Biglaw

Top Biglaw Firm Offers Associates 100 Billable Hours For Diversity & Inclusion Work

Kudos! This is the second highest number of hours that any firm has offered yet.

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Biglaw firms across the country are implementing all manner of initiatives to bring attention to the importance of diversity and inclusion among their ranks. We’ve previously acknowledged Dorsey & Whitney, Hogan Lovells, Reed Smith, Cooley, and Baker McKenzie as firms where approved diversity and inclusion-related work will be billable for attorneys and will count toward bonus thresholds. We’ve just received word that yet another leading law firm has had a successful program like this that’s been quietly running since 2020 — and this firm is offering one of the highest number of billable diversity and inclusion hours we’ve heard of yet.

Ropes & Gray — a firm that brought in $1,903,616,000 gross revenue in 2019, placing it 13th in the most recent Am Law 100 ranking — rolled out two new policies in 2020 to encourage increased efforts in the recruitment, retention, and advancement of those who are racially and ethnically diverse, LGBTQ+, and/or women, as well as those with disabilities.

Ropes not only has a 20-hour annual commitment for all lawyers related to advancing diversity, but the firm also offers up to 100 hours of billable credits to associates and counsel for diversity, equity, and inclusion activities. Those hours count towards the 20-hour commitment. Here’s what David Djaha, the firm’s managing partner, said about the initiative in a firmwide memo:

At Ropes & Gray, our culture of excellence extends to everything we do as a firm. A core part of that culture of excellence—and of being an active Ropes & Gray citizen—is bringing to our efforts to create a more diverse, equitable and welcoming community the same enthusiasm and urgency we bring to our service to clients. To do the work of diversity, equity and inclusion effectively, each of us must be involved and each of us must be committed to its success.

Congratulations to Ropes & Gray on its commitment to diversity, and for offering its attorneys a way to create a more inclusive workplace. The firm’s diversity billables are just shy of Baker McKenzie’s 125-hour offering, but double the offerings of all other firms, placing it near the top of the heap when it comes to Biglaw firms’ dedication to equity in the profession. Which firms will be the next to step up and do what’s right?

Staci ZaretskyStaci Zaretsky is a senior editor at Above the Law, where she’s worked since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.

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