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Ropes & Gray has found itself at the wrong end of a professional malpractice suit brought by a South African venture capitalist who claims the Boston firm helped his former business partner seize control of a $0 million investment fund.
The case revolves around the fate of Xfund, a venture capital investment fund co-founded in 2011 by plaintiff W. Hugo Van Vuuren and Patrick Chung. Van Vuurens complaint alleges Chung was behind the hiring of Ropes as counsel for the formation of the fund.
Ropes partner Aaron M. Katz, described in the complaint as Chungs Harvard Law classmate and close friend, allegedly worked behind the scenes with the assistance of other Ropes lawyers to allow Chung to take control of the fund in December 2014.
While the Ropes lawyers for many months continued to encourage Van Vuuren to believe they were acting for the fund and to protect his interests, they began secretly counseling his partner Chung about how to gain control over Xfund, and even...