Meta Policy Strategist Joins Ropes & Gray as Its First AI Chief

Ropes & Gray is extending its commitment to the transformative nature of artificial intelligence as it brings on its first chief of AI strategy.

Gretchen Greene, a former senior privacy and public policy manager at Meta Inc., is joining the firm’s C-suite as Ropes looks to turbocharge its AI efforts.

“Gretchen is a proven AI innovator,” said Jane Rogers, member of Ropes & Gray’s management committee in an interview Thursday. “We wanted to have someone that could work with firm leadership to really accelerate innovation and client impact,” she said.

Big Law firms have begun adopting AI tools as they look to leverage the technology across all facets of operations, from training to data pools for client matters. Ropes & Gray has been an enthusiastic adopter. It currently uses off the shelf legal tech tools from providers like Harvey and Hebbia and is competing for a wider range of M&A deal work using AI. Ropes is also allowing its first years to spend up to 400 hours of their annual 1,900-hour billable requirement for AI training.

The firm is also using AI across its private equity, real estate practices, Rogers noted. Its asset management team is working with outside vendors to develop tools that clients are using in their fundraising and related work, she said.

“I’m so glad that people didn’t wait for there being a central position and vision, and have been able to make great progress,” said Greene, who will be based in Ropes’ San Francisco office. “Now we can jump ahead even more.”

Greene, a former Ropes & Gray associate, has spent the last several years in AI policy and research roles, shaping global legislation, industry standards, and best practices for tools and governance. Most recently, she led Meta’s AI adoption for policy and legal teams.

“I’m really excited to come home to Ropes,” Greene said, “to lead on the transformation of the practice and the business of law, and thinking about all the verticals where AI can and will have an impact from training and recruiting, finance and the direct ‘how do we serve our clients better?’”

As Ropes’ chief of AI strategy, Greene will work alongside the firm’s Chief Information Officer Marsha Stein and bring her industry expertise to accelerate the firm’s AI adoption both internally and externally.

While Greene was on the AI policy team at Meta and not directly working with outside counsel, she saw how clients need the best legal advice quickly. Law firms are well positioned to give advice on how to accelerate that and give guidance on what tools and use cases they should be using, Greene said.

“Outside counsel has a broad view and has information about what many different clients are doing and so is extremely well positioned to develop and collect best practices and then pass them back to clients,” she said.

Ropes & Gray is one of the most profitable law firms in the US. The firm brought in more than $3.4 billion in 2024 and has partner profits in excess of $4.9 million, according to figures reported by the American Lawyer.