Specialist Headhunters, tml Partners, are delighted to have partnered with the team at Ropes & Gray to source key talent for their Business Development function across New York and Washington.

Ropes & Gray is a world-leading law firm with more than 2,500 lawyers and business professionals operating across major international financial and policy hubs. Consistently ranked among the top firms globally, Ropes & Gray maintains a high-caliber Business Development (BD) function that plays a crucial role in driving revenue growth, capturing market share, and supporting partners with commercial strategy and client engagement.

As the firm continues to invest in specialized BD expertise across its U.S. offices, it required a trusted search partner with a deep understanding of both professional services and the evolving demands of senior business development roles.

The Challenge

Ropes & Gray required key personnel to strategically drive business development and marketing efforts for some of their most critical practice areas: Private Equity and Litigation and Enforcement.

The mandate was to find highly strategic and commercially minded professionals who could serve as trusted advisors to practice group leaders and partners, developing and executing integrated business development plans to grow client relationships, increase market visibility, and attract new business. For the Private Equity role, the individual needed specific knowledge of the industry and an ability to monitor market opportunities and trends. For the Litigation and Enforcement role, experience in that area, including antitrust-focused business development, was highly desirable. 

Both roles demanded superior client service, excellent communication, and project management skills.

The Solution

Lottie Brownlow and Matt Bailey, key members of tml’s North American practice, leveraged their extensive global network of senior business development, commercial, and marketing professionals within the professional services sector to identify top-tier talent for both roles. 

Collaborating closely with Ropes & Gray’s global BD leadership, the team delivered a seamless and highly targeted search process.

We successfully placed two key individuals who aligned with Ropes & Gray’s strategic objectives:

• Senior Business Development Manager (Private Equity), New York: This individual now serves as a trusted advisor to Private Equity Specialty Group Leaders (SGLs) and partners, responsible for developing and executing integrated marketing and business development plans to grow the firm’s share of wallet and brand visibility in this high-value area.
• Business Development Specialist (Litigation and Enforcement), Washington D.C.: An integral member of the BD team, this hire provides support in the implementation of the Litigation and Enforcement Practice Group’s (LEPG) strategic and commercial priorities, including executing marketing efforts to generate new business.

We wish these individuals all the best in their efforts to support Ropes & Gray’s BD objectives.

This dual placement across different critical practice areas and locations demonstrates tml Partners’ capacity to support a global firm’s sophisticated and varied recruitment needs in business development, further solidifying our reputation as a trusted specialist for senior commercial hiring across professional services.

About tml Partners: Specialist Headhunters for Marketing and Commercial Roles

tml Partners are specialists in Executive Search and Professional Search with access to a global network of commercial, business development, marketing, communications, brand, product, and digital leaders. Our team works with businesses ranging from fast-growth challenger brands to blue-chip organizations to develop their in-house teams.

With offices in New York and London, our team has the expertise to support across key hiring locations, globally.

To learn how tml Partners can help you, please get in touch.