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Jones Day

51 Louisiana Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20001

Phone number: (202) 879-3939

Visit Website: www.jonesday.com

Summer Program: Learn More

Overview

Introduction

With a Midwestern culture of collegiality and teamwork, Jones Day is among the best of the best in the legal industry. The firm boasts a long list of stand-out practices—from labor and employment to private equity to appellate litigation—and is a leader in the pro bono space. Jones Day boasts 42 offices in 17 countries, spread over five continents. The firm’s booming practices include antitrust, appellate litigation, financial markets, international law, IP, labor and employment, M&A, private equity, securities, and securi...

Firm Stats

Total No. Attorneys (2021)

2.5K - 3K

No. of Partners Named (2021)

Featured Rankings

Vault Law 100...

No. of Summer Associates (2021)

170 total (147 2Ls; 23 1Ls)

Base Salary

All U.S. offices:...

No. of U.S. Offices

Vault Verdict

Leave your ego at the door if you want a spot at Jones Day—the firm has a collegial culture where collaboration is highly valued, and the firm intends to keep it that way. Partners and associates get along famously, with leanly staffed cases opening the door to frequent informal mentoring. The firm offers a host of formal training programs too, including hands-on trainings for those in the New Lawyers Program—a program through which first years don’t commit to a specific practice. The firm is known for keeping mum on decision-making, including compensation, which is individualized and does not follow the typical lockstep model. Many associates also feel in the dark on the standards for making partner, though they are still mostly optimistic about their chances. Hours can be feast ...

About the Firm

A heavy hitter with a hand in most major areas of law and an internationally recognized prowess in litigation, Jones Day boasts 42 offices in 17 countries, spread over five continents. The firm’s booming practices include antitrust, appellate litigation, financial markets, international law, IP, labor and employment, M&A, private equity, securities, and securities litigation—to name a handful.

A Worldwide Firm with Midwest Roots

Founded in Cleveland in 1893 by Judge Edwin Blandin and William Lowe Rice, Jones Day made its name by representing Midwestern manufacturers and transportation companies. One of the first firms in the nation to adopt a corporate management structure, Jones Day continued its rise by opening a Washington, DC, office in 19...

2022 Vault Rankings

#21

Vault Law 100

#1

Best Law Firms in the Midwest

#3

Best Law Firms in Atlanta

Associate Reviews

“The culture is incredibly collegial. There is a ‘no sharp elbows’ mentality that is instilled from the top down. Bad attitudes and short tempers are not tolerated. Social culture varies by practice group and partner, but generally my experience working with people in other offices in the U.S. and around the world has been consistently positive.”
“Pre-COVID, attorneys and staff socialized relatively frequently for firm events or impromptu happy hours and the like. Many attorneys are friends outside of the office.”
“People are very respectful and collegial; there are no big egos here. People get along and seem to genuinely enjoy each other's company and frequently develop friendships outside of work.”
“In non-COVID times, the office is very social. Most associate get together weekly for a happy hour, usually informally, and there are fairly frequent office-wide events.”

“The partners are fantastic and really take the time to train and mentor young associates. They all have an open-door policy and encourage young associates to ask questions and take on more responsibility. There is little transparency with respect to any decision-making at the firm.”
“I have had only positive experiences with partners, and they all treat me like a part of the team.”
“I have had positive experiences with all partners. Particularly as I've advanced in seniority, I've felt that my work is valued by my superiors, and they take the time to express their thanks. The associate evaluation process is fair and based on substantial contributions by many people. The firm has previously explained the evaluation process, though the firm may benefit from doing so more regularly.”
“Most partners are extremely respectful, very nice and understanding. In regards to transparency, Jones Day is widely known for not being transparent and a lot of things are considered taboo topics amongst associates (i.e. compensation, billable hours, etc).”

“I feel like the culture has informed the expectation—people work hard, but there is not an expectation that an associate would work weekends (unless there was a hard deadline). Folks are respectful of time off, and have been understanding with the complications that arise from COVID.”
“My workload is unpredictable and inconsistent. There will be incredibly slow periods followed by short bouts of unsustainable busy periods. Overall, the workload seems better and more manageable than it does at comparable firms. As far as BigLaw goes, it's very humane.”
“Workload in cyclical, which is typical for my practice area. Some weeks I wish I were busier, other weeks I am swamped. The work schedule is fairly flexible—work just needs to get done. That being said, if an urgent assignment comes in in the evening or over the weekend, it is expected to be done promptly.”
“My hours are generally reasonable and partners take into account how busy I am before giving additional work. Location is flexible, even before the pandemic. The firm has a 2,000-hour goal, rather than requirement.”

“I have no complaints about my compensation, and obviously I prefer guaranteed comp to bonuses. Even with the COVID bonuses, I am making the same or slightly more than my peers at other firms.”
“No bonuses (as is the Jones Day way), but we're still above market for first year associates in my market. Coupled with the lack of a billable hours requirement, makes that nice.”
“[I] received only a marginal raise last year and no bonuses.”
“Jones Day does not pay bonuses for hours worked. Associate compensation is based on individual performance. Work hours are relevant to that compensation decision, but also significant is the quality of the work performed. … Effort is important, but quality work is always expected and valued. I feel as though my compensation is fair.”

“As a first-year, I'm not yet in a formal practice group, so I'm involved in projects across the board, including litigation research assignments and document review, drafting counseling memos for clients, and supporting deal due diligence.”
“I do the full spectrum of work that a mid-level associate in IP litigation would expect to do. Many of the teams I'm on are small, so often I am the senior associate (or only associate) and pretty much handle everything except budgeting and money.”
“Most of my time is spent on billable deal work (as an M&A lawyer). As a senior associate, I typically manage the deals, draft key transaction documents, and assist the partner in negotiation and advising the client. This is appropriate to my role and seniority. I assist in some of the administrative tasks involved with being a partner/senior lawyer, such as drafting engagement letters, reviewing bills and working on client pitches and proposals.”
“I assist with managing government and internal investigations for securities and white collar matters. I often have the opportunity to work across practice groups and contribute substantively to case strategy. I also get a fair amount of client exposure and work directly with clients on a regular basis. I am grateful that oftentimes I do not feel siloed or micromanaged.”

“The firm has traditionally been a little behind on IT (it just switched to Outlook in the past couple of years), but it seems to have done a great job during the pandemic. The firm has a 24-hour help desk that can be reached at any time.”
“Seamless. Being in one office is the same as being in any of the offices around the world. And with the VPN, it's easy to work from anywhere in the world. The transition due to COVID was a breeze.”
“Updates would be nice, but the technology has generally been holding up through COVID, and our IT team is always very on top of getting issued resolved speedily.”

“The firm has increased its commitment to wellness during Covid—attorney socialization budgets, a charity fundraising program where partners put up their own money to encourage outside-of-work interaction, anecdotally—positive treatment of temporary requests for leave to deal with personal issues throughout COVID—and a regularly updated dedicated website to a series of resources (book and movie recommendations, activities for children, cooking recipes, podcasts, and other items focused on keeping the firm together socially)—have all been tremendous positives during the challenges posed by 2020 and Q1 2021.”
“I think the firm could focus more attention and resources to attorney wellness, especially in notifying attorneys about existing firm resources.”
“Probably not worse or better than any other firm. The people that work at the firm are the best tool to balancing wellness with work. I feel comfortable letting older associates know I am going for a quick hour-long workout and will be back online if they need me. It is nice to work with understanding people.”

“We have a formal mentor program and we are encouraged to maintain any organic mentorship relationships that flourish. I personally have a standing virtual lunch with my mentors once or twice a month. I also have a mentor through the Black Lawyer' Group, who I meet with monthly for a virtual lunch. My mentors range from partners to junior associates and they are amazing, supportive people who I get along with professionally and personally. The New Lawyers have extensive training opportunities that are constant and helpful. We also have access to the Practicing Law Institute, so anything that we want to learn, we can.”
“The firm does a great job providing extensive training on all areas of practice. There are training presentations, but also practical training where you prepare and conduct mock depositions, motions arguments, appellate arguments, etc., with partners playing opposing counsel, witnesses, and judges, and providing feedback”
“We're given a formal partner mentor and associate mentor, and both of mine genuinely want to see me succeed in the firm. We also have several formal training sessions.”
“WebEx trainings are frequently made available and more informal training occurs virtually every day through work on leanly staffed projects.”

“Promotion to partnership is a feat but not impossible. Of counsel is another role that some associates transition to instead. Many associates often find great opportunities in house and continue their relationship with the firm that way.”
“Very little transparency on the partnership process, but I believe it takes 10+ years. Senior associates not up for partner are sometimes promoted to of counsel, but it is unclear exactly what that signifies.”
“There are plenty of up through the ranks partners in my office, and partnership does seem like a very realistic goal for associates.”
“There are clear opportunities to take a variety of paths at the firm, including partnership and of-counsel; for my own group, there's also strong support for examining government opportunities.”

“Pro bono is highly valued at the firm … Most notable recent pro bono work by the firm includes (1) policing reform work for Minneapolis, Chicago, and Los Angeles; (2) a massive dedicated asylum program based in Laredo, TX to assist women and children crossing the border, (3) representation of city counselors for the city of Charlottesville regarding their decision to remove confederate statues, and a host of major appellate pro bono causes.”
“The firm is extremely committed to pro bono, and it is promoted as something all attorneys at the firm should actively practice. Pro bono [hours] count exactly the same as billable hours, and there is no restriction on how many pro bono hours you can bill. I've recently worked on a pro bono asylum case, a pro bono domestic violence restraining order initiative, and an pro bono appellate case.”
“Pro bono hours count for credit. Pro bono is a big focus for the firm and associates are encouraged to take on pro bono work. I have worked extensively on the anti-human trafficking initiative at Jones Day.”
“… Pro bono work tends to offer more stand-up experience for junior associates than is available for paying client work. I am currently handling a pro bono representation of a client alleging police brutality, and this matter will likely go to trial and provide stand-up experience in federal court.”

“With respect to women, the firm seems to be very active in promotions and giving adequate parental leave.”
“Jones Day has been intentional about focusing on diversity initiatives, especially regarding advancement of female attorneys. Of course, there is always room for improvement. I think Jones Day should focus on associate retention and support, especially associates of color or from diverse backgrounds.”
“As a woman who would like to start a family soon, I have every confidence that I will be respected for my decision to take maternity leave and have seen multiple women in my short time at the firm do the same and still succeed.”
“The firm has an active diversity and inclusion committee, both firm and office-wide (nonbillable credit). I think hiring and retention is still a work in progress, as it is at most law firms. The firm has great parental leave, though, and it is the norm for associates to take the full term offered without issue.”

Why Work Here

One Firm Worldwide

Jones Day is a global law firm with more than 2,500 lawyers in 42 offices across five continents. The Firm is distinguished by: a singular tradition of client service; the mutual commitment to, and the seamless collaboration of, a true partnership; formidable legal talent across multiple disciplines and jurisdictions; and shared professional values that focus on client needs. Our culture of collaboration creates unparalleled opportunities to work with a global, diverse team on complex client matters, serve the community in vital pro bono activities, promote social justice initiatives launched and directed by Firm leadership, advocate for the rule of law around the world, and grow both personally and professionally.

Diversity at Jones Day

"Jones Day's commitment to diversity is reflected throughout the Firm. As of December 2019, women made up 41% of our U.S. lawyers â€” 27% of our partnership and 51% of our associates. Over the last two years, 39 women were admitted to the partnership and 13 joined as lateral partners. In January 2020, 8 of the 28 U.S. attorneys (29%) admitted to the partnership were diverse and over half were women (including five women of color). In the United States, 12% of our partners and more than 20% of our associates are diverse. Over..."

Read the Diversity Report

Getting Hired Here

“High grades are a must, but not necessarily from a high-ranked school. Especially important in the interview process is fit: showing yourself to be a down-to-earth person and a team player.”
“There is a minimum threshold for grades that depends on the school. Once you prove you are smart enough to handle the job, the rest of the process is about finding the intangibles to ensure you are a good fit, both culturally and as a team member.”
“Hiring is always competitive and the office usually attracts the top students, but with the goals of hiring from a diversity of schools (both in and out of state). I think efforts are underway to broaden that criteria even further to encourage a more diverse array of candidates.”
“The firm definitely looks at factors such as law school, grades, and clerkships, but the firm also looks for personality fits showing grit and motivation as well as respectfulness and professionalism.”

“We ask interview questions to see whether the candidate is interested in joining Jones Day. My first question would usually be. ‘Why did you apply to Jones Day?’”
“Interviews are typically conversational -- looking to understand a candidate's career interests and goals, experiences they've enjoyed so far, what they're looking for in a firm, specific items on their resume, etc. …”
“It really depends, but usually they are based on the resume in front of us. That said, I look for people to have strong answers to, ‘so tell me about yourself,’ and I also like to hear interviewees tell me something about themselves that is not on their resume, and is not professional related—what do they do for fun; what makes them human.”