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Ropes & Gray Split Summer Program
The Ropes & Gray Split Summer program offers summer program participants the opportunity to split their summer between two of Ropes & Gray's offices in the U.S. Listed below are our answers to the most frequently asked questions about the Split Summer program. Your on-campus interviewer will be happy to answer whatever additional questions you may have about the program.

FAQs


Q. When, and how, should I apply for the Split Summer program?

A. Summer program applicants who wish to be considered for the Split Summer program should let their on-campus interviewer know as early as possible during the fall hiring season (preferably at the on-campus interview, and in any event before they schedule their callback interview), so that their eligibility for the program can be confirmed and an appropriate callback interview schedule can be arranged.


Q. How does the firm determine whether an applicant is eligible for the Split Summer program?

A. Eligibility for the Split Summer program depends not only on the strength of a summer program applicant's interest in the two cities in question, but also on the practice area focus of the summer program applicant matching up with the practice area needs of the two offices in which the applicant is interested. Normally, then, participation in the program is limited to students who have both (i) a genuine long-term interest in working in each of the two cities in question and (ii) a strong focus on a particular department that is a core practice area for both offices.


Q. How can I find out if I am eligible for the Split Summer program?

A. Any applicant who may wish to be considered for the Split Summer program should, as a first step, ask his or her on-campus interviewer whether, in light of the particular practice areas and particular Ropes & Gray offices the applicant is interested in, he or she is eligible for participation in the program. The on-campus interviewer will let the applicant know his or her eligibility for the program at the time a callback invitation is extended to the applicant.


Q. If I apply for the Split Summer program, where will my callback interview occur?

A. Applicants who are interested in splitting between Palo Alto and San Francisco will be scheduled to visit both offices in a single day. Applicants who are interested in splitting between Boston and New York will interview in one of those offices. Applicants who are interested in splitting between other offices will interview in each of the two offices. We accomplish this by scheduling each applicant to do a callback interview at each of the two offices, on separate days.


Q. Will my chances of getting an offer from the firm increase, or decrease, in the event I apply for the Split Summer program?

A. Neither. The fundamental goal of our summer program is to include within it the most talented second-year law students in the country. Thus, by far the most important factor in deciding whether to offer any given applicant a position in the program is our estimation of whether that applicant has the intellect, the energy, and the interpersonal skills to deliver the premium legal services that our clients expect and deserve. Factors such as the applicant's practice area focus or geographic interest are distinctly secondary considerations in arriving at the offer decision. As a result, an applicant's chances of receiving an offer should neither be helped nor hurt by applying for the program.


Q. Once I apply for the Split Summer program, am I required to split my summer between the two Ropes & Gray offices in question if I receive, and accept, an offer?

A. No. Applicants for the Split Summer program who receive an offer to join our summer program normally are given a choice of either splitting their summer between the two Ropes & Gray offices in question or spending their entire summer in either one of those two offices. We ask each such offeree to make that choice at the time he or she accepts our summer program offer.


Q. If I receive an offer for the split program, and decide to split my summer between the two R&G offices I am interested in, how long would I spend in each office?

A. Participants in the Split Summer program spend 50% of their summer in each office. All summer program participants work at the firm for no less than ten weeks, and no more than twelve weeks, during the summer. As a result, each Split Summer program participant would spend at least five, and no more than six, consecutive weeks in each of the two offices he or she is interested in.


Q. Can I apply for the Split Summer program later in the interview process, for example after my callback or after I have received or accepted a summer program offer?

A. We consider "late" applications for the Split Summer program on a case-by-base basis. Depending on the applicant's practice area focus, the level of interest in the split program among the rest of our offerees, and the hiring needs of the offices in question, we may be able to offer a "late" applicant the opportunity to participate in the Split Summer program.


Q. If I choose to split my summer between two Ropes & Gray offices, will that affect my chances of receiving a permanent offer at the end of the summer?

A. No. We expect to make full-time offers to all of our summer associates, including those who participate in the Split Summer program. Provided that, at the end of the summer, the practice area focus of a Split Summer program participant continues to match up with the practice area needs of both Ropes & Gray offices in question, our expectation is that a Split Summer program participant's full-time offer would be to work in his or her choice of the two Ropes & Gray offices between which he or she split the summer. We ask Split Summer program participants to decide at the time they act on our offer of full-time employment which of the two offices they intend to join following their law school graduation.