Diversity, Equity & Inclusion | Why Ropes & Gray

Overview

Ropes & Gray has always advocated for human rights, dignity, and the principles of justice and equality under the law. It is a commitment we have demonstrated not only with words, but with action, including through our pro bono program and our work with the Law Firm Antiracism Alliance. We are committed to identifying, describing and dismantling systemic racism and inequities, and to marshalling our resources as a law firm to make societal change.

We are also committed to ensuring that we stay true to our core values and address the needs of our own community. Dedication to diversity, equity and inclusion is one of those core values. We aspire to be the legal industry leader in attracting and retaining talented and diverse professionals, providing equitable opportunities for every person to perform to their fullest potential, and being inclusive of and welcoming to all people.

Ropes & Gray’s designated DE&I team works closely with the diversity committee and firm leadership to advance our DE&I strategic plan, which is built on four fundamental pillars: cultural competence; equitable systems and processes for recruiting and talent advancement; equitable leadership development; and allyship.

Our commitment to DE&I makes Ropes & Gray a place where all persons of every background, including race, ethnicity, age, gender, disability, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression, work together in a spirit of openness and collaboration.

Attorney Forums / Resource Networks

At Ropes & Gray, we are dedicated to helping our people celebrate their identities and backgrounds. The Ropes Multicultural Forum, Women’s Forum and LGBTQ+Forum and First-Generation Professionals Group give attorneys with common backgrounds, interests or affiliations, together with their allies, a setting in which to connect with other professionals, including through educational programs, networking opportunities, and career and professional development seminars. Office-based resource networks provide similar opportunities for business support professionals.

Allies at Ropes & Gray promote our culture of diversity, equity and inclusion by joining or supporting the firm’s attorney forums, resource networks and greater DE&I efforts. We believe that allyship is essential to creating an environment, which will attract and retain people of all backgrounds at all levels of the firm. Our aim is to ensure that responsibility for DE&I initiatives is shared by colleagues across the firm.

Expand all +

Ropes Multicultural Forum

The Ropes Multicultural Forum (RMF) supports and advances the firm's commitment to fostering an environment where individuals of diverse backgrounds and identities can succeed professionally and fully contribute to the goals of the firm. The group provides a forum for lawyers who share and value all forms of differences between people.

The RMF conducts regular meetings and hosts special events that give members the opportunity to connect with each other, share experiences and establish mentoring relationships.

The forum also sponsors heritage month celebrations, fostering cultural awareness among our lawyers and business support professionals and celebrating the richness of our diverse community.

Women's Forum

Ropes & Gray has long been recognized as a top firm for women attorneys to succeed. We are one of few elite firms with a woman chair, and women hold many significant leadership positions at the firm, serving as department heads, practice group leaders, office managing partners and management committee members. Our longtime commitment to fostering women’s success encompasses creative initiatives for professional growth, extensive personal investment from our attorneys, and other programming for women and their allies. Our status as an industry leader where women can succeed is driven in large part by our Women’s Forum—a next-level resource, open to everyone and geared toward helping women, their allies and others who choose to join the forum to build deep relationships and critical skill sets.

Women’s Forum Circles

In order to foster an environment in which forum members can discuss topics of interest, such as networking opportunities and professional development, the Women’s Forum has designed a program bringing together “circles” of forum members from all levels.
These small groups facilitate relationships between partners, counsel and associates, providing forum members with the opportunity to get to know colleagues in other practice groups and from various levels.

Women @ RopesTalk Podcast

Women @ RopesTalk, a podcast series hosted by Ropes & Gray’s Women’s Forum, spotlights extraordinary women who have had successful careers and are making a positive impact in their workplaces and in their communities. The podcast features attorneys at Ropes & Gray in conversation with prominent women clients, industry leaders and entrepreneurs. It is available through Apple Podcasts, Spotify and at Ropes & Gray.

LGBTQ+ Forum

Ropes & Gray has a longstanding commitment to ensuring that its lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer lawyers and business professionals feel welcome and empowered to bring their authentic selves to work. Since 2009, the firm has earned the top rating of 100 percent in the Corporate Equality Index, an annual survey administered by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation. The LGBTQ+ Forum, made up of LGBTQ+ attorneys and allies who elect to join, provides ongoing support to forum members for their professional growth and integration.

To help promote an inclusive environment, the LGBTQ+ Forum regularly sponsors presentations and talks covering current legal topics important to the LGBTQ+ community. The forum also sponsors events such as the Massachusetts LGBTQ Bar Association Annual Spring Dinner in Boston and the Lambda Legal Liberty Awards National Dinner in New York City. Members of the forum participate in the hiring process and act as resources for LGBTQ+ summer associates. Forum members also help to identify and coordinate pro bono matters of interest to the forum.

Ropes & Gray has a notable history of advocating for LGBTQ+ individuals in groundbreaking policy and civil rights cases. In 2015, Ropes & Gray played a pivotal role in the U.S. Supreme Court’s historic Obergefell v. Hodges decision—a victory for marriage equality. Litigation & Enforcement partner Doug Hallward-Driemeier, who leads the firm’s Appellate & Supreme Court practice, argued this landmark case. The firm continues to represent LGBTQ+ individuals in key cases to advance and defend their rights, including the 2020 U.S. Supreme Court ruling, Bostock v. Clayton, that prohibits employment discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity.

Resource Networks

DE&I Programs

Ropes & Gray provides numerous programs to foster an inclusive community, support professional growth and bolster our ability to attract candidates from diverse backgrounds.

The firm provides educational materials on important DE&I-related topics, recognizes cultural events and celebrations by hosting educational programs, hosts quarterly sessions with members of the diversity committee to share updates and respond to questions about the firm’s DE&I efforts, and hosts sessions for diverse attorneys and allies to come together to discuss issues, share ideas and provide feedback.

Expand all +

Mentorship and Sponsorship

The Partner Mentor Program pairs junior associates with partner mentors who support their mentees' early career development by offering career guidance, providing quality work assignments and timely feedback, and fostering relationships with partners and clients. All junior associates are eligible to join this program.

The Advocate Mentor Program pairs mid- to senior-level associates and counsel with partner advocates who actively champion their mentees' career development and advancement by fostering relationships with partners and clients to create business development opportunities on substantial matters. All counsel and mid-to-senior associates are eligible to join this program.

Professional Development in the Industry

Through the firm's Leadership Council on Legal Diversity (LCLD) membership, diverse attorneys are selected to participate in the Pathfinder Program and Fellows Program each year.

In celebration of the memory and legacy of our first woman partner, Joan D. Fuller, the firm offers a professional development grant that enables lawyers to take the lead in driving their careers forward. The Joan D. Fuller Development Grant can be used to fund creative activities that help them achieve their professional goals and develop successful relationships with colleagues, clients and prospective clients. All attorneys are eligible to apply and awards are made in alignment with practice group and professional development needs.

In addition, the Diane Patrick Attorney Advancement Fund, established in honor of our distinguished partner Diane Patrick and her commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion, is dedicated to supporting the professional development of our attorneys, such as attendance at relevant conferences. All attorneys are eligible to apply and awards are made in alignment with practice group and professional development needs.

Roscoe Trimmier Jr. Scholarships

We have established the Trimmier Scholarship, named after our first African American partner, Roscoe Trimmier Jr. Ropes & Gray’s 1L and 2L Trimmier Scholarships are awarded each year to eligible individuals who have demonstrably contributed to diversity, equity and inclusion in their schools, communities or any other institution or setting, who have achieved pathbreaking accomplishments, or who have demonstrated courage in the face of adversity. First-generation college graduates are especially encouraged to apply. Learn more about the scholarship program here.