Ropes & Gray Began Crediting AI Training Hours
The firm now allows junior associates to count 400 hours of AI training toward their annual billable targets.
Updated on Oct. 13, 2026 in Artificial Intelligence
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Ropes & Gray has introduced a policy permitting first-year associates to dedicate 20% of their annual billable targets to AI training. The hours do not result in client charges, reflecting a broader industry push for AI-enabled productivity.
Why it matters
Law firms are under pressure to provide dedicated time for staff to master new technology without billing penalties, as corporate clients increasingly demand measurable AI-driven efficiency. Current data suggests a significant disconnect between the productivity gains in-house lawyers expect and the performance of their current outside counsel.
Associates can now allocate 400 hours of annual time toward AI skill development, accounting for 20% of their yearly billable requirements. This initiative involves associates working within teams specifically tasked with building new AI tools for internal firm workflows.
The players
Ropes & Gray
This global law firm provides comprehensive legal services and has pioneered new training benchmarks for its junior associates.
AT&T
This telecommunications corporation has aggressively restructured its legal operations to prioritize internal AI-driven solutions.
OpenAI
This artificial intelligence research organization develops large-scale language models and serves as a technical partner for corporate enterprises.
The details
Ropes & Gray has expanded this program to include trainees and junior lawyers throughout its European offices, ensuring consistent skill acquisition across regions. Meanwhile, major corporate clients like AT&T are simultaneously reducing their reliance on external firms that fail to demonstrate sufficient AI-led value in their legal service delivery.
Timeline
January 2026: AT&T launched its LegalEdge AI-first internal unit.
October 8, 2026: AT&T appointed OpenAI as a design partner.
Within 12 months: Corporate legal departments will re-evaluate firms lacking AI value.
Over two years: AT&T will complete its reduction of external law firm partners.
The Tech Race
This development reflects the broader arms race in the legal sector, where firms are aggressively pivoting to avoid obsolescence as clients shift work toward internal units. It replaces legacy manual research methods with AI-driven workflows that are becoming the new standard for corporate service providers.
For lawyers and staff, this policy creates a structured path to gain expertise in emerging tools without the pressure of direct client billing. Clients can expect that firms adopting these measures may offer more sophisticated legal support as their associates transition from manual tasks to AI-augmented workflows.
The takeaway
Firms that fail to formalize time for AI education may struggle to compete for corporate contracts as clients prioritize technological competency. Legal professionals should treat AI literacy as a core requirement to maintain their billable value in an increasingly automated legal landscape.
Further reading
Learn more about how firms are adapting to new technologies in the Artificial Intelligence section.
Source note: This article includes information reported by LawFuel.
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