Deciding where to begin your legal career can be overwhelming. We offer a number of advantages that make us an ideal firm at which to launch your career—a longstanding culture built on respect and teamwork, cutting-edge work, an impressive global client roster, unsurpassed training and career support, and early responsibility. We’re a firm truly dedicated to our lawyers’ professional development. Take a moment to learn more about what you can expect as a summer and a first-year associate.
US Law Students & Graduates
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One thing that has been constant here is our culture. We have an incredibly collegial environment, and that is critically important to our client service and our ability to retain and attract top talent. This is a place where people are valued.”
Peter Erichsen, Hiring Partner
Why Choose Us
Participating in our summer program will give you a chance to see firsthand what it’s like to practice law at the highest level, to contribute to actual client matters, and to benefit from bespoke training and mentorship. Whether you join us in Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Silicon Valley or Washington, D.C., you’ll be exposed to cutting-edge, industry-defining work for the world’s leading businesses and organizations.
REAL WORK There’s no such thing as busywork. Instead, our summer associates’ assignments are drawn from the firm’s active matters and transactions, including pro bono. You’ll work with lawyers who are leaders in their fields, and receive regular feedback and support along the way.
BESPOKE TRAINING We’re committed to helping you reach your highest potential. To foster your growth and development, our summer associate program features a best-in-class training program with numerous sessions on both practical and soft skills, as well as presentations on the firm and our various practice groups.
MENTORSHIP We don’t believe in a uniform approach to career development. That’s why we pair each summer associate with a team of lawyers and business support professionals who provide individualized mentorship, guidance and feedback throughout the program. The team also facilitates connections with other colleagues at the firm, helping you to forge lasting relationships within the Ropes & Gray community.
SOCIAL EVENTS We know how important it is to feel welcomed and engaged when joining a new firm. That’s why our summer program includes a multitude of opportunities for you to get to know your fellow summer associates and other lawyers at the firm. Social events include informal lunches and dinners, wellness activities, sporting events, cultural outings, community service, and firm-sponsored forum activities.
At this time our entry-level class is filled. Please check back should our needs change.
We value the unique perspective, skills and experience you gained as a law clerk. For those who join us, we offer a competitive market bonus, as well as top-notch training opportunities.
Our New York and Boston offices frequently hire LL.M. graduates who have a specialization in tax. Students are generally recruited in the final year of their LL.M. through the Taxation Interview Program in the spring. The core of our tax practice at consists of domestic and cross-border tax planning. Our clients include public and private companies, private equity funds and their portfolio companies, public and private mutual funds, hedge funds, and other unregistered pooled vehicles, including sovereign wealth funds, fund sponsors and advisors, institutional investors, and other institutions with a significant capital market presence, such as domestic and foreign tax-exempt entities and a number of family offices. To learn, more about our robust tax practice, please visit our Tax practice group page.
Should you join the firm as a first-year associate, you’ll receive continued training and development opportunities, exciting work and progressive levels of responsibility. Your first few weeks at the firm will be spent at an extensive first-year training camp, featuring sessions on practical and soft skills, as well as presentations on the firm and its various practices. You’ll also have access to hundreds of other training programs, cohort retreats, and management and leadership conferences throughout your tenure at the firm.
During the pandemic, we also started Ropes Remote University for our first-year associates. This comprehensive program incorporates hot topics in the legal industry, knowledge management initiatives and substantive legal training for new lawyers providing a strong foundation for a legal career.
Another key resource during your first year and beyond will be our team of associate development partners (ADPs) and associate development managers (ADMs). ADPs and ADMs work together to help you manage your work assignments, integrate into your practice and reach your fullest potential at the firm. The team will also play a key role in the firm’s comprehensive review process, and act as a trusted resource as you respond to feedback and take steps to progress toward greater levels of responsibility.
Other associate initiatives include the Global Opportunities (GO) Program, the Flex Program and various diversity, equity and inclusion programs.
To learn more about our work, the support we give our associates, our diversity, equity and inclusion and pro bono efforts, please visit Life at Ropes & Gray.
Diversity Recruiting
Fostering a diverse, equitable and inclusive work environment is one of Ropes & Gray’s most important missions. Welcoming and valuing diversity in all aspects of the firm’s operations is fundamental to our core values of excellence, fairness and integrity. To further support our commitment to diversity within the firm and the legal profession, we have established the Trimmier Scholarship, named after our first African American partner, Roscoe Trimmier Jr. Ropes & Gray’s 1L and 2L Trimmier Scholarships are awarded each year to individuals who exemplify leadership, resilience and a commitment to diversity. All applicants who have demonstrably contributed to diversity, equity and inclusion in their schools, communities or any other institution or setting will be eligible. First-generation college graduates and members of groups underrepresented in the legal profession are especially encouraged to apply.
Ropes & Gray’s 1L Trimmier Scholarship offers a select number of highly qualified first-year law students the opportunity to participate in all aspects of the firm’s 2024 Summer Associate Program, as well as spend a portion of the summer at one of the firm’s clients. In addition, Scholars will have the opportunity to participate in the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity (LCLD) programming.
To apply for the Ropes & Gray 1L Trimmier Scholarship, you must be a first-year law student enrolled in an ABA-accredited law school, with an expected graduation date of Spring 2026. All applicants who have demonstrably contributed to diversity, equity and inclusion in their schools, communities or any other institution or setting will be eligible. First-generation college graduates and members of groups underrepresented in the legal profession are especially encouraged to apply.
The application period for our 2024 1L Trimmer Scholarship is now closed.
Ropes & Gray’s 2L Trimmier Scholarship offers a select number of highly qualified second-year law students the opportunity to participate in all aspects of the firm’s 2025 Summer Associate Program.
To apply for the Ropes & Gray 2L Trimmier Scholarship, you must be a second-year law student enrolled in an ABA-accredited law school, with an expected graduation date of Spring 2026. All applicants who have demonstrably contributed to diversity, equity and inclusion in their schools, communities or any other institution or setting will be eligible. First-generation college graduates and members of groups underrepresented in the legal profession are especially encouraged to apply.
The application period to apply for the 2025 2L Trimmier Scholarship will open in the summer of 2024.
Ready to join us?
If you are interested in applying for our 2025 summer program, we anticipate opening our application in early June. Please check back for updates.
After I was accepted as a summer associate, I found out I had been chosen as one of the firm’s Trimmier diversity scholars. It has been very helpful and comforting knowing other Black and Indigenous People of Color attorneys who understand the complexities of navigating this profession. Meeting each other at the beginning of our time at the firm provides a sense of community and connects us with BIPOC allies.”
Christina Ravelo, Associate
Awards & Rankings
2022 Summer Associate Survey
Law360
Formal Training
Vault
Vault
Top Ranked Practice Groups
Chambers USA
Chambers USA
Perfect Score,
Corporate Equality Index
Scope of Practice – Podcast Series
Welcome to Scope of Practice, a new Ropes & Gray podcast series for law students and recent graduates that provides an inside look into different practice groups and the lives of attorneys in those groups at the firm. To keep current on new episodes, subscribe to this podcast series on Apple, Google, Spotify.
Sealing the Deal, How Practices Collaborate on Corporate Transactions
Tokyo/U.S. Office Split Summer
The Ropes & Gray Tokyo office is seeking entry-level associates to join its growing and vibrant corporate transactional practice in Tokyo. Candidates must have a solid interest in corporate transactional practice, including private equity transactions, cross-border transactions, mergers and acquisitions, and leveraged finance transactions. Candidates must be fluent and able to conduct business in both Japanese and English.
Students will have the opportunity to participate in the Ropes & Gray summer program by splitting the summer between a U.S. office and the Tokyo office. Upon graduation, candidates will spend a period of time working in a Ropes & Gray U.S. office for training purposes (approximately 1-2 years; depending on U.S. visa restrictions) before relocating to Tokyo.
Applicants must submit a resume, transcript, and cover letter detailing their language proficiency and reasons for interest in the Ropes & Gray Tokyo office.