Ropes & Gray

Overview

Ropes & Gray is a large US-headquartered, global full-service law firm known for its market-leading private capital, fund formation and secondaries work, high‑end corporate and finance practices, and an embedded pro bono and public‑interest culture. The firm positions itself around a 'practice with purpose' ethos—pairing high‑performance client work with a strong commitment to pro bono, sustainability and community impact—and has been consistently ranked among the top firms internationally (No. 2 on The American Lawyer A‑List in 2025 and extensive Chambers rankings in 2026). As a US firm with significant London, New York, Boston and Asia capabilities, Ropes & Gray emphasises cross‑practice and cross‑office collaboration and substantial investment in AI and legal technology initiatives.

Values & Culture

Practice Areas

Competition & Antitrust
Banking & Finance
Capital Markets
Corporate & M&A
Financial Services & Regulation
Investment Funds
Private Equity & Venture Capital
Healthcare & Life Sciences
Dispute Resolution & Litigation
Data Protection & Privacy
Intellectual Property
International Arbitration
ESG & Sustainability
Insolvency & Restructuring
Real Estate
Regulatory & Compliance
Technology & Digital
White Collar Crime
Pensions
Infrastructure & Projects

Geographic Focus: The firm operates as a global US firm with major hubs in the United States (notably Boston and New York), a leading London office, and important Asia offices in Hong Kong and Singapore. Its strategy stresses cross‑office, cross‑practice collaboration to serve international clients, with particular strength advising private capital, secondaries and fund clients across the US, Europe and Asia.

Training Contract

Starting Salary: Year 1: £62,000; Year 2: £67,000
NQ Salary: £170,000
Trainee Intake: 15
Qualification Rate: 100% (latest trainee retention rate published).
Academic Requirements: Minimum degree requirement: No minimum. Minimum A‑level requirement: No minimum.
Application Deadline: 31 January 2026

Seat Options

Corporate & M&A
Banking & Finance
Capital Markets
Investment Funds
Private Equity & Venture Capital
Healthcare & Life Sciences
Competition & Antitrust
Data Protection & Privacy
Dispute Resolution & Litigation
Insolvency & Restructuring
Employment
Real Estate
Pensions
Regulatory & Compliance
Technology & Digital
International Arbitration
White Collar Crime

Sponsorship

PGDL/PGDL grant: £20,000. SQE grant: £20,000. (Amounts published.)

SQE Support

SQE grant: £20,000 (published).

International Opportunities

Chances of a secondment abroad are published at approximately 8%. Destinations include the firm’s key international offices such as New York, Boston, Hong Kong and Singapore (selection and allocation processes are managed internally by the firm’s training/secondment teams).

Apply on the Ropes & Gray website →

Notable Matters

Agility Robotics De‑SPAC Transaction (Advised)

Ropes & Gray advised on a $2.5 billion de‑SPAC transaction for Agility Robotics (June 24, 2026). The engagement demonstrates the firm's capabilities on large public company and capital markets transactions and its cross‑practice coordination for high‑value deals.

Capital Markets

Representation of Golden Goose Management Team on HSG Majority Investment (Advised)

Ropes & Gray represented the Golden Goose management team in HSG’s majority investment and the addition of Temasek as a minority shareholder (June 25, 2026), illustrating the firm’s transactional private equity and corporate advisory work for sponsor and management teams.

Private Equity & Venture Capital

Sanofi Ventures Investment in Bionyra Pharma Series A (Advised)

Ropes & Gray represented Sanofi Ventures in its investment in Bionyra Pharma’s $165 million Series A financing (June 23, 2026), reflecting the firm’s life sciences and healthcare transactional practice advising strategic corporate investors on venture financings.

Healthcare & Life Sciences

Market‑leading Secondaries Work (Global Secondaries Practice)

The firm’s alternative asset opportunities/secondaries practice completed more than 600 secondaries transactions in 2025, has been ranked No. 1 legal adviser by industry rankings on multiple occasions, and continues to make strategic lateral hires to expand capacity and expertise (e.g., Peter Rosen joining the AAO group in 2026).

Investment Funds

What Ropes & Gray Looks For

Key Competencies

Commercial awareness
Teamwork and collaboration
Legal and technical excellence
Resilience and ability to manage demanding workload
Commitment to pro bono and public service
Interest in technology and AI (for tech/AI practice areas)

Evidence Signals

Relevant commercial internships or work experience (especially in private funds/secondaries, corporate or finance)
Pro bono or public interest involvement
International experience or language skills (for cross‑border work)
Demonstrable interest or experience in technology/AI for tech‑facing practices
Academic attainment and commercial examples showing judgment (degree class is not a formal minimum requirement)

Benefits & Wellbeing

Trainee salary Year 1: £62,000
Trainee salary Year 2: £67,000
Newly qualified salary: £170,000
PGDL/PGDL grant: £20,000
SQE grant: £20,000
Annual leave: 25 days
No annual target hours (published)
Firm grades highly for perks and reports strong office facilities in insider ratings

Awards & Recognition

Ranked No. 2 on The American Lawyer A‑List (2025)
No. 2 on the A‑List — ninth consecutive year in the top three (2025)
Chambers USA 2026: 84 practice rankings, 186 lawyer rankings; 30 Band 1 practice rankings and 36 Band 1 lawyer rankings
Multiple industry recognitions for pro bono work (City Bar Justice Center honour, Massachusetts Appleseed award listings and Massachusetts Pro Bono Honor Roll recognitions in 2025/2026)

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

The firm states a commitment to 'fostering a welcome community where all professionals of all backgrounds can reach their full potential' and integrates pro bono credit into associate reviews and compensation.

Engagement & Impact programme
Global Pro Bono programme (including the Ropes Impact Fellowship)
Pro Bono Committee and regional pro bono leadership

Pro Bono

Ropes & Gray gives equal credit for pro bono time in associate reviews and compensation, has donated more than one million pro bono hours across the last seven years, created the Ropes Impact Fellowship with Equal Justice Works in 2023, and has multiple pro bono recognitions (including City Bar Justice Center and Massachusetts Appleseed awards).

Innovation

Ropes & Gray has a defined innovation and AI strategy, operating an AI Resource Center, an Artificial Intelligence Court Order Tracker and e‑discovery/AI strategy capabilities. The firm highlights investment in AI‑related resources and cross‑practice legal tech tools; trainees and lawyers can engage with these resources through practice groups and the firm’s insights and resource centres. Insider ratings on legal tech are mixed, with an overall middling score reported alongside strong investment in named AI initiatives.

AI Resource Center: Driving Client Results
Artificial Intelligence Court Order Tracker
Advanced E‑Discovery and AI Strategy
R&G Insights Lab (Analytics & Behavioral Science Consulting)
Artificial Intelligence practice and related trackers/resources

Quick Application Angles

Highlight commercial experience or interest in private capital/secondaries – the firm is a market leader in secondaries (completed 600+ secondaries transactions in 2025) and is actively expanding that team.
Reference the firm’s AI and e‑discovery initiatives (AI Resource Center, AI Court Order Tracker) if applying to technology, data or litigation seats — the firm emphasises AI as a strategic priority.
Demonstrate commitment to pro bono and social impact (mentioning the Ropes Impact Fellowship or pro bono involvement) because pro bono is integrated into reviews and the firm publicises substantial pro bono delivery.
Emphasise collaborative experiences and peer support (the firm scores highly for training and peer support), and give concrete examples of team projects where you added commercial value.
If applying for London roles, reference cross‑office international work and any relevant US/Asia exposure — the firm is US‑founded with substantial transatlantic and Asia practice strengths.