Orrick partner David Ronn is moving in-house, becoming general counsel of ROX Financial Inc. starting July 1.
ROX plans to create exchange-traded securities that will allow investment in single-property real estate. “I’m beginning a new adventure,” Ronn said in an email announcing the move.
The attorney said ROX plans to have two lawyers in Houston, two business people in New York and six technical staff members in Tel Aviv.
Neeraj “Neil” Verma, corporate counsel at Carriage Services who worked with Ronn at Greenberg Traurig and Mayer Brown, will be joining him as assistant general counsel.
Orrick has seen several of its deal-related lawyers leave its Houston office over the last year, including tax partner Barbara Spudis de Marigny, who went to Baker Botts in May. She was part of a seven-member team – including Ronn – that joined Orrick’s Houston office back in 2016.
Only two members of that team are still at the firm, including partners Jonathan Ayre and Joe Roger. Carlos Treistman jumped to Greenberg Traurig in February and Bill Parish and Rodrigo Dominguez moved to White & Case in April.
Ronn has more than 25 years of experience in a range of corporate and securities matters with concentrations in the energy and technology industries.
Before Orrick, he was at McGuireWoods for five years; Greenberg Traurig for three years; and Mayer Brown for seven years. The University of Houston-trained lawyer (who also earned an MBA from Tulane) started his legal career in 1990 at what was then Bracewell & Patterson.
His clients have included Newfield Exploration Co., Bluejack Energy Solutions and Schlumberger, which he counseled on its $250 million Sensia joint venture with Rockwell Automation earlier this year.
Ronn has represented several master limited partnerships and their special committees on deals, including Ferrellgas Partners, Kinder Morgan Energy Partners, Spectra Energy Partners, Delek Logistics Partners, Tesoro Logistics and Hoover Energy Partners.
The attorney also worked in healthcare, counseling the physician owners of Elite Surgical Affiliates on the $60 million sale of three ambulatory surgery centers and a surgical hospital in Houston to Nobilis Health Corp. in 2017.
Ronn was the first lawyer in Houston certified as a LEED-accredited professional by the U.S. Green Building Council and owned the first LEED-H certified home in Houston (with a gold certification).