring and practical training that we believe develop talented law students into savvy lawyers.

There is no substitute for the learning that comes from informal, partner level mentoring, and the process continues well beyond an associate's first year at the firm. Here, associates Peter Bordonaro (Tulane University Law School '08), Susan Parker (George Washington University '09) and partner Tom Draper review issues related to an upcoming financing for a client.

Third, the Corporate Department assigns a coordinating lawyer from the department to act as a mentor to each new associate. The program is designed to enhance the new associate’s integration into the firm and to the practice of corporate law. Finally, there is a firm-wide training program, supplemented by an extensive departmental training program that all new corporate associates attend.

What sort of formal training will I get to supplement the courses I took in law school?
In addition to the direct informal training that takes place in practice on a daily basis, the Corporate Department has an elaborate and formal training program, recognized for its excellence by The Vault Guide, designed to help law students become practical and experienced corporate lawyers. Our programs include:

Two Corporate Training Camps held for corporate associates in their initial months at the firm. For a description of the Training Camps, click here.
Core Curriculum Seminars are held on a weekly basis for corporate associates during their first five months of practice. For a description of the Core Curriculum Seminars, click here.
Practice Group Trainings. Most practice groups offer monthly lunches and training sessions for the lawyers to share legal and client development ideas. Many groups also offer specialized training for new associates.
Advanced Seminars are offered to associates and partners on various topics from time to time. For a description of the Advanced Curriculum Seminars, click here.
Mid-level Associate Retreat. Each year, the firm holds a two day retreat for associates transitioning from midlevel to senior associate status. The retreat covers topics of special relevance to associates making that important transition, including Matter Management, Leadership Skills, Ethics and Risk Management, Business Development, and the review process for senior associates.
External Training Programs. As associates become more experienced and begin to specialize external programs provide useful formal training. Accordingly, mid-level and senior associates are encouraged to look for appropriate opportunities to develop skills by attending these outside programs.
Technology Training. Technology has become an integral part of the practice of law. For a description of the Technology Training Opportunities, click here
Individualized Training Opportunities. For lawyers who seek additional training, there are a number of available opportunities. The department's current library of corporate training sessions are available for review on your computer desktop via streaming video. In addition, lawyers can log on to online seminars and webcasts organized by the Practicing Lawyer Institute (“PLI”). These classes include both catalog courses that can be viewed at any time that you choose and simulcast courses that you can participate in while they are being conducted.

Can you give me a sense of what I would actually do as a corporate associate?
We believe that one of the greatest strengths of our Corporate Department is the prestigious nature of our clients and the exciting projects that we do for them. We have tried to describe these projects from the associate‘s perspective by asking our associates to describe their role with respect to some recent projects from each practice area with the Corporate Department. To access these descriptions, please click on the hyperlink above for the practice area(s) in which you are interested, then click on the hyperlink for the associate‘s role on any given project or transaction.