Ropes & Gray LLP - The Inside View

“In Boston, Ropes is so prolific, everyone tosses their name in to work here,” said one bright-eyed associate. We’d like to think this is less along the lines of drawing names from a hat, and more akin to something of Hogwarts’ sentient sorting hat – though, we must admit, the latter would have a rather tough time adjusting from sorting candidates into just four houses compared to Ropes’ multitude of practices. Indeed, “Ropes is number one in Boston by virtue of its breath of practices and diverse matters,” another bushy-tailed interviewee emphasised: “I knew it would be the prime way to cut my teeth.” Racking up praise for over 70 of its practices, it’s clear this reputation didn’t go amiss with our colleagues over at Chambers USA. In its home state of Massachusetts, Ropes boasts the best of the best accolades across a smattering of practices, from litigation and corporate/M&A to tax and life sciences – you’ll have to head on over to chambers.com for the full breakdown. Nationally, however, Ropes is the crème-de-la-crème for false claims act, healthcare, international trade (export controls and economic sanctions), investment funds, private equity, and registered funds work… talk about an eclectic mix.

“Ropes is number one in Boston...”

Associates were keen to highlight more than just the firm’s practice expertise, however. “Everyone was down-to-earth and invested in the recruitment process,” an insider reflected. As another put it: “Would I want to be working with them until 2am? Yes, it felt like a good fit.” Moreover, Ropes’ commitment to pro bono (“which felt genuinely authentic”) and the professional development on offer (including “the dedication to mentorship and formal training”) were both highlighted as selling points.

Ropes’ global footprint comprises 15 offices. Stateside, the firm’s got seven bases; the firm’s New York presence has grown so much so the office’s headcount is on par with the Boston office. These two take on the majority of juniors, followed by San Francisco, DC, and Chicago. Los Angeles and Silicon Valley are also home to a fair few.

Strategy & Future

Ropes & Gray’s headcount and revenue are clear indicators of the firm’s successful strategy – so much so, in fact, that the firm banked a whopping $2.9 billion in 2024. To give some context to just how rapid the growth has been: that’s a $1 billion increase from a revenue of $1.9 billion just four years earlier in 2020. This success is in part thanks to the firm’s breadth of practices. It's also clear the firm’s making conscious investments across its practices; in 2024, Ropes named 12 new partners stateside across practices including healthcare and life sciences, intellectual property, regulations, foreign investments, litigation, restructuring, finance, private equity and funds.

Across the pond, further signs of the firm’s success include expansion. Seven international hubs have become eight with the addition of Paris in early 2025. Together with London, the focus is on creating a European hub for private equity and strategic M&A, strengthened by the team’s deep-seated expertise in private equity, infrastructure, and banking and finance transactions.

The Work

The majority of junior associates could be found either in litigation and enforcement, or within a corporate group such as private equity (private capital transactions); funds (asset management), or corporate/M&A (strategic transactions). The rest were spread across an array of practices including healthcare; alternative asset opportunities; data, privacy and cybersecurity; employment, executive compensation and benefits; real estate; tax; and business restructuring.

Associates receive work via a centralized staffing system led by attorney development managers (ADMs). Further support is provided through a traffic light system where associates can indicate weekly availability. “The staffing system works in concert with helping associates develop their career over time. You speak to the ADMs about your interests and preferences in a way that’s collaborative,” sources detailed. There’s also scope for organic staffing although requests need to be made formally. Overall, juniors were satisfied with the system citing the structure and cushioning it provides.

“I wanted that breadth of knowledge and skills in my early career.”

Starting off with litigation and enforcement, juniors operate as generalists “across pretty much any type of litigation.” Variety being the spice of life, the practice encompasses complex commercial, civil, appellate, government investigations and white-collar, securities, class action and intellectual property litigation: “It’s diverse! I wanted that breadth of knowledge and skills in my early career,” sources echoed. Highlighting personal experiences, one source detailed, “I’ve done more complex litigation than investigations. Delaware chancery litigation is growing with lots of private equity clients.” That said, in addition to private equity, “Boston is also a hub for bio tech and pharma, so there are lots of SEC and securities type investigations.” Another noted, “you could make your whole practice investigations related.” As an idea of what juniors can get up to: on investigations in particular, associates delve into the facts, draft chronologies and interview outlines, and even second chair depositions in some cases. Tasks are largely dependent on the matter at hand, but as a rule of thumb, classic first- and second-year involvement includes doc review, discrete legal research assignments, and taking a stab at the initial portion of a brief or motion. “If you show you’re responsive and rise to the challenge, there’s lots of room for responsibility,” junior litigators agreed.

Litigation clients: Goldman Sachs & Co., Thermo Fisher Scientific, Eaton Vance Funds. Represented Google against the Department of Justice’s civil antitrust case.

Moving onto the transactional side, asset management handles all aspects of the fund formation process. From large institutional clients “which are well-known in the industry like Bain Capital, which can be billions in one go, to mid-range sponsors,” one insider commented, “I appreciate the variety!” The practice is split between private and registered funds, and while over time associates will gravitate towards one, sources acknowledged the “benefits to having an understanding of and an experience in both.”

The work generally falls into two categories on the registered funds side. Firstly, on matters with long standing clients, associates are tasked with “keeping the wheel spinning on funds, with reoccurring tasks like new prospectus for each year, semi-annual and annual reporting, and contract review.” And then, there’s fund formation itself: “lots of clients want to set up new innovative funds and push boundaries, so you’re asking questions like ‘Are we able to invest in this asset class?’” Typically, juniors review disclosures for investment information for shareholders and SEC prospectuses. As associates become more senior, there’s the opportunity to get involved in more in-depth research related to new product offerings, advisory related work centered around regulations, and generally assisting with drafting. Responsibilities are similar in private funds, but with lots of fundraising work, juniors roll up their sleeves onboarding investors, reviewing subscription documents, and keeping checklists updated.

Asset management clients: Bain Capital, Vista Equity Partners, Standard Crypto. Represented Index Ventures, a European-based global venture capital firm, in respect to all of its funds.

The private capital transactions practice is focused on private equity, and financial and capital solutions subgroups, working on both the buy and sell side: “I appreciate doing both sides of the coin,” one junior explained, “it’s extremely beneficial from learning the basic vocab, the processes, and the timelines involved.” A new policy has been implemented meaning that at the end of second year juniors must select one subgroup as a base.

“After the private equity client buys a company, you keep doing work on their portfolio company on the credit facility, whether amending it to borrow more money for some reason, or to buy another company and sit them together,” a source detailed, “it’s mostly borrower side, a large portion of the work is acquisition and leverage financing, with some fund financing.” As for the day-to-day, newbies are tasked with running the checklist, communicating with specialist teams, like tax and employment, and picking up the pen to draft ancillaries. In terms of junior responsibility: “They don’t expect you to be perfect initially, but l learned very quickly that once you prove that you can handle those matters and earn trust, you can get the reps in with more substantive drafting.”

Private capital transactions clients: Blackstone, American Industrial Partners, Kohlberg & Co. Represented Madison Dearborn Partners on the $13.4 billion sale of its portfolio company NFP to Aon.

“You name it, we do it.”

Over in the strategic transactions practice, public and private M&A deal work and corporate governance shapes the offering. “We’re really a full-service firm with a myriad of clients across industries like finance, private equity, healthcare and sports,” a junior headlined, “you name it, we do it.” While responsibilities ultimately depend on the size of the deal, as a newbie “you’re often updating the checklist list, ensuring that nothing falls through the cracks, running communication with specialists like IP or healthcare, going through diligence request lists and checking what the red flags are, and following up with the client.” As for drafting opportunities, juniors are often tasked with ancillaries and supporting on main transactional documents: “Early on you’re not a part of the negotiation but you’re listening so when terms need to be updated you can make those edits.” As for the learning curve, interviewees shared: “I’ve been able to get solid swings of the bat. I definitely want more as I become more senior, but for now it’s going in the right direction.”

Strategic transactions clients: Pfizer, Crosspoint Capital Partners, Cardinal Health. Represented ImmunoGen on its $10 billion sale to AbbVie.

Culture & Career Development

“I’m a big fan of the culture at Ropes,” an insider enthused, “it’s really supportive; mid-levels through to partners are willing to take the time to teach and give feedback. It can be a difficult job, but they go about it in a human way.” As such the firm’s culture and career development were seen as positively intertwined, structured with regular training and practice presentations, online resources, and retreats – “there’s lots of training sessions!” Fresh off the back of a corporate training retreat, juniors gave us a snapshot of what they got up to, from covering soft skills like inbox management, building resiliency, delegation to business resource staff, and supervision, to expanding your network and early business development. “It was led by a professional in the private equity and BigLaw space,” we heard, “the message was very much tailored to us.” Litigators also have a retreat with hands-on training: “Previously there was a mock oral argument in front of the partners, with a fake judge. This year, it’s the same thing but for a deposition.”

As for mentorship, “People make themselves readily available,” sources told us. Associates are paired with an attorney development partner who “you can go to with questions,” and who also conducts the annual review. In terms of the transparency and attainability around career progression, insiders observed, “Partnership is a long way away. As a junior there’s not a ton of conversation around it, though once you hit the mid and senior level, the track becomes more evident.” If the pathway takes you elsewhere, such as an in-house role, sources noted being “very cognizant of the Ropes & Gray alumni network.”

Pro Bono

“I can’t think of anyone who doesn’t have some pro bono going on.”

Juniors were pleased to highlight: “Ropes presents you with numerous pro bono opportunities.” Associates are expected to complete at least 20 hours of pro bono annually. The firm also has a creditable pro bono policy. As such, interviewees expressed feeling comfortable taking on matters, as one quipped: “I can’t think of anyone who doesn’t have some pro bono work going on.” Opportunities constantly land in associates’ inboxes from the pro bono team: “It’s a great way to give back and also, it’s a way of exercising a different muscle you usually don’t get to do in your billable matters,” sources explained, like appealing to an organization’s board or representing someone in housing court.

From short term commitments, like day clinics, to long term projects such as impact litigation related to First Amendment rights, there’s plenty to get stuck into. We heard of juniors getting involved in immigration and asylum cases, housing disputes, family matters, upgrading veteran’s discharge statuses, and helping out at small business clinics and name change clinics.

Pro bono hours 

• For all US attorneys: 107,247
• Average per US attorney: 81

Hours & Compensation

Billable hours: 1,900 target

The 1,900 target was described as “very achievable,” particularly with the inclusion of pro bono and credit for participation in firm development.  An associate shared, “I get the sense if you do as many assignments and reps as feasible to build your experience, the billables will flow from there – it’s hard to imagine that anyone will be too far off.” In fact, commenting on the industry-wide deal slowdown that peaked in 2023, corporate associates were keen to point out: “It’s been busy; there’s no shortage of work.”

Associates are expected to be in person in the office four days a week, from Monday to Thursday. “I wasn’t thrilled when that change was made,” an insider admitted, but sources reassured that “the firm is understanding if there’s a situation that means you have to deviate from that.” As for the hours, while experiences will inevitably vary per associate, our survey respondents indicated on average working around 50 hours a week, with the majority feeling able to take vacation on their own terms. Juniors illustrated coming into the office on average between 9 and 9.30am and leaving around 5pm give or take, though the firm allows associates to use the office space as needed. These 5pm finishes were caveated with jumping back online for a couple of hours from home, some weekend work, and burning the midnight oil at certain crunch points. To sweeten the deal, associates are compensated with market salaries and bonuses.

Get Hired

The first stage: recruitment on and off campus 

Ropes & Gray visits approximately 40 law schools and jobs fairs as part of its recruitment campaign, and most interviewees are taken into consideration for all of the firm's US offices. Finding the best potential associates is part one of the process, and which team they'd best fit into follows that.  

Who's got the best chances of making the cut? Well, Ropes is “looking for students who have shown an early mastery of the practical skills of the legal profession and who embrace the firm's priority of working as part of a team.” They realize that most candidates won't already have practical legal experience, so academic records and enthusiastic participation in extracurriculars are taken into consideration. Interviewers will also encourage candidates to learn more about the practice and people at Ropes & Gray.  

Top tips for this stage:   

“Ropes very much emphasizes team players and working together, so a super-competitive person without a collegial approach wouldn’t fit in well.”– hiring source at the firm 

“To make a good first impression, think about why you're passionate about the law and about the environment in which you want to practice it. Make it clear you've really thought about why you want to come here.”– hiring source at the firm 

Callbacks 

Applicants invited to second stage: undisclosed  

Four to six interviewers will assess the applicants who make it to callbacks, focusing on four key criteria: intellect; personal drive; problem solving; and interpersonal skills. The baseline for successful candidates is a genuine interest in business and law, a demonstrated progressive record of achievement and intellectual curiosity. 

There might also be an informal meeting with junior associates, where these criteria will be further assessed. It's important by this stage that candidates have picked up on certain elements of the firm's strengths, character, and culture, and can take that knowledge to ask pertinent questions.  

Top tips for this stage:   

“Ropes looks for a level of professionalism and maturity which is a big factor in who I consider would be a good fit.”– hiring source at the firm 

Summer program

The summer program gives prospective associates experience firsthand what it’s like to practice law at the highest level, getting exposure to cutting-edge, industry-defining work for the world’s leading businesses and organizations. You’ll contribute to actual client matters, benefit from individualized mentorship, and gain practical and soft skills from our training program, regarded as one of the industry’s best. Work assignments come from both the centralized system and interactions with practicing attorneys. Feedback comes through informal channels, as well as mid and end of summer reviews. Spread throughout are the community outreach and social events that give summer associates exposure and opportunities to socialize with attorneys at all levels. 

One of the main functions of the summer is to give associates a chance to learn as much about Ropes & Gray as they can, so they “get a real feel for the pace, environment and culture of the firm.” As at every firm, the process is as much about summers getting to know the firm as vice versa.  

And finally...  

Summer associates get to sample a few of the firm's practice areas during their time at Ropes & Gray – the final decision of where they will practice is agreed by both applicant and the firm at the end of the process.