Firm's Response. About the Firm. Best Law Firms in Boston. Best Law Firms for Formal Training. Associate Reviews. Partners and associates are collaborative and always willing to help across matters.
Associates get along well and often socialize outside the office. My practice group has under normal circumstances a weekly tequila happy hour where we gather, play put-put outside the partners' offices, and mingle at the end of the week.
Very relaxed and casual, and folks from other groups drop by from time to time. They try to organize social activities and other ways for us to interact as a firm on different levels. Lawyers and staff interact very well together. The day-to-day atmosphere is very pleasant. Generally speaking, the partners take time to check in on associates and create opportunities for them to develop and succeed in their careers but naturally, some Individual partners are better at this than others.
I have no complaints with any partner I've ever worked with at Ropes. Reviews, however, are pretty transparent. They take place twice a year, and you can request your file with all of the feedback to review on your own time following the meeting.
Partners are accessible and are genuinely interested in their associates. If you prove yourself, they're happy to hand substantive work over to you.
There are times where we all work a lot but Ropes puts tons of support in place to make it as manageable as possible. This is helpful for ensuring an even stream of new work, and also ensuring that new associates are given a broad range of projects. Associates are still able to indicate the types of projects on which they are interested in working, and assignments appear to reflect this input. The firm's billable-hour expectations are very reasonable and should not be difficult to achieve.
There is rarely either too much or too little work in my experience, although workloads vary day-to-day and week-to-week. I don't mind having crazy weeks when there are quiet weeks. Work seems evenly distributed and billable requirement is in line with other large firms.
I don't know that anyone could reasonably complain about that. On smaller deals, first-year associates have the opportunity to be involved with a variety of the deal process. The more-senior members of my teams trust my work, but they are also great teachers, so I am able to learn a lot through them and through the work I am given.
I haven't had any major problems getting my computer and other devices to work and tech support has been exceptionally responsive at addressing minor glitches and issues as they arise. The firm offers hard phones for in-home use that function as an office line and a technology budget. We were always expected to be able to work from home, and we have a technology stipend that we can use once every three years or so.
It would have been nice to have an additional stipend made available during the pandemic. The firm had to make very few changes because they already had thought about how to make working from home seamless previously. I was one of them and am extremely grateful the heads of the firm were so proactive about this. There have been opportunities to participate in meditation, yoga, other online classes. There have also been many family-oriented online gatherings—such as a trip behind the scenes at the zoo, family cookie decorating, pumpkin carving, etc.
I feel more connected with my colleagues and their children than ever before—and my children have LOVED it! The field is stressful—there really is no way around that, but at least the firm tries. I really appreciated all this because I was stranded by myself in the beginning of the pandemic since my family was out of state, so it felt nice when a partner called out of the blue to check in on me.
In the office, people were always willing to take the time to show you how things were done in their office, and now people are willing to either screen share and show how they would approach a task or sit and talk to you on the phone. With the new class, partners recognized those informal opportunities would not be as strong for incoming associates and tried to organize an informal mentoring session early on.
Multiple times a month, there are trainings specific to your practice area that touch on all sorts of things we will handle across the broad range of work within the firm. I appreciate these trainings and like that the recordings are saved so they can be referenced again later. Mentoring often takes place through affinity groups, such as the Women's Forum, and naturally through relationships you develop on teams.
The application process kicks off in the fall — third-years and above in good standing are eligible to apply. Ropes has an overarching diversity committee , as well as dedicated affinity groups for women, LGBTQ individuals and attorneys of color the latter is called the Ropes Multicultural Forum.
They are making a push. The primary caregiver leave is generous, and if you take it you still get a bonus. All pro bono and other non-client billable hours can be counted toward the 1, target. Bonuses aside, associates also receive a cash contribution toward any tech equipment — like dual-monitors — to help them work from home.
What was the best part of doing this work? You run a lot of the matter yourself. Ropes visits more than 40 law schools and jobs fairs as part of its recruitment campaign, and most interviewees are taken into consideration for all six of the firm's US offices. Finding the best potential associates is part one of the process, and which office they'd best fit into follows that. Who's got the best chances of making the cut? Make it clear you've really thought about why you want to come here.
Four to six interviewees will assess the applicants who make it to callbacks, focusing on five key criteria: intellect; personal drive; problem solving; interpersonal skills; and culture and collegiality including diversity considerations.
The baseline for successful candidates is being able to get on well with both the firm's attorneys and its clients. There might also be an informal lunch or coffee with junior associates, where these criteria will be further assessed. We are committed to fostering an inclusive community of professionals of all races, religions, genders, sexual orientations and family structures. We see our individual differences as an asset that enhances the quality of life for each of us and strengthens what we can accomplish as a firm.
We provide:. Pro bono work is truly a firmwide endeavor, supported by the energy and creativity that each of our 11 offices across the globe contributes to public service. From securing asylum for endangered immigrants to helping people keep their homes to winning the release of the wrongly convicted to arguing the landmark marriage equality case, Obergefell v.
Hodges , before the U. The firm has also been named one of the leading firms for pro bono work and for our diversity initiatives.
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