As previously announced in November 2017, Ropes & Gray is preparing for a leadership transition and has named Julie Jones chair-elect of the firm. Today the firm is announcing that David Djaha, a New York-based partner, has been named managing partner-elect of the firm. 

Ms. Jones and Mr. Djaha will become chair and managing partner of the firm, respectively, effective January 1, 2020, following the retirements of chair Brad Malt and managing partner David Chapin. 

Mr. Djaha, 54, is a member of the firm’s governing policy committee and also has led the firm’s global real estate investments and transactions group since 2012. He is highly regarded for his leadership qualities, dedication to client service and sophisticated command of real estate law, with a focus on the private equity, capital markets and banking industries. 

“With Julie’s and David’s appointments, we are confident that the firm has a dynamic and visionary leadership team to continue its upward performance trajectory,” Mr. Malt said. “David is respected by our clients and attorneys for his depth of business and legal knowledge and his strategic thinking.” 

Mr. Djaha, a native New Yorker, joined Ropes & Gray as a partner in 2009 from one of the world’s largest international firms, where he was chairman of the real estate practice for the Americas region and a member of that firm’s Americas region management committee. Throughout his 30-year career, he has advised clients, including investment banks, private equity funds, and domestic and international developers and investors, on market-leading deals around the globe. A frequent published author and speaker at industry events, he is recognized as a leading authority on real estate investments and transactions, especially at the intersection of real estate investment and private equity, and is cited as a leading lawyer in many rankings, including Chambers USA and Legal 500.

Mr. Djaha has also been dedicated to public service throughout his career and is active in pro bono work, a hallmark of Ropes & Gray, where attorneys in 2017 devoted more than 160,000 hours to pro bono legal service. He leads the firm’s support of the Food Bank For New York City, spearheading fundraising and volunteer efforts at the firm, as well as serving as the firm’s liaison to Justice Served, an initiative by New York’s legal community to combat hunger. 

“Lawyers at Ropes & Gray are best-in-class, renowned for working cohesively across practices and geographies to deliver the market-leading business solutions that our clients rely upon,” Mr. Djaha said. “With Julie, I look forward to working with our lawyers in offices around the globe to continue our extraordinary success. It is quite an honor to have the opportunity to help lead my esteemed colleagues and a privilege to be a Ropes & Gray partner. I am lucky to work alongside such outstanding lawyers and professionals every day.”

About Ropes & Gray

Ropes & Gray is a preeminent global law firm 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, finance, investment management, hedge funds, real estate, tax, life sciences, health care, intellectual property, litigation & enforcement, privacy & cybersecurity, and business restructuring. www.ropesgray.com