M&A Counsel Join Ropes & Gray

Sarah Dunn Davis and Aileen Kim today joined Ropes & Gray’s mergers & acquisitions practice as counsel in Boston and New York, respectively. 

Sarah returns to the firm from a publicly traded global asset management company. There, she served as vice president and senior counsel focusing on in-house execution of domestic and cross-border investments and other strategic transactions, as well as advising the company on capital markets and other financing matters. Sarah was an M&A and capital markets associate at Ropes & Gray from 2014 – 2015 and prior to that, she was an associate in the corporate department of a New York-based law firm.

Aileen joins from another global law firm, and has broad experience in representing public and private companies in mergers and acquisitions, divestitures and joint ventures and also advises public companies on corporate governance, disclosure issues and compliance matters. Aileen also brings to clients extensive M&A knowledge specific to the life sciences industry, having recently advised on major transactions in the sector. These include representing Sanofi in its approximately $13 billion sale of its stake in Regeneron Pharmaceuticals and its $4.8 billion acquisition of Ablynx NV and Eli Lilly in its approximately $8 billion acquisition of Loxo Oncology, Inc. and its $1.1 billion acquisition of Dermira, Inc.

“Both Sarah and Aileen are a great fit for the type of complex work Ropes & Gray is known for handling,” said Chris Comeau, co-chair of the firm’s M&A practice. “Aileen’s experience guiding biopharmaceutical transactions strengthens our life sciences team, and Sarah’s return to the firm is welcome because she brings the combination of law firm and in-house perspectives to deals in a broad range of industries, including asset management, technology and life sciences.”

Ropes & Gray’s award-winning M&A practice is renowned for its “high-quality team and a deep bench” that it provides to clients with “outstanding service and outstanding minds” writes Chambers & Partners. The firm’s more than 260 M&A attorneys advised on more than $200 billion in transactions in 2020, garnering acclaim from Chambers USA, Chambers Global, IFLR 1000, and U.S. News & World Report, among others.