Global law firm Ropes & Gray LLP today announced that Paul Scrivano is joining the firm as a partner and global head of the firm’s mergers & acquisitions practice. Mr. Scrivano will maintain offices in New York and Silicon Valley, as well as in San Francisco, where he will be based. His addition will add firepower and depth to the firm’s West Coast corporate platform as well as to the national and international mergers & acquisitions practice.
Mr. Scrivano is one of the country’s elite M&A practitioners. He started his career at Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP and practiced in New York for nearly 20 years before moving to the West Coast. Mr. Scrivano joins Ropes & Gray from O’Melveny & Myers LLP, where he served as the head of its global mergers & acquisitions practice. He has advised on more than 100 public company M&A transactions, and his extensive experience includes mergers, tender and exchange offers, stock and asset acquisitions, divestitures and joint ventures. Mr. Scrivano is a veteran of numerous proxy contests and regularly counsels corporate boards and committees in transactional and high-profile corporate governance matters and takeover defense strategies.
Mr. Scrivano is renowned for his broad skill set and experience steering multibillion-dollar U.S. and cross-border deals in a variety of industries, including technology, health care, pharmaceuticals, life sciences, consumer products, financial services, oil and gas, chemicals, energy and telecommunications, among others. He also regularly advises private equity sponsors and investment banks in M&A transactions. His diverse practice will benefit Ropes & Gray’s clients, particularly in the life sciences and technology industries, as he serves them out of the San Francisco, Silicon Valley and New York offices.
Mr. Scrivano’s recent deals include representing U.S. software provider Mentor Graphics in its pending $4.5 billion acquisition by Siemens, announced in November 2016. He also has represented Alaska Air Group, Inc. in its $4 billion acquisition of Virgin America, Inc.; BB&T Corporation in its $1.8 billion acquisition of National Penn Bancshares, Inc.; Microsemi Corporation in its successful $2.5 billion “deal jump” to acquire PMC-Sierra, Inc., resulting in the termination of PMC-Sierra’s existing merger agreement with Skyworks Solutions; and Dealertrack Technologies, Inc., in its $4 billion sale to Cox Automotive, Inc. and its $1 billion cash and stock acquisition of Dealer Dot Com, Inc.
“Paul’s strong reputation precedes him, as shown by the number of global companies that have relied on his versatile skills and deep understanding of corporate law to guide them through their most complicated deals,” said Ropes & Gray managing partner David Chapin. “His entrepreneurial mindset and confident, measured approach will be a true asset to our sophisticated client base on the West Coast and around the world.”
Jane Goldstein, co-head of the firm’s North American M&A practice, also welcomed Mr. Scrivano. “I am looking forward to working together with Paul to lead the M&A team at Ropes & Gray,” said Ms. Goldstein. “He is one of the world’s premier M&A lawyers with an impressive track record of deals across many industries.”
The world’s top legal directories, including The Legal 500 U.S., consistently recognize Mr. Scrivano as a leading M&A lawyer. In 2015, he was named “California M&A Lawyer of the Year” at the ACQ Global Awards, and he received a “California Lawyer of the Year” award in 2014 from California Lawyer magazine. He has been named one of the “Top 100 Lawyers in California” by The Daily Journal, an “Americas Top 50 Lawyer” at the M&A Atlas Awards, a “Life Sciences MVP” by Law360, and a “Super Lawyer” for both New York and Northern California by Law & Politics Media Inc.
Mr. Scrivano holds a J.D., magna cum laude, with Order of the Coif honors, from New York University School of Law, and a B.S. from Cornell University. He is admitted to practice in both California and New York.
“Ropes & Gray has a mix of attributes that make its M&A platform compelling: a stellar track record for premier clients, sophisticated talent, extensive experience across a range of key industries and a culture well-known for mutual respect and collaboration,” said Mr. Scrivano. “Together, we will continue to accelerate the firm’s already impressive momentum in handling complex global transactions.”
Ropes & Gray represents key players in the Bay Area’s technology, business and financial arenas and brings the strengths and resources of a global firm to clients in these dynamic growth sectors. Since 2013, the firm has represented companies in M&A transactions —many involving cross-border and multijurisdictional issues —with an aggregate value of more than $300 billion.
About Ropes & Gray LLP
Ropes & Gray is one of the world’s premier law firms, with more than 1,200 lawyers and legal professionals serving clients in major centers of business, finance, technology and government.
The firm has offices in New York, Boston, Washington, D.C., Chicago, San Francisco, Silicon Valley, London, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Tokyo and Seoul, and has consistently been recognized for its leading practices in many areas, including private equity, M&A, antitrust, life sciences, health care, finance, investment management, hedge funds, tax, intellectual property, litigation, securities litigation, government enforcement, and privacy & data security.
