Ropes & Gray gives junior lawyers 20% of billable time for AI work

Ropes & Gray has expanded its AI training programme to Europe, giving trainees and newly qualified lawyers 20% of their billable hours to experiment with AI tools and test new ways of working.  

The Trailblazers programme was first piloted in the firm’s US offices and combines hands-on experimentation with formal and on-demand training.

AI counts

Participants also join partner-led mentoring circles and work in peer cohorts focused on developing practical use cases. 

Crucially, time spent on the programme counts as billable, removing the usual tension between innovation projects and fee targets. Feedback from trainees and NQs is fed back into the firm’s wider AI strategy, with successful use cases shared internally to speed up adoption across teams.

Jane Rogers, a Ropes & Gray partner and member of the firm’s policy committee, said the programme gives early-stage lawyers “a strong foundation in the transformative potential of AI” while recognising their role in shaping how the firm uses new technology.

Firms double down

Ropes & Gray is not alone in formalising AI and technology training for talent.

Freshfields announced last year that it will pay for incoming trainees to complete a dedicated LLM in law and technology at King’s College London - part of a wider shift that is seeing law schools build AI into their programmes. 

Meanwhile, Latham & Watkins launched its AI Academy in 2024, a firmwide programme built around hands-on training sessions and internal events across seniority levels, including a mandatory two-day, in-person training for associates.