Associate
Washington, D.C. Office
800-951-4888 x81-4671
rajib.chanda@ropesgray.com
My parents came to this country from Kolkata, India in 1974 when my dad got a two-year assignment on an engineering project in Philadelphia; I was born in 1975. My parents kept intending to move back to India, but didn’t get around to it until 1989, and even now continue to split their time between New Jersey and Kolkata. While this means that my family is half-way around the world for much of every year, it also has motivated me to visit India as many times as possible in my life — over 21 trips!
Besides being amenable to attorneys taking long vacations in foreign countries with eleven hour time differences, Ropes is an excellent place to start one’s career for many reasons. For me, a partner who has spent my entire career at Ropes starting as a summer associate, I particularly appreciate the emphasis on training and teaching, and the lack of emphasis on specialization. I am in the Corporate Department, and, until my third year, there was no one area in which I did all my work (In my fourth year, I chose to focus on the Investment Management industry). This allowed me to continue to learn new things every time I received a project (which was sometimes daunting, but always challenging). The strong formal training programs ensured that I was not completely confused, though, when I started on those projects.I have also appreciated Ropes’ support of efforts to be involved in the community and in pro bono projects. With the firm’s encouragement and support, I have been a pro bono attorney for the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under the Law and the Rape Survivors Law Project, and a board member of the Glen Echo Park Partnership for Arts and Culture in Glen Echo, MD. Finally, one of the best things about my Ropes & Gray experience has been my involvement with the Attorneys of Color Group. It is a source of constant support and enduring friendships.