Ropes & Gray LLP is a global law firm with 13 offices located in the United States, Asia and Europe. The firm has more than 1,500 lawyers and professionals worldwide, and its clients include corporations and financial institutions, government agencies, universities, and health care organizations. It was founded in 1865 in Boston, Massachusetts by John Codman Ropes and John Chipman Gray. According to the 2021 Vault Rankings, the firm ranks #3 in the best law firms to work for and The American Lawyer's Am Law 100 ranked the firm #6 in revenue and profits per equity partner in 2020. Forbes describes the firm as being recognized internationally for its fintech and global M&A work. The firm's major practice areas include private equity, mergers & acquisitions, intellectual property, complex business litigation, securities litigation, health care, life sciences, bankruptcy and business restructuring, government enforcement and white collar crime, privacy & data security, investment management, hedge funds, antitrust, employee benefits, tax, and real estate. The firm is active in several industries, including private equity, life sciences, health care, asset management, TMT (technology, media & telecommunications) and retail. History The firm was founded in 1865 by two Harvard Law School graduates, John Codman Ropes and John Chipman Gray. In 1878, William Loring, also a Harvard graduate, joined the firm, and it became "Ropes, Gray and Loring" until Loring's departure in 1899, when he was appointed to the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. During that period, the firm represented the New York and New England Railroad. In 2003, the firm acquired New York City-based private equity law firm Reboul, MacMurray, Hewitt & Maynard. In 2005, the firm acquired New York-based intellectual property law firm Fish & Neave. Operations Ropes and Gray has offices in Boston, Chicago, Dublin, Hong Kong, London, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Seoul, Shanghai, Silicon Valley, Tokyo and Washington, D.C. The firm's Boston office is located in the Prudential Tower and is the global headquarters of the firm. The firm's New York office is located at 1211 Avenue of the Americas. Prominent transactions Ropes & Gray lawyers have advised on major transactions, including: Altimeter Growth Corp. in its merger to take Grab public for $39.6 billion, the largest special-purpose acquisition company merger in history The acquisition by private equity firms Thomas H. Lee and Bain Capital of Clear Channel Communications, for $26 billion Bain Capital's and The Blackstone Group's acquisition of The