Ropes & Gray has appointed Adele Maloney as General Counsel and Partner, based in New York. Maloney joins from Paul Hastings, where she served as General Counsel and led the firm’s global risk management function.
Her background combines law firm risk management with substantial transactional experience.
Before Paul Hastings, Maloney spent eight years at Kirkland & Ellis as a partner in the Office of General Counsel, advising on professional responsibility, ethics and loss prevention.
Earlier in her career, she practiced as an M&A and private equity partner, giving her experience on both the client-facing transactional and law firm management sides of the legal industry.
Maloney succeeds Peter Erichsen, who is scheduled to retire at the end of 2026.
Erichsen began his Ropes & Gray career in 1981, became a partner in 1990 and returned to the firm in 2007 after serving in senior roles in government, higher education and cultural institutions. He has served as General Counsel since 2020.
KEY QUOTES:
“The general counsel role at a firm like ours demands exceptional judgment, discretion, and real business acumen. You have to make important decisions — legal and business, often simultaneously — and you have to be someone firm leadership trusts completely. Adele is that person. She spent years advising clients on deals and then brought that practitioner’s perspective to running risk at a global law firm. With Adele here, our lawyers can continue to stay focused on our clients, confident that the firm is well protected.”
Julie Jones, Chair of Ropes & Gray
“Ropes & Gray’s high-performance culture and commitment to both its clients and colleagues are what drew me to the firm. I’ve spent my career advising clients on complex transactions and helping law firms navigate their own toughest challenges, so I recognized immediately how high Ropes & Gray sets the bar, and I knew this was where I wanted to build the next chapter of my career.”
Adele Maloney, General Counsel and Partner at Ropes & Gray
