Jones Day Forum

[Stanford4Me]

If you were just a summer so far, perhaps you don't have any real answer to this. But then again, maybe you heard stuff through the grapevine over your summer there. I ask since there seems to have been discussion of this in another thread: is the black box compensation system just an excuse to allow the firm to pay people below market salary? Again, totally understand if you have no real perspective on this yet, but figured I'd ask just in case.

You're right, I have no inside info. However no one I talked with expressed displeasure with the system. Also, I don't buy into the whole "it lets them pay below market" line. Because the market is well known, if they did pay below market people would leave. They do not pay lump bonuses, but rather include it in your annual compensation, so my guess is you'd actually be higher than market base (but ever so slightly behind total comp because of present value).

Exactly.

As it got further into the summer last year there were a few associates who I became very close with and the assured me that the "black box" compensation model of Jones Day doesn't mean that the firm will try to pay you less than what associates are making at peer firms. In fact, at my office at least, the hiring partner talked to us about how they encourage associates to give them any details they have on what their friends are making at other firms (and the partners do their own research as well) to make sure Jones Day is paying what they should be paying. Also, the associates I spoke with, while we couldn't talk about exact numbers, assured me they were more than happy with their pay and a few told me they were making above market for their year.

Also, my earlier comment was a little bit too cryptic. There was just one talk I didn't enjoy that, in my opinion, wasn't so much fun.

[Anonymous User]

Also, my earlier comment was a little bit too cryptic. There was just one talk I didn't enjoy that, in my opinion, wasn't so much fun.

Ahhhh, I see. I thought I missed some salacious bit from the after party/-ies.

[Anonymous User]

Any tips for a successful summer experience or for how to get the most out of it? I figured the most important thing would be creating bonds, making connections there, getting to know people, etc. so I've been trying to get in touch with some of the lawyers there who really helped me during the recruiting stage to just say hi, let them know I'd love to learn more about what they do over lunch sometime, etc. Other advice you guys may have about how to make this summer a really productive and successful experience?

[Anonymous User]

0L here who will be attending Harvard this fall. Wondering if I can start submitting apps to Jones Day in NY/DC starting Dec 1st? I know a bit early to be asking this question, but anyone have info on this?

[Stanford4Me]

0L here who will be attending Harvard this fall. Wondering if I can start submitting apps to Jones Day in NY/DC starting Dec 1st? I know a bit early to be asking this question, but anyone have info on this?

nalpdirectory.org

Look up the firm's NALP form (it should be submitted for 2012 already) and it will let you know if they're hiring 1Ls. My guess is yes they will be hiring (a small number) of 1Ls. I have a friend who worked in the DC office her 1L summer and split between DC and another office her 2nd summer.

[Anonymous User]

0L here who will be attending Harvard this fall. Wondering if I can start submitting apps to Jones Day in NY/DC starting Dec 1st? I know a bit early to be asking this question, but anyone have info on this?

I applied in mid-January of my 1L year via email. That was before they started interviewing 1Ls. Good luck!

[Anonymous User]

Is there anyone who can address the earlier questions about work expectations in the DC office for young associates?

The billing target is 2000 hours - is there pressure to do more?

What does a work-week look like for most young (let's say litigation) associates?

[Anonymous User]

Anyone know how tough it is to get Jones Day Pittsburgh/what the firm atmosphere is like?

[Anonymous User]

Is it realistic to work at Jones Day DC without being an absentee spouse/parent?

[johndhi]

The DC office is just down the block from Georgetown Law and is basically within spitting distance of Congress. I've heard the office building is really nice from a friend who did business at other offices in that building.

edit: also, there's a gym in the building

[Anonymous User]

The DC office is just down the block from Georgetown Law and is basically within spitting distance of Congress. I've heard the office building is really nice from a friend who did business at other offices in that building.

edit: also, there's a gym in the building

Nice. I wonder if the gym has showers and lockers?

[Stanford4Me]

The DC office is just down the block from Georgetown Law and is basically within spitting distance of Congress. I've heard the office building is really nice from a friend who did business at other offices in that building.

edit: also, there's a gym in the building

Nice. I wonder if the gym has showers and lockers?

If the Dallas office has showers/lockers, then I imagine the DC office does.

[Anonymous User]

--LinkRemoved--

This survey ranks Jones Day 4th (by corporate directors) and 5th (by general counsels) on the list of top 25 corporate law firms in the country.

Any thoughts on why JD ranks so much better here than in Vault (19)>


The following are the top 25 national corporate law firms for 2012, according to the corporate directors surveyed by Corporate Board Member/FTI Consulting (with their 2011 ranking in parentheses):

1. Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, New York (1)
2. Cravath, Swaine & Moore, New York (2)
3. Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, New York (3)
4. Jones Day, Washington, D.C. (5)
5. Sullivan & Cromwell, New York (4)
6. Weil, Gotshal & Manges, New York (6)
7. Baker & McKenzie, Chicago (7)
8. Latham & Watkins, Los Angeles (15)
9. Kirkland & Ellis, Chicago (9)
10. Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, Los Angeles (11)
11. Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, New York (8)
12. Davis Polk & Wardwell, New York (10)
13. Fulbright & Jaworski, Houston (12)
14. Sidley Austin, New York (18)
15. Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, Palo Alto (14)
16. Shearman & Sterling, New York (13)
17. Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, New York (16)
18. Arnold & Porter, Washington, D.C. (-)
19. Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, Washington, D.C. (17)
20. Baker Botts, Houston (25)
21. Morrison & Foerster, San Francisco (-)
22. King & Spalding, Atlanta (24)
23. O'Melveny & Myers, Los Angeles (23)
24. Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson, New York (19)
25. White & Case, New York City (-)
Source: Corporate Board Member/FTI Consulting

The following are the top 25 national corporate law firms for 2012, ranked according to general counsel surveyed by Corporate Board Member/FTI Consulting (with their 2011 ranking in parentheses):

1. Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, New York (1)
2. Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, New York (2)
3. Cravath, Swaine & Moore, New York (3)
4. Latham & Watkins, Los Angeles (4)
5. Jones Day, Washington, D.C. (12)
6. Sullivan & Cromwell, New York (10)
7. Davis Polk & Wardwell, New York (6)
8. Weil, Gotshal & Manges, New York (7)
9. Sidley Austin, New York (8)
10. Kirkland & Ellis, Chicago (9)
11. Baker & McKenzie, Chicago (13)
12. Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, New York (11)
13. Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, Los Angeles (5)
14. dla piper, Atlanta (16)
15. Shearman & Sterling, New York (19)
16. K&L Gates, Pittsburgh (-)
17. Covington & Burling, Washington, D.C. (15)
18. Morgan Lewis & Bockius, Philadelphia (24)
19. Fulbright & Jaworski, Houston (25)
20. Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, Palo Alto (22)
21. Arnold & Porter, Washington, D.C. (-)
22. Mayer Brown, Chicago (-)
23. Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton, New York (14)
24. hogan lovells, Washington, D.C. (17)
25. Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, Washington, D.C. (23)
Source: Corporate Board Member/FTI Consulting

[Anonymous User]

For those who were SA's last summer, when did you receive your offers? Was it during the summer program or very soon after? Or were you forced to do 3L OCI as an insurance while the offer was pending?

[TLSNYC]

I'll be doing summer SA with them starting next month in NY office, and I'm pretty psyched for it. I don't have any inside info or experience, but from my outsider's view, it seemed like the right fit for me. I am very interested in employment law, and they are one of the few top level firms that has a big employment law practice area, so that was a real draw for me. From a culture perspective, I sort of like that the firm couldn't care less what other firms do. They fully acknowledge that they do some core things differently. The firm managed to weather the recession much better than many competing firms, so there must be something to it. I noticed that they appeared to be high on formality (i.e. suits everyday), but I'm sort of old-school anyway, so thats not a big deal to me at all.

All in all, I really liked the people I met there, and they all said that the firm tries really hard to find people will buy into the culture and vibe they want to have. I spoke to some personal acquaintances who had worked in the DC office in the past and they had nothing but great things to say about the firm, how its run, the pay, etc. They said that, while the firm takes pride in keeping compensation individualized, pretty much everyone essentially makes market salary, and a few of the guys I spoke with said they made above market for their office. None of them said they had ever heard of someone getting less (so its not like their black box compensation system is just an excuse to pay below market, or else people would just leave the firm).

I'm sure I will learn a lot over the summer, some good and some bad, but I'm overall very positive about it, and I think it will be a great experience.

Are the really big on employment law in the NYC office? They only have a few partners and associates in this practice group. Also, it isn't really highlighted on the NYC part of their website.

[Rotor]

Apologies for a bit of a necro, but I didn't see this one answered.

Any thoughts on why JD ranks so much better here than in Vault (19)>

Jones Day takes customer service very seriously. The confidential compensation applies to partners as well, so they don't have to worry about eat-what-you-kill. Therefore, there is no internal squabbling over fees and only a focus on solving the client's problem. Thus, the clients' satisfaction is reflected in those polls. Vault, on the other hand is usually associate surveys (not sure about this particular poll). For me, I'd take the customer opinions over Vault.

[Anonymous User]

Apologies for a bit of a necro, but I didn't see this one answered.

Any thoughts on why JD ranks so much better here than in Vault (19)>

Jones Day takes customer service very seriously. The confidential compensation applies to partners as well, so they don't have to worry about eat-what-you-kill. Therefore, there is no internal squabbling over fees and only a focus on solving the client's problem. Thus, the clients' satisfaction is reflected in those polls. Vault, on the other hand is usually associate surveys (not sure about this particular poll). For me, I'd take the customer opinions over Vault.

This is all very true. My father is friends with a few high ups at large companies that use Jones Day for a number of matters, and they both said something very similar to the above when I told them I was considering working there. They said the quality of service they receive is excellent, and that it far exceeded other firms with whom they had previously worked.

I ended up choosing Jones Day largely because it was held in such high regard by clients. They both appreciate the service, and recognize the name. There is an annual survey among clients of the strongest law firm "brands" in the minds of clients. Skadden was 1 and Jones Day was 2. The bottom line is that the firm, although ranked relatively high by Vault, is held in even higher regard by clients, whose opinion is most important.

[daisyduke]

For those who were SA's last summer, when did you receive your offers? Was it during the summer program or very soon after? Or were you forced to do 3L OCI as an insurance while the offer was pending?

How did this apply for this past summer's SAs?

[Anonymous User]

I have a CB from Jones Day Chicago. Heard a lot of stuff about NY/DC, can anyone weigh in on the office culture, hours, and expected face time of the Chi office?

[Anonymous User]

For those who were SA's last summer, when did you receive your offers? Was it during the summer program or very soon after? Or were you forced to do 3L OCI as an insurance while the offer was pending?

DC office didn't get formal offers until three weeks after program ended (about Aug 26 or so). Some in the office opted to do 3L OCI as a safety. I put all my eggs in the JD basket. (I figured the 3L options would be too unlikely-- especially if I had been no-offered--and the firm had told us all along there were offers for everyone who earned it. So, it wasn't worth it to me to go through the OCI hell again).

[Anonymous User]

For those who were SA's last summer, when did you receive your offers? Was it during the summer program or very soon after? Or were you forced to do 3L OCI as an insurance while the offer was pending?

DC office didn't get formal offers until three weeks after program ended (about Aug 26 or so). Some in the office opted to do 3L OCI as a safety. I put all my eggs in the JD basket. (I figured the 3L options would be too unlikely-- especially if I had been no-offered--and the firm had told us all along there were offers for everyone who earned it. So, it wasn't worth it to me to go through the OCI hell again).

It was different this year.

Jones Day DC had a hiring meeting on the morning of August 10th and then called all the SAs (1Ls and 2Ls) before the end of the day to give them the good news. People who were playing it safe still bid on some OCI stuff before August 10 but had time to cancel interviews once the offer was official.

There is a new hiring partner this year which may account for the earlier notification. It was really nice not to have to go through OCI wondering what was going to happen.

[Anonymous User]

For those who were SA's last summer, when did you receive your offers? Was it during the summer program or very soon after? Or were you forced to do 3L OCI as an insurance while the offer was pending?

DC office didn't get formal offers until three weeks after program ended (about Aug 26 or so). Some in the office opted to do 3L OCI as a safety. I put all my eggs in the JD basket. (I figured the 3L options would be too unlikely-- especially if I had been no-offered--and the firm had told us all along there were offers for everyone who earned it. So, it wasn't worth it to me to go through the OCI hell again).

It was different this year.

Jones Day DC had a hiring meeting on the morning of August 10th and then called all the SAs (1Ls and 2Ls) before the end of the day to give them the good news. People who were playing it safe still bid on some OCI stuff before August 10 but had time to cancel interviews once the offer was official.

There is a new hiring partner this year which may account for the earlier notification. It was really nice not to have to go through OCI wondering what was going to happen.

Awesome news. The delay was one of (if not the only) major complaint by last year's class.

[Anonymous User]

Yeah, our class was really happy with everything. I had a great time and am excited to go back.

If anyone has questions about Jones Day DC (at least questions that can be answered by a SA) fire away. I'll check back periodically.

[Anonymous User]

I have a CB from Jones Day Chicago. Heard a lot of stuff about NY/DC, can anyone weigh in on the office culture, hours, and expected face time of the Chi office?

Diff anon, same situation.

[Anonymous User]

Does anyone know what the CB to offer timeline is for JD Dallas this year?