Ropes & Gray Bolsters Higher Education and Health Care Practices with New Counsel Steve Sencer

Ropes & Gray Bolsters Higher Education and Health Care Practices with New Counsel Steve Sencer

Steve Sencer has been hired by Ropes & Gray, a global law firm, as counsel for their health care and higher education practices. Previously, he held the position of Senior Vice President and General Counsel at Emory University.

At Ropes & Gray, Sencer will bring extensive experience in scientific and clinical research and technology transfer. Previously, he served as the chief legal officer for Emory University and Emory Healthcare, a health system with 12 hospitals and over 2,000 physicians, in addition to affiliated entities such as The Carter Center and DRIVE, a nonprofit drug development company under Emory.

During his time at Emory, Sencer achieved several notable accomplishments in the healthcare sector, including leading a $540 million securitisation of an HIV drug royalty stream.

He also played a key role in creating the corporate structure for the nonprofit drug development company, Drug Innovation Ventures at Emory, LLC (DRIVE), and its wholly-owned nonprofit subsidiary, Emory Innovations, Inc.

Additionally, Sencer helped establish the Emory Vaccine Center in New Delhi, India, and the Queensland Emory Drug Discovery Initiative in Australia, both aimed at translating academic research into drug development candidates for clinical trials in various diseases such as cancer, Alzheimer's, and Parkinson's.

“Steve is well-known and highly regarded within the health care, higher education and life sciences sectors. He has handled a full array of complex legal matters in scientific research, government grants, and technology transfer, including Bayh-Dole and related regulatory issues,” Mark Barnes, Ropes & Gray health care partner and renowned practitioner in issues related to biomedical and other academic research and federal research grants, said.

According to Steve Sencer, Ropes & Gray has a reputation for effectively advising significant clients in the health care, life sciences, and university sectors on important regulatory, strategic, and operational matters that enable them to achieve growth and success.

“I could not be joining a better team and look forward to advising the firm’s world-class clients in their most ambitious matters,” Sencer said.