Louise Finch

KCL, Law, Summer Scheme 2009

Deciding where to apply for a vacation scheme was not the easiest task, especially after attending the law fair and receiving the same promotional package from every firm. This made it hard to distinguish which firm would be for me. Jones Day offered that something different and the decision became easy. The prospect of working in a dynamic and challenging environment attracted me to a career as a City lawyer and after pursuing law as an academic discipline I knew I wanted to take it a step further. The idea that each day offers something new is appealing and I enjoy working on a diverse range of complex issues.

I was first attracted to Jones Day after talking to members of the graduate recruitment team at the law fair. The non-rotational training system Jones Day offers interested me as I knew I wanted to work somewhere where I would be offered real responsibility and not knowing which area of law I want to specialise in I did not want to be limited to a set number of seats. Attending a placement scheme was the perfect way to find out exactly how the Jones Day system worked and whether it was for me.

On the vacation scheme you are treated as a trainee and get to experience what life working in the firm is really like. At first it is a little daunting having to knock on doors and ask for work but the open and friendly atmosphere quickly put me at ease, particularly as faces became familiar. The system means you get to meet more people and experience a more diverse range of work which I felt provided me with a more true representation of the firm. I got involved with a variety of work which included creating bundles, drafting letters to clients and conducting legal research. I also attended a meeting with counsel. Although not all the work I conducted was glamorous, it provided me with an honest insight into a legal career and life at Jones Day.

In addition to the work you will carry out on a placement there are also lectures, workshops and social events. The social events ranged from drinks after work to a dinner evening at City Golf. This allows you to speak to an even wider range of people from trainees to partners as everyone is approachable. The firm really do provide an open door policy and if someone does not have any work to give you they are always willing to talk to you about their work and what to expect from life as a trainee at Jones Day.

Participating in the scheme provided me with a detailed insight into the firm and I am looking forward to working in such a friendly environment.

Stephanie Tyler

University College, Oxford, Law, Summer Scheme 2008

Every City law firm will tell you that it’s different. The best thing about Jones Day is that it actually is!

The most important thing to know about training at Jones Day is that it’s non-rotational. This means that instead of doing a set number of seats, in set departments for a set period of time being supervised by set individuals you actually get a real say in the matter. Although this sort of freedom and independence sounded appealing, I have to say that I was worried that it would be a bit frightening! This was why I enjoyed my placement scheme so much. The firm has a hugely supportive atmosphere. The onus is on you to go out and meet people within the firm and seek your own work. This is never a problem, however, because everyone is so pleased to talk to you. Even the busiest people were happy to take time out to explain things to you, to share their work with you or even just to have a chat.

My placement convinced me that Jones Day was where I wanted to train. The reason I chose to pursue law in the first place was because I wanted to use what I’ve learned from my degree and apply it practically: basically I wanted to be able to use my brain and really ‘think’ at work. Other placements I did had filled me with dread. At one large firm I spent weeks spell checking documents and alphabetising lists. This is not how I want to spend the rest of my career and this is not what is expected of you at Jones Day. Every job has its fair share of the mundane but at Jones Day, even as a placement student, people are keen to make sure that you’re interested and excited by what you’re doing. I did everything from research (and here people don’t ask you questions they already know the answer to just to keep you occupied!), attending client meetings, being shown how drafting a contract works and there was some property work that involved sitting in a pool of enormous plans and maps trying to piece them together. I found my days went really quickly because I never had to spend hours making myself look busy when really I was feeling lost.

It’s not all work either. During your placement the firm organises lots of dinners, drinks and lunches to help you meet people. I enjoyed the huge variety of people at Jones Day. They’re not all one type of people from a few select universities. It feels like being in the real world not an insular bubble. I think this is really important as you could spend several years working with these people. That’s why you aren’t forced into hours of lectures and assessed tasks. The placement is ultimately about finding your feet in the firm and that’s how you know if Jones Day is for you. I realised it definitely was!

James Dibble

Downing College, Cambridge, Law, Summer Scheme 2009

After making the decision to study Law at University, it was hard to see anything beyond the horizon. However, having attended numerous career fairs I started to get an idea of what was really out there in the ‘real’ world! I had not really thought about working as a lawyer in the city before, but the more people I spoke to, the more the idea appealed to me so I decided to apply for summer vacation schemes. Numerous firms present themselves in very similar ways, but for me Jones Day shone out as offering something different. The concept of the non-rotational training system stood out both as being unique and as appearing to offer the chance to have more of a say over your own training. With this in mind I decided that applying for a placement would be the ideal way to experience this different approach.

Before starting the vacation scheme at Jones Day I had no experience whatsoever of working in an office environment. All my previous jobs had either been in restaurants or on building sites so walking into a multi-storey office for the first time was a little daunting! I need not have worried. The atmosphere within the firm was open and honest and all the people I met were helpful and friendly. It took no time to settle in and to begin to find my feet.

The scheme itself was well run and organised. After the first day of getting all the IT training and alike out of the way we were immediately ‘thrown in at the deep end’, being given our own office and told to go out and find work. This could have been a very tough experience but any doubts were immediately eased by the open door policy within the firm and the willingness of everybody to spare a moment to talk to me and offer assistance, as well as the occasional piece of work to get involved with. It felt great to be doing some ‘real’ work, rather than being set apparently meaningless tasks to fill the day. Structuring the scheme in this way gave a true taste of how the training system at Jones Day may actually function.

Aside from the work, the scheme offered a chance to socialise with current trainees and qualified lawyers at numerous social events. These were not only a great excuse to have fun, but also a chance to get a further insight into the firm from the people currently working there. One such event also provided me with the opportunity to rediscover haw bad I really was at (indoor) golf, and how good a senior partner could be at Wii Mario Cart! Overall, the Jones Day vacation scheme was an extremely enjoyable experience that offered both a challenge and a chance to get a real insight into the work and day-to-day functioning of a leading worldwide commercial law firm.

Huw Morrison

University of Nottingham, History and French, Winter Scheme – January 2009

During my second year of History and French at the University of Nottingham I became interested in pursuing a career in law, with a keen eye on maximising my summer, both in terms of enjoyment and productivity, I secured a placement in a local law firm in San Francisco. The experience was just as exciting as I expected. I particularly enjoyed the level of client interaction and the variety it offered in terms of work; so once I got back to University I was determined to secure a training contract. In order to choose the right firm for me I began attending presentation evenings hosted by various City firms, which is where I first came across Jones Day.

Having spent the third year of my undergraduate degree working for a ‘magic circle’ firm in Paris I was particularly attracted to the idea of a less regimented non-rotational training system so I applied for a Winter placement and was lucky enough to be accepted. Besides battling the initial nerves of looking for your own work and having to knock on people’s doors, I thought the non-rotational system was a much more enjoyable experience for a variety of reasons. Firstly, within a week of being there I was given a high level of responsibility so among other things, I was asked to produce a slide show along with speaker notes on the Companies Act 2006. Secondly, I was working in four different practice areas simultaneously so I got a taste for the different departments and by the end of the second week, I was able to focus on the area I most enjoyed. Finally, I was hugely impressed with the laid-back and friendly atmosphere of the firm, which I think is inherently linked to Jones Day’s training scheme. Although I was granted a great deal of autonomy I found that partners, associates and trainees were welcoming, friendly and always willing to help or explain issues I didn’t understand. This approachable element permeated to events outside the firm. During my two-week placement there were a number of social events, culminating with an ice skating trip to Somerset House where everyone got involved irrespective of their ability.

Overall, I was impressed with the whole culture of the firm and I found that there was a healthy balance between work and play. I also enjoyed the lack of a clear hierarchy and look forward to the possibility of taking charge of my own training contract alongside some of the most talented lawyers in the city.

Kate Baron

University of Manchester, Law, Summer Scheme 2009

I relish a challenge: for me, the opportunity to pursue a career as a city lawyer encountering a diversity of clients, across a breadth of areas of expertise, often culminating in complex high-pressure transactions provides exactly that.

Initially, I found applying for a training contract a daunting experience. The myriad firms all boasted unparalleled reputations and outstanding clients. I knew I had to stand out in the application process, but wanted to find a firm which stood out to me. After attending Jones Day’s informal “Question Time” session at university I knew I’d found a firm who could offer something tangibly different. The unique non-rotational training system really appealed to me. The prospect of taking control of my training contract and the ability to try every field I am interested in without getting stuck in a seat I hated for six months was something I had to experience. Furthermore, although Jones Day has a formidable reputation I was taken aback by how approachable everyone seemed.

As my final scheme of the summer Jones Day provided a completely different experience to other firms I had spent time with. All students were treated like trainees, given our own offices and free reign to get involved in anything and everything we found interesting. The scheme certainly gave an honest insight into life as a trainee at the firm. I was fortunate to experience work from a variety of different departments from litigation through to corporate. Two personal highlights of the scheme were the opportunity to attend court during the final stages of a major fraud case, and, accompanying a partner to a site visit and client meeting. I also received constructive feedback at the mid-scheme review, something I had not experienced elsewhere.

For me, what really set Jones Day apart from the other firms where I had participated in placement schemes was the atmosphere around the office. I found the non-rotational training system really suited my personality as it enabled me to meet a spectrum of people across all departments from trainee to partner level, and the open door policy meant I felt no less daunted walking into a partner’s office than I did walking into a trainee’s. Even those who didn’t have work for me were happy to offer insight and advice as to life at the firm. I can't stress enough how different the ambience at Jones Day is, how accommodating everyone is, and the distinct lack of hierarchy within the office. This combined with the social events: a “City Golf” night and drinks evenings during the two weeks, reassured me that there is a genuine team-atmosphere and high level of support throughout Jones Day.

It is these factors that made Jones Day my first choice and I was delighted to receive the offer of a training contract. Since then all future trainees have been back to a dinner and watch the infamous pantomime. I am positive that Jones Day is the right firm for me and I can’t wait to commence my career.

Clare Barnard

St Hilda’s College, Oxford, Politics, Winter Scheme – December 2009

I began to consider a career in Law in my second year of university. My first two years of university confirmed for me that I wanted a job that was analytically challenging, but also required building relationships with people and working within a group. I also wanted a career in which I would continue to learn new things. At each stage in my academic career I have chosen new subjects to study; moving on to study Law appeared a natural progression in this respect. However, I was still unsure about whether working in a City law firm would be for me, so I applied for some placement schemes in my second year.

Like most people, the first thing that really grabbed my attention about Jones Day was the non-rotational training scheme. However, what initially drew me to the firm was the relatively small intake size. When I heard about the firm’s pantomime, I was even more enthusiastic about applying to Jones Day. It was evidence for me that this was not a firm in which friendliness and fun existed only in the recruitment brochure!

I experienced the Jones Day pantomime when I undertook a Winter vacation placement in December 2009, which gave me the opportunity to experience how the non-rotational system works in practice. The whole scheme was really well managed. We were each assigned two mentors (a Trainee and an Associate), who ensured we got our first piece of work. Although it was up to us to find our own work thereafter, this never became too challenging, as everyone at the firm was really receptive to the placement students.

Being given our own offices for two weeks made an incredible difference to the work I produced. I was able to undertake work from a large variety of departments, and my most interesting work came from a Partner in Business Restructuring and Reorganisation on a fraud litigation matter. It was really challenging work but I found that completing the task in my own space meant that when it came to presenting it to the Partner, I was a lot more confident in what I had done. Help was available when I needed it, but the non-rotational system gave me the independence to really exercise my own initiative throughout the two weeks.

After two weeks at Jones Day I decided that I would only want to train to be a City lawyer in the non-rotational system. I enjoy being responsible for my own decisions, and from the vacation scheme I knew that there is an excellent support structure in place. This was confirmed by a talk during the scheme where a Partner and newly qualified Associate described the management of the firm and how Trainees are taught about introducing new clients to the firm. It was a really encouraging talk that showed how much Trainees are considered part of the firm collectively, but also that each individual is well supported to develop their skills to their full potential. I’m really looking forward to joining the firm, and having decided that the non-rotational training system was the only way for me, I’m very glad that Jones Day offered me a training contract!