Ropes & Gray offers junior lawyers 20 per cent billable credit for AI effort
US law firm Ropes & Gray has expanded its programme to give junior lawyers 20 per cent of their billable hours to experiment with generative AI to its European offices, including in the City.
The ‘TrAIlblazers’ programme was floated across the firm’s US offices last year, but it is now being implemented in Europe for newly qualified (NQs) and trainees.
The City’s junior staff will now dedicate a fifth of their time to hands-on AI exploration to test the firm’s tools, pilot new workflows for client matters, and develop best practices to be shared firmwide.
Ropes & Gray’s City office pays NQ lawyers, the most junior at the firm, a base salary of £165,000 per year, plus a bonus.
As part of the programme, all staff will receive formal and on-demand training, join mentoring circles led by partners, and work in peer cohorts to tackle real client challenges.
Their feedback will directly inform how Ropes & Gray integrates AI into client service and professional development.
The firm uses a variety of AI tools, including Hebbia for transactional analysis, Intelligent Legal Solutions’ (ILS) ProVision for side letter management, and Harvey for general genAI.
Commenting on the programme, partner Jane Rogers, said: “Our TrAIlblazers programme – successfully piloted in the US and now introduced in Europe – provides our early-stage lawyers with a strong foundation in the transformative potential of AI, and ensures they have dedicated time to develop proficiency with these critical technologies.”
“Our NQs and trainees are integral to the firm’s success, and by enabling them to harness these advancements, we empower them to deliver greater value for our clients and enhance their own professional growth,” she added.
This comes as Shoosmiths handed staff an extra £1m in its bonuses system after its lawyers hit the firm’s annual target for one million Microsoft Copilot prompts.