Associates who begin their careers with one firm sometimes consider moving to another firm fairly early in their careers for professional or personal reasons. For an associate considering a career move, Ropes & Gray offers opportunities that are unsurpassed by any law firm in the country. Our practice is one of the most varied and sophisticated in the nation, and is widely recognized as such. Along with our dynamic legal practice, there are few places to practice that are better places to work — Ropes & Gray regularly ranks in Vault.com's America's Top 20 Law Firms. And the quality of our training is consistently rated by the Vault.com survey in the Top 10. The outstanding associate training and staff support is no accident: we place extraordinary value on Associate Contributions to our practice and the perpetuation of a firm culture that emphasizes the importance of teamwork and collegiality.

Kwame Cain (Harvard Law School '01), left, and Deborah Greilsheimer (Yale Law School '04) both practice in Ropes & Gray's New York office. Kwame practiced at Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal LLP for four years before joining the firm; Deborah spent two years in the New York office of Cleary Gottlieb.

The considerable talents of our associates permit our ratio of associates to partners to remain well below that of the most similarly sized firms. As a result, from the time they join us, associates participate in a truly meaningful way in the matters that arise in our practice, and play a key role in developing and sustaining our client relationships (see Client Service) as well as all other aspects of firm life (see Associate Participation). The low associate-to-partner ratio also contributes to the outstanding partnership opportunities that exist in our firm: nearly half of the partners joined the partnership during the past decade; and, according to published statistics, Ropes & Gray associates advance to partnership at one of the highest rates among Vault.com's list of America's Top 100 Law Firms.

Lisa Case (Harvard Law School '04), left, joined the firm's Boston office in 2006, and practices in the Corporate Group. Janna Hansen (Yale Law School '03), right, joined the firm's Boston office in 2006, and practices in the Litigation Group. To read more about why Lisa Case chose to work at Ropes & Gray, click here.

Our goal is to be at the top of the market of associate compensation and benefits, and various published and unpublished surveys confirm that we consistently achieve that goal. Our substantial benefits package also provides every associate a no-cost participation in a firm-sponsored investment partnership that invests in and coinvests with private equity clients of the firm (see Compensation and Benefits).

Ropes & Gray offers opportunities that are unsurpassed by any law firm in the country. Ropes & Gray affords associates with an opportunity to join its world class practice and workplace in five of the country's most economically and culturally vibrant regions: New York, Boston, Chicago, Washington, D.C. and Palo Alto/San Francisco as well as internationally in Tokyo and Hong Kong. Unlike many other national firms with large offices in more than one locale, our hiring is conducted on a firm wide basis. Our lawyers can and do move from one of our office locations to another when individual needs require it and our practice can accommodate it.

From left, Brent Westrop (Osgoode Hall Law School '02), Dana Johnson (Washington University School of Law '05), and Cathy Rossouw (Monash University '03) in a meeting. All three joined Ropes & Gray's New York office after leaving firms located in Canada, Kansas City, and Australia, respectively.

We seek to maintain our traditionally high hiring standards in evaluating candidates with experience, so that experienced lawyers who join us have equal success in practice with those associates who joined us through our entry level hiring program. We seek experienced lawyers in response to distinct needs that from time to time arise in particular practice areas or office location. For example, we recently hired several experienced lawyers from other national law firms to join our growing Private Equity, Investment Management, Litigation, and Health Care Practices in our New York City office. Our Litigation Department's Intellectual Property Group is always interested in hearing from associates with outstanding law school records and advanced degrees in technical disciplines such as electrical engineering. And our Investment Management Group is continually looking for associates committed to investment management practice who are interesting in accelerating their career development by joining the nation's top practice in the area.

Alexandra Oprescu (Cornell Law School '03), left, joined Ropes & Gray's in 2005 after practicing at Proskauer Rose (NY) for two years. Aaron Harsh (Boston College Law School '02), right, joined the Tax & Benefits Group in the firm's Boston office after practicing at Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge for four years.

Whether or not we have a particular need, if you are an associate with an outstanding record of academic achievement, and you believe you would thrive at our firm, please contact us. Our needs change over time and sometimes quite rapidly. Inquiries should be submitted, together with a resume and law school transcript, to: