What do we mean when we talk about "the Jones Day way"? We mean a set of practices and attitudes about our work, our clients, and ourselves that lets us deliver better service to our clients, eliminate the rivalries and competition that often arise in large law firms, and facilitate the development of our lawyers. It's a philosophy of legal practice that we believe sets us apart from our peer firms. And it's the primary reason Jones Day was rated "Number One for Client Service" by the BTI Consulting Group in three of the last five years, was the most-mentioned law firm in Corporate Counsel's 2005 survey of "Who Represents America's Biggest Companies" and in 2009 was the second most admired law firm according to more than 4,000 corporate directors who took part in a FTI Consulting/Corporate Board Member survey.
Broadly speaking, the Jones Day way means six things:
"One Firm Worldwide." Jones Day is not a constellation of individual offices and practices, but rather a unified firm working together to deliver coordinated legal services to our clients in the most effective, efficient way possible. Clients do not "belong" to individual Partners, or even particular offices or practices. Rather, every client is a client of the Firm, and we draw on the legal resources best suited to address the client's problems, wherever they are located in the Firm. In addition, we operate as a single profit center, meaning that the success of each office in any given year depends on the strength of the Firm as a whole. Our structure fosters a culture of teamwork and discourages competition among offices and lawyers.
One Managing Partner. Jones Day was decades ahead of its time in giving overall responsibility for the Firm's direction to a single Managing Partner, rather than having the Partners vote on all matters of Firm strategy and governance. While the increasing size of modern firms has prompted many of them to follow our lead in adopting a "CEO" structure, Jones Day was already there in 1913. Since then, seven Managing Partners have led the Firm's transformation to a national and then global firm, providing a steady, coherent strategic vision for our progress. With 32 offices worldwide, more than $1 billion in annual revenues, and a blue-chip client list, we think the results speak for themselves.
No branch offices. Because we are completely integrated, we have no "branch" or "satellite" offices and no headquarters. While we take great pride in our Cleveland roots, the fact is that Jones Day was one of the first firms to expand beyond a single state, opening our Washington Office in 1946. The two principal governing committees that advise the Managing Partner-the Advisory Committee and the Partnership Committee-consist of lawyers from nearly every Jones Day office, and the lawyers who lead our 22 practices are similarly spread across the Firm. This Firmwide orientation helps us better serve our clients and focus more strategically and effectively on the development of the Firm.
Compensation and confidentiality. Many firms still operate under some version of the "eat what you kill" approach, in which partner compensation is tied closely to business development, with complicated formulas based on "client origination". Not Jones Day. We recognize that Partners and associates alike contribute to the Firm in a variety of ways, and our lawyers are compensated according to their overall contributions. At the same time, our lawyers honor a culture of discretion about matters related to compensation; unlike other firms, we do not publish each lawyer's billable hours and compensation for the entire Firm to see. By keeping compensation matters private, we avoid the jealousies and rivalries that can arise from a zero-sum spoils system based on client credit.
A culture of respect. The Firm characteristics described above attract a particular kind of lawyer to Jones Day. We seek lawyers who are concerned not with maximizing their individual position in the Firm, but with delivering the best service possible to our clients, with colleagues whom they value and respect. These lawyers take great pride in their work, they lack pretension, and they show respect and consideration to everyone in the Firm-Partners, associates, and staff alike.
Time to explore. Jones Day has long recognized that many new lawyers coming out of law school remain uncertain of which particular practice area they want to pursue. In addition, like all relationships, we believe it takes some time for an individual to find the best personal fit within the Firm. Moreover, we believe that the variety of exposures a lawyer can encounter during his or her first year at the Firm provides valuable experience and makes that lawyer more well rounded. Accordingly, in 1981 Jones Day created the New Lawyers Group ("NLG"), which provides our newest lawyers with the opportunity to gain exposure to different practice areas and lawyering styles before making a commitment to a specific practice. All lawyers joining our domestic offices from law school – and judicial clerks, at their election – become members of the New Lawyers Group for about a year before joining a practice group. Please select an office location to learn more.
What does all this mean for a new lawyer? It means that, consistent with our culture of teamwork and mutual support, you will work on teams that span multiple offices and practices, guaranteeing exposure to a variety of lawyers and different styles of practice. It means that the success of your particular office will depend not on the cycles of the local economy, but on the success of a fully integrated, global law firm with remarkable stability.