JR Drabick

JR Drabick is counsel in Ropes & Gray’s litigation & enforcement practice group, where he advises clients across highly regulated industries such as financial services, investment advisory, media, and technology. A former federal prosecutor and SEC enforcement attorney, JR is an experienced trial attorney with a broad background that enables him to offer clients strategic and informed guidance on a wide range of complex enforcement challenges.

Before re-joining Ropes & Gray in 2025, JR served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney for over eight years in the District of Massachusetts and Eastern District of Michigan. He was a member of the Securities, Financial, & Cyber Fraud Unit in Boston and the Violent & Organized Crime Unit in Detroit. In these roles, JR investigated and prosecuted a wide range of federal criminal offenses, including securities fraud, market manipulation, international cyber intrusions, money laundering, embezzlement, tax evasion, identity theft, obstruction of justice, and racketeering.

Prior to his time at DOJ, JR was Senior Counsel in the Enforcement Division of the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission in Boston. During his nearly four-year SEC tenure, JR investigated and prosecuted a wide range of securities offenses, including accounting frauds, FCPA offenses, trading frauds, offering frauds, pump-and-dumps, market manipulation, and insider trading. He co-founded and co-led the Boston Regional Office’s accounting fraud working group and was a member of the Complex Financial Instruments Specialized Unit. He also co-led the Boston Regional Office’s Diversity and Inclusion Committee.

JR began his legal career as an associate at Ropes & Gray and as a law clerk for the Honorable Richard J. Leon in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.