Ropes & Gray Podcasts

In this fifth episode of our Ropes & Gray podcast series addressing emerging issues for fiduciaries of 401(k) and 403(b) plans to consider as part of their litigation risk management strategy, David Kirchner and Jack Eckart, both from our benefits consulting group, discuss pooled employer plans (or PEPs). PEPs allow employers to join a group retirement plan that is administered by third-party service providers who will assume the majority of the administrative and investment fiduciary responsibilities (and risks) of managing a defined contribution retirement plan. While the marketplace is just beginning to take shape, PEPs may potentially be an attractive option for small and larger employers, as well as private equity sponsors that oversee plans of multiple companies across their portfolio.

In this episode of Women @ RopesTalk, hosted by IP transactions partner Megan Baca, life sciences partner Hannah Freeman interviews Cris Rothfuss, senior vice president of corporate transactions and deputy general counsel at Sarepta Therapeutics, a global biotechnology company focusing on rare diseases. An engaging storyteller, Cris talks about her unusual career trajectory, involving stops in private practice, academia and the biotech industry. She also shares her approach to mentoring—in her mind, a two-way street. And in thinking about leading teams, Cris reflects on a time in her life when her leadership skills were truly tested: when she orchestrated a 5,000-mile, three-month cross-country bike ride called The REAL Ride with four other riders to raise money for local schools.

Ropes & Gray’s podcast series Talkin’ Trade explores the world of Section 337 unfair import investigations at the U.S. International Trade Commission. In this episode, IP litigation partner Matt Rizzolo and associates Matt Shapiro, Brendan McLaughlin, and Kelley Chandler break down and explain the ITC’s domestic industry requirement.

In this Ropes & Gray podcast, asset management partner Jason Kolman and finance partner Patricia Lynch discuss rated note feeder funds, a new product that is becoming increasingly popular in the credit fund space. They discuss how these products meet the regulatory needs of insurance company investors, key differences compared to traditional feeder funds, and navigating the ratings agency process.

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 and associates Matt Shapiro and Brendan McLaughlin introduce 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.

This installation of Ropes & Gray’s podcast series Non-binding Guidance introduces Dr. Lincoln Tsang, a new Ropes & Gray lateral partner based in London, and head of the firm’s European life sciences practice. Join Greg Levine, partner and chair of the life sciences regulatory and compliance practice at Ropes & Gray, as he interviews and explores Lincoln’s unique career path as well as Lincoln’s thoughts on Brexit and other regulatory developments that may affect the life sciences industry in the UK and Europe in the coming years.

This edition of Ropes & Gray’s Capital Insights series captures our latest thinking on the coming changes in privacy and cybersecurity. In this podcast, join Ed McNicholas, co-chair of the data, privacy & cybersecurity practice, and Fran Faircloth, an associate in the data, privacy and cybersecurity practice, both based in Washington, D.C., as they look around the corner and discuss the developments in the White House on privacy and cybersecurity issues and how those changes will echo in federal agencies, the states, and internationally.

In this edition of Ropes & Gray’s podcast series On the Ropes: Enforcement Risk Roundtable, litigation and enforcement partner Amanda Raad and associate Kyle Zipf team up with Roman Iwański from B2RLaw to discuss the effect that Poland’s latest judicial reforms have on the legal landscape for conducting business in the country from an anti-corruption and international risk standpoint.

In this third episode in a series of Ropes & Gray podcasts addressing emerging issues for fiduciaries of 401(k) and 403(b) plans to consider as part of their litigation risk management strategy, litigation & enforcement partner Amy Roy and benefits consultant Aneisha Worrell discuss some key takeaways from Anderson v. Intel Corp. Investment Policy Committee, the first case to date to address the prudence question under ERISA of including private equity and hedge fund investments on a defined contribution plan menu.

In this Ropes & Gray podcast, asset management partner Joel Wattenbarger and counsel Nicole Krea discuss the new developments in the SEC during the changeover of administrations, including the recent release of a report from the Division of Examinations concerning their 2021 priorities. The Private Fund Regulatory Update is a series of podcasts discussing key issues of interest and updates in the regulatory and compliance space, focusing in particular on private fund managers.

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 associate David Serati, and litigation & enforcement partner Ama Adams, counsel Brendan Hanifin and associate Emerson Siegle discuss recent developments regarding the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) review process, enhanced export controls, and novel economic sanctions. These evolving foreign investment and trade regulations present complex challenges for semiconductor companies, particularly those with dealings involving China.