Big Law firms are deploying competitions, billable-hour incentives, and specialized training to push associates toward using artificial intelligence tools, even as online forums reveal widespread anxiety about AI's impact on legal careers. Ropes & Gray, Sheppard LLP, and Winston & Strawn are among the firms embedding AI into daily work and rethinking what skills young lawyers need to develop.
Competitions and Billable Credit at Ropes & Gray
At Ropes & Gray's registered funds practice, two first-year associates each month present to partners how they have been using AI. One recent example showed how the technology could quickly analyze an unfamiliar agreement type and compare it with public SEC documents. Elizabeth Reza, a partner in the firm's asset management group, said, "Seeing a first-year be sort of 'seniorized' very quickly in that way was exciting for everyone else."
The first-years receive billable credit through a firmwide program that lets them devote 20% of their billable hours to learning generative AI. Ropes & Gray also ran a "World Cup"-style competition where associates and summer associates developed AI-driven solutions to real workflow problems. The 25 teams were judged on problem-solving, feasibility, appropriate AI use, and presentation quality. The winning team, "Ctrl + Alt + REIT," built a workflow that extracts information from transaction documents to speed up drafting of real estate closing and execution documents.
"Nobody tried to solve for a giant bot that solves every problem," said Patrick Ryan, the firm's director of legal knowledge management. "They honed in on processes they are involved in."
AI Mindset Training at Sheppard
Sheppard LLP has hired Conor Grennan, former chief AI architect at NYU Stern School of Business, to deliver his "AI Mindset" program, whose tagline is: "Stop using AI like a search engine." Grennan has trained teams at Microsoft, Amazon, McKinsey, and Google. He presented to about 50 senior leaders at Sheppard in May, and the firm will roll out his exercises more broadly this fall, according to Kate Cain, chief innovation and knowledge management officer.
The training frames AI use through two categories: "time-savers" and "game-changers." Cain said the goal is to embed AI in daily work for efficiency while also encouraging long-term, creative thinking. Monica Youssef, who leads professional training, added that associates are already seeing how a task that once took years of manual effort can now be solved faster. "The industry hasn't changed significantly in a long time," Youssef said. "But what these associates are seeing now firsthand is that if you used to do something by hand for 15 years, now you can find a creative solution."
This push to integrate AI into legal workflows is part of a larger shift in the profession, where AI for Legal training is becoming a practical necessity for associates looking to add value early in their careers.
Durable Human Skills at Winston & Strawn
Winston & Strawn developed a list of 12 "durable dozen" skills it believes will grow more important as AI handles more routine legal tasks. The list includes work ethic, empathy, and coachability. The firm teaches these skills partly through a partnership with Chicago's Steppenwolf Theater Company, where actors coach lawyers on reading emotions and responding in real time, said Robyn Schuster, director of professional development.
The firm will expand the training next week to 30 students entering their first year of law school, though the students have no existing relationship with Winston. Chairman Steve D'Amore has argued that law firms should help develop the profession's future members, and Schuster noted that law school often does not teach the skills that lead to Big Law success. "It feels like the fear is more like the AI will replace the humans," Schuster said. "And what gives me hope is that these 12 things at this moment are not something that AI can automate away from us."
Why this matters for legal professionals
Associates who treat AI as a tool for accelerating their expertise-rather than a threat-can gain visibility with partners and earn billable credit for learning it. Firms are actively rewarding experimentation, and the associates who build AI-driven workflows now are shaping how work gets done in their practice groups. At the same time, the deliberate focus on human skills like empathy and adaptability signals that technical speed alone will not define career success. The lawyers who pair AI fluency with strong interpersonal judgment will be hardest to replace.
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