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As London’s preeminent private capital law firm, we act for sophisticated private capital investors and providers, covering all their needs, as well as advising some of the world’s biggest public companies on their most challenging issues. We value individualism, we work well as a team and, above all, we combine professionalism with personality—our clients enjoy working with us and value the emotional intelligence we bring to our work.”

Will Rosen, London Office Managing Partner

Why Choose Us

Ropes & Gray London is one of the largest offices in the Ropes & Gray network, and the hub of the firm’s EMEA network.

We are part of a world-leading US-based global law firm and set up in London in 2010. While we are now an established presence in the UK, we’ve retained all the buzz of our start-up years.

It makes us a little bit different: it means we have the stature and resources of a major international law firm combined with the pace, inclusivity and career progression of a specialist firm. Our clients like to work with us. We are, of course, always professional, but we are personal, and personable with it.

As a group, we’re international, diverse and our team is always professional, but uniquely personable. With around 24 partners, 90 fee earners and a trainee intake of 13, everybody in the office knows everyone else. That means that every hire we make is an important investment for the firm, because each team member has a distinct role to play in delivering excellent service to our clients. 

Internationally, Ropes & Gray is best known as the preeminent law firm for private capital clients. But we do more than just transactional PE work, in fact we also advise some of the world’s biggest businesses on their most challenging issues.

Two businessmen working on a laptop

Ropes & Gray in Europe

The London office is the hub of our European operation. Our lawyers come from more than 15 different countries and have more than 29 languages between them. We work across borders seamlessly, have the experience and skills to advise clients anywhere in the world, and regularly advise our clients on cross-border European matters. We know the markets and understand the political, cultural and economic environments our clients operate in to best get the deal done. So, while we are based in London, we’re equally at home in legal markets across Europe and Asia.

We also have a network of relationship law firms across the EMEA region, allowing us to draw on the expertise of local counsel when working on cross-border deals. Our preferred law firm strategy means that we work only with firms that can provide our client base the highest level of commitment, service and quality, with experience and expertise in our clients’ areas of business. We have invested significant resources in building, monitoring and maintaining the quality of our European preferred law firm network.

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Fostering a diverse and inclusive work environment is one of our most important missions. Through the work of our London Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee we are working to build cultural awareness and cultural competence by enhancing programming that focuses on understanding bias, discrimination and racism, and on building allyship. We have several local employee networks, including a Diversity, Equity & Inclusion group, a Women’s Forum for lawyers, a Women’s Network for business support professionals and a Parent’s network.

We’ve partnered with diversity recruitment experts Rare and use their Contextual Recruitment System in our trainee recruitment process. The system enables us to further understand the context in which applicants’ experiences have been gained, and to identify outperformers that others may miss.

We also partner with Sponsors for Educational Opportunity (SEO) London, who introduce us to talented students from diverse backgrounds who have the potential to thrive as trainees at our firm.

We have a high level of female representation across all levels and practice groups, with women making up 46% of partners and 49% of associates.

Learn more about our diversity initiatives

Our London office has strong female leadership, which is a testament to the value the firm places on recognizing talent and promoting a diverse and inclusive work environment.”

Judith Seddon, London Office Women's Forum Co-Leader

London Awards & Rankings

1
Transatlantic Finance Team of the Year
Legal Week
2020
The Times Best Law Firms
1
Highest % of female equity partners
Law.com

Social Responsibility

For all at Ropes & Gray, pro bono and community work is an integral part of life at the firm. You can be involved from the moment you join, helping a broad range of clients, sometimes as part of an international team and sometimes helping a small community-based organisation. You will use your professional training and wider skills to make a difference in our communities. In 2019 alone, the London office completed more than 4,000 hours of pro bono service. Some of our partnerships and community initiatives include:

  • Investigating a potential miscarriage of justice/wrongful conviction with The Centre for Criminal Appeals.
  • Partnering with Kids in Need of Defense UK to help undocumented minors obtain leave to remain in the United Kingdom.
  • Advising The Nature Conservancy and The Caribbean Biodiversity with corporate governance and financing of their environmental programming.
  • Working on rule of law programming in Sub-Saharan Africa with Lawyers Without Borders. Trainees have the opportunity to participate in developing the programmes and their delivery in country.
  • Staffing a family law clinic for victims of domestic violence and assisting a number of small charities with general corporate, real estate and tax advice through the TrustLaw clearinghouse.
  • Organising money-raising events throughout the year in support of many different charities: The Royal British Legion, Breast Cancer Awareness, Prostate Cancer, Smart Works and Streetwise to name a few. We also have teams who participate in events such as Tour de Law and The London Legal walk. 
  • We partner with The West London Mission, supporting their work to empower people affected by homelessness, poverty and trauma to live more fulfilling lives. This relationship is ongoing and has been part of the Ropes & Gray family for the past three years.
Learn more about pro bono initiatives
We are proud to offer a programme in which all our London lawyers and business support professionals can play a role, making a valuable contribution to local need and global challenges.”
Felicity Kirk, International Pro Bono Lead

Be Part of a Team That is Unmatched

At Ropes & Gray, people work together to reach a common goal. We are about high-functioning, highly engaged global teams and creating something greater than the sum of our parts. Each and every one of us plays a critical role in the success of our clients.
Meet Our People
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Find your place at Ropes & Gray

At Ropes & Gray, our lawyers and professionals work at the intersection of innovative business developments and complex legal challenges. Explore the careers and opportunities available.