The 150-year-old white shoe, which counseled Mitt Romney on financial matters, is unshackled to advise as Ropes Wealth Advisors Attorneys at Boston-based Ropes & Gray LLP have been serving as trustees for their clients since the U.S. Civil War ended. But for much of the first 149 years of its existence, the law firm was in the awkward position of overseeing billions of dollars in trusts and estates without the ability to sit down with clients to give investment advice. That changed this year. On Jan 1, the venerable law firm launched its own RIA, Ropes Wealth Advisors LLC, with more than $2.7 billion under management. Virtually this entire amount came via the Ropes & Gray Private Client Group, a 56-person office within Ropes & Gray that handles estate and tax planning, charitable giving and fiduciary services for wealthy clients. By finally registering with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Ropes & Gray has put the finishing touch on what was essentially an old-school family office that outsourced vital decision-making. By embracing the red tape of SEC registration, the firm is now able to do much more. “It makes a big difference to us that we’re now judging the risks and returns [of client portfolios] ourselves,” says Robert N. Shapiro, a partner in the Ropes & Gray Private Client Group.