R. Newcomb Stillwell is an American lawyer based in Boston, Massachusetts, known for his corporate and private equity practice at Ropes & Gray LLP. He studied at Princeton University and Harvard Law School, and in 2023 he joined the board of directors of Tonix Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Education
Stillwell studied at Princeton University, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree magna cum laude. Princeton was chartered in 1746 as the College of New Jersey and adopted its present name in 1896. During the late 1970s it was a long-established private university whose undergraduate program was built on the liberal arts tradition.
He then attended Harvard Law School, receiving a Juris Doctor cum laude in 1984. Founded in 1817, the school is the oldest law school in continuous operation in the United States. Its teaching at the time rested on the case method that Dean Christopher Columbus Langdell introduced in the 1870s, and James Vorenberg served as dean from 1981 to 1989, covering the years of Stillwell's legal education.
Stillwell was admitted to the Massachusetts bar in 1984, and a professional profile dates his licensure in Massachusetts to 1985, the year it also says he began practicing law. These qualifications prepared him for the corporate practice that became the center of his career.
Career
Stillwell's career has centered on Ropes & Gray LLP, a firm founded in Boston in 1865 by John Codman Ropes and John Chipman Gray, both Harvard Law graduates. The firm later grew into an international practice with offices in the United States, Europe and Asia. Stillwell became a partner there in 1993 and worked in the firm's Corporate Department, where his practice covered mergers and acquisitions, related financings and venture capital.
Within the firm he became co-head of its private equity practice and served as the first chair of its Private Equity Group. He later served as co-managing partner of the Boston office. He principally advised private equity firms on acquisitions and related matters, with clients including Advent International, Bain Capital and Blackstone. Private equity work of this kind concerns transactions in which investment funds acquire and reshape companies.
In 2023 he joined the board of directors of Tonix Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a Nasdaq-listed clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing therapies for central nervous system disorders, immunology conditions, infectious diseases and rare diseases. The company's appointment took effect on March 15, 2023, and it cited his advisory experience on life science and healthcare transactions. A clinical-stage company is one whose products are still in clinical trials rather than commercially sold.
Membership
Stillwell's documented memberships consist of board and committee service with several Massachusetts and national nonprofit organizations. Volunteers of America of Massachusetts, Incorporated is the Massachusetts part of a human-services organization founded in the United States in 1896 by Ballington and Maud Booth, and it provides social services to people in need.
The Massachusetts Historical Society, founded in Boston in 1791, is among the oldest historical societies in the United States and preserves manuscripts and records of New England history. The Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children works to protect children from abuse and neglect. The Appalachian Mountain Club, established in Boston in 1876, promotes hiking, conservation and outdoor recreation in the Appalachian region.
The National Center for Race Amity, whose board he also serves on, works under a name that signals a focus on harmony among races.
Vice-chairman of the board of directors
Volunteers of America of Massachusetts, Incorporated
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United States
Member of the board of directors
National Center for Race Amity
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United States
Member of the board
Massachusetts Historical Society
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United States
Member of the board
Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children
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United States
Member of the Conservation Committee
Appalachian Mountain Club
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United States
Connections
Stillwell is married to Katherine, and the couple lives in Dedham, Massachusetts, a town south of Boston.
Wife:
Katherine
References
R. Newcomb Stillwell, J.D. - Tonix Pharmaceuticals
Company biography published when he joined the Tonix board of directors, describing his career at Ropes & Gray LLP, his private equity advisory work and his degrees from Princeton University and Harvard Law School.
2023
Newcomb R Stillwell - National Center for Race Amity
Board of directors biography describing his role as co-managing partner of the Boston office of Ropes & Gray LLP, his private equity practice, his other board service in Massachusetts, and his education and residence in Dedham.
