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Launch Your Ropes & Gray Career

Where exceptional law students meet extraordinary opportunities to launch their legal careers.

Why Start Your Legal Career at Ropes & Gray?

Top law students choose Ropes & Gray for its unparalleled opportunities, leading position in AI and commitment to excellence. The firm’s global client work spans private equity, asset management, health care, life sciences, technology, consumer & retail, infrastructure and more—offering exposure to some of the most dynamic industries in the world. Associates benefit from intense mentorship and early responsibility, allowing them to make meaningful contributions from day one. Ropes & Gray’s culture of performance, purpose, collaboration, and innovation fosters an environment where teamwork drives success.

Our Continued Dedication to Being the Best Law Firm at AI

We have launched an AI Trailblazers program. 

First-year associates will dedicate a significant portion of their billable time to Gen AI adoption and integration. This will involve mastering our existing AI tools, evaluating new and emerging capabilities, creating customized prompts for client projects, innovating through experimentation and co-creation, and strengthening their overall AI technology acumen.

Ropes & Gray Summer Opportunities

The Ropes & Gray 2L Summer Associate Program:

This 10-week, 2L program will afford you a true Ropes & Gray associate experience, including work with partners, associates, and clients. You will receive formal and informal mentorship, feedback, and guidance, and you will be challenged in the best possible way—all of which will help you launch your Ropes & Gray career.

A select number of candidates will be offered the opportunity to spend both their 1L and 2L summer at the firm.

The current weekly pay for Summer Associates participating in the Summer Program is $4,326.92.

We are looking for candidates with a gold medal mentality and a track record of success. If you value teamwork, strive to win, and bring grit, intellectual curiosity, and adaptability to your work, then Ropes & Gray is the place for you.

How to Apply for the Ropes & Gray Summer Associate Program

We are currently accepting Ropes & Gray 2027 summer associate program applications.

Apply here for Ropes & Gray's U.S. Summer Program.

We are also hiring a select few law students to spend the summer of 2027 split between a Ropes & Gray U.S. office and our Tokyo office. Participating in Ropes & Gray’s Tokyo Split Summer Program will give selected applicants the opportunity to experience first-hand the cutting-edge industry-defining work in our growing and vibrant Tokyo office, and how our lawyers collaborate across offices. This provides a unique opportunity for those who have the requisite language skills and may be interested in working on Tokyo matters or even relocating to our Tokyo office one day.

Apply here for Ropes & Gray’s Tokyo Split Summer Program.

Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis and interviews begin in January. We will make offers after receiving your first semester grades.

What You’ll Do as a Ropes & Gray Summer Associate

As a summer associate you will:

  • Work with attorneys and clients who are leaders in their field
  • Contribute to active matters and transactions, including commercial, pro bono, and AI assignments
  • Receive regular feedback and training
  • Build lasting relationships through formal and informal mentorship

Who You’ll Work with and Learn from as a Ropes & Gray Summer Associate

Our summer associates additionally benefit from:

  • Workshops that build both technical and leadership skills
  • Personalized coaching, including access to an in-house writing coach
  • A work-allocation system that promotes equitable staffing and opportunity
  • A dedicated team of associate development partners and managers focused on your success
  • Hands-on experience across a range of matters that expand your knowledge and perspective
  • Individualized guidance and feedback to support your professional growth

Your Summer Experience: Real Work, Real Clients, Real Impact

Hear directly from Ropes & Gray associates as they share real-world perspectives on the transition from law school to practice. Through discussions about their work, development, and the support they’ve received, they offer valuable insight into the firm’s culture, opportunities, and the many paths to success within our global platform.

Mentorship, Growth & Opportunity: Experiences from the 2025 Summer Associate Program

Co-hiring partner for the firm Jeff Katz, sits down with three members of the 2025 summer associate program in this recent podcast.

Announcing the 2026 Roscoe Trimmier 1L Scholarship Program for First-Generation College Students

At Ropes & Gray, our values are at the forefront of everything we do, from advocating for our clients to building strong communities – both within and beyond our firm. Our commitment to our clients, communities, and colleagues across the globe requires our firm to continuously focus on both performance and purpose. This focus on practice with purpose distinguishes Ropes & Gray among the world’s elite professional services firms. Our success for clients is built upon a high-performance culture and our sense of purpose in working together for a shared mission.

In that spirit, we are thrilled to launch the 2026 Roscoe Trimmier 1L Scholarship Program—an initiative designed expressly for first-generation college students as they begin their legal careers. The 2026 Roscoe Trimmier 1L Scholarship Program honors the legacy of former Ropes & Gray partner and first-generation student, Roscoe Trimmier, Jr. by expanding opportunity for all first-generation college students and investing in the next generation of lawyers. This program celebrates the qualities we value most in future Ropes & Gray lawyers—grit, intellectual curiosity, and a commitment to teamwork.

About the Scholarship

The Roscoe Trimmier 1L Scholarship Program provides meaningful financial support and early professional exposure to outstanding first-year law students who are the first in their families to graduate from college. Selected scholars who apply for, receive and accept an offer for our 2L summer associate program will be considered for a 1L summer position and corresponding scholarship award to help defray the cost of law school.

Key features of the program include a competitive scholarship award of $50,000 (pre-tax), mentorship from Ropes & Gray lawyers, and substantive learning opportunities designed to accelerate professional development. Scholars will be immersed in our high-performance, team-oriented culture and mission-driven approach to client service, pro bono work, and community engagement—building the grit, intellectual curiosity, and teamwork that define success here.

Scholars who accept their offer will receive a $25,000 (pre-tax) scholarship at the end of their 2L summer. Scholars who receive and accept a full-time associate offer at the conclusion of the 2L summer will receive an additional $25,000 (pre-tax) scholarship upon starting at the firm as a full-time associate.

Eligibility

The program is open to all first-year law students who are first-generation college graduates (the first in their families to complete a four-year college degree), and who also meet the criteria that apply to our selection process for our broader summer associate program:

  • Are enrolled full-time at an ABA-accredited law school.
  • Demonstrate academic excellence, grit, intellectual curiosity, leadership, and a commitment to teamwork and community.
  • Have an interest in pursuing a team-based career at a global law firm with practice areas like those in which Ropes & Gray excels.


Selection Criteria

Ropes & Gray is an equal opportunity employer.  Being a first-generation college student is the only unique selection criterion that applies to the 1L Roscoe Trimmier Scholarship Program.  As we do for our summer associate program generally, we take a holistic view of each candidate, with particular emphasis on grit, intellectual curiosity, and teamwork. For all of our summer associate program candidates, we also consider academic achievement; personal and professional leadership; commitment to service; and alignment with Ropes & Gray’s values of performance and purpose, as well as the candidate’s interest in our practice areas and potential to thrive in our collaborative environment.

How to Apply

Eligible students can apply to the Trimmier scholarship as part of their general application to the 2027 2L Summer Associate Program.

Our Commitment

We are excited to support first-generation college students who exemplify grit, intellectual curiosity, and teamwork, and we look forward to the contributions our scholars will make to our firm, our clients, and our communities.

We invite interested 1L students who have applied to our 2L program to apply—and to join us in building a legal career defined by performance, purpose, and the drive to persevere, learn, and collaborate.

If you thrive on teamwork, possess a strong sense of grit, and are driven by intellectual curiosity and adaptability, then you’ll find your place at Ropes & Gray.”

Sarah Davidoff, Co-Hiring Partner
The foundation of our summer program is our investment in the success of our summer associates. We dedicate the time and resources to help our summer associates not just to become great lawyers, but become Ropes & Gray lawyers who share our commitment to excellence and purpose.”
Jeff Katz, Co-Hiring Partner

Awards & Rankings: Excellence Recognized Across the Industry

Our firm, attorneys, and practices consistently earn top honors from the most respected publications and ranking organizations, reflecting both the impact of our client work and the caliber of our talent. These achievements represent more than awards—they’re proof of the firm’s enduring commitment to client success, innovation, and the professional growth of every Ropes & Gray lawyer.

  • Ranked among The American Lawyer’s top 3 firms on the A-List for nine consecutive years
  • Recognized as top 5 Most Innovative Lawyers North America by Financial Times in 2025
  • Named “Dealmakers of the Year” by The American Lawyer for four consecutive years
  • Recognized by Law360 as 2024 “Practice Group of the Year” in both health care and private equity
  • Ranked among the top five law firms worldwide in Bloomberg Law’s 2025 Global M&A Legal and Financial Adviser League Tables
  • Honored in 82 practice areas and 185 individual categories in Chambers & Partners, including 26 Band 1 practice rankings and 33 Band 1 individual recognitions in 2025

Ropes & Gray in the Headlines

See what the press is saying about our people, our impact, and our innovation, and learn about our market-leading work that makes the news.

Innovation in Practice: AI and the Future of Law

  • Reuters highlighted R&G TrAIlblazers, a pilot program that allocates a portion of first-year associates’ billable time for AI training, simulations, and hands‑on experimentation.
  • Business Insider highlights how Ropes & Gray attorneys are integrating AI into daily legal work, transforming how complex matters are analyzed and delivered.
  • The American Lawyer explores Ropes & Gray’s generative AI workshops for summer associates, offering hands-on experience with applying AI to real client projects.
  • Law360 speaks with the firm’s technology strategy leader and a summer associate about immersive AI training and the importance of responsible technology use in practice.
  • Reuters Chief of Attorney Talent Amy Ross discusses the growing need for law schools to integrate AI education to prepare students for technology-forward firms like Ropes & Gray.
  • Yahoo Finance features Ropes & Gray’s adoption of the precedent-based AI drafting platform DraftWise, which enhances efficiency and consistency across the firm’s transactional drafting practices.

Market-Leading Transactions

Ropes & Gray advised:


Talent, Culture & Career Growth

  • The American Lawyer features Hiring Partner Jeffrey Katz and Chief of Attorney Talent Amy Ross discussing Ropes & Gray’s innovative Re-ttorney Program to welcome back top alumni talent.

Pro Bono in Action

  • The Washington Post spotlights Ropes & Gray’s pro bono client John Huffington, who received a full innocence pardon after serving 32 years in prison—including 10 on death row—for crimes he did not commit.

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