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History: the firm keeps growing and growing Established in Cleveland in 1893, Jones Day built itself up through longtime alliances with Cleveland-area manufacturing, transportation, and industrial clients. Among the firm's local mainstays are Cleveland-Cliffs, Lincoln Electric Co., M. A. Hanna, American Greetings, and The Sherwin-Williams Co. Jones Day began to creep outside Cleveland in the 1940s, establishing a Washington office in 1946. From 1960 to 1967 the firm had future U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia as an associate. In the late 1980s, the firm's expansion picked up considerably. It opened 13 offices in that decade, four of which now rank among the firm's biggest: Dallas (founded in 1981), New York (1986), Chicago (1987), and Atlanta (1989). As a result, the firm tripled its number of attorneys from 1985 to 1990. Jones Day's reputation took a hit in 1993 when the firm agreed to an out-of-court settlement with the Resolution Trust Corporation for an astounding $51 million. The fine resulted from the limited role that Texas-based Jones Day lawyers played in financier Charles Keating, Jr.'s involvement with the Lincoln Savings & Loan Association. In 1993 Patrick M. McCartan took over as the firm's managing partner, succeeding Richard W. Pogue. Managing CEO Jones Day is no democracy, say insiders. Sources say the head of the firm acts more like a CEO than a managing partner. The firm's managing partner has sole power over partnership decisions, compensation, new offices, the next managing partner, and so on. Although a nine-person partnership committee can override the managing partner on compensation edicts and the firm's partners can oust a managing partner by majority vote, sources tell Vault.com that almost never happens. Patrick McCartan took over the helm of Jones Day as managing partner in 1993. The much-admired McCartan is credited with restoring Jones Day's reputation after overexpansion in the late 1980s. McCartan has disclosed that he wants Jones Day to aggressively pursue business from the financial and capital markets, pension funds, and insurance companies, a goal that will require an even greater presence for the firm in New York and Washington. Come together Jones Day breaks down its practice areas into four groups: business practice, government regulation, litigation, and tax. These groups are supplemented by two specialized industry practices - energy and health care - as well as a "Technology Issues" practice. In 1999 the firm was involved in M&A transactions totaling more than $150 billion. Jones Day lawyers Jere Thomson and Steven Guynn joined with other Jones Day lawyers from the Paris and New York offices to handle French oil company Total Fina's $48.7 billion merger with Elf Aquitane. Both companies launched hostile bids to acquire each other before officially announcing the merger in September 1999. The combination will create the world's fourth-largest oil company. Trusty antitrust Jones Day sports a particularly well-developed antitrust practice. Partner Joe Sims worked on the U.S. antitrust issues for the January 2000 merger between AOL and Time Warner (valued at $160 billion). Jones Day lawyers also worked on AOL's 1999 acquisition of Netscape Communications and licensing agreements with Sun Microsystems. In July 1998, Tele-Communications Inc. chose Jones Day to handle antitrust matters related to its $44 billion acquisition by AT&T. Jones Day & the Supremes Before taking up the top post at the firm, Patrick McCartan led the firm's litigation department. Starting in 1976, he transformed the department into a national power. In that year, Jones Day's litigation department had 25 lawyers and accounted for less than a quarter of the firm's revenues. By 1993 the department had almost 400 litigators and was responsible for 40 percent of the firm's revenues. Jones Day lawyers have been involved in two of the most important states' rights cases in the Supreme Court's 1999-2000 season. Jones Day litigator Jeff Sutton filed an amicus brief on behalf of the state of Alabama in Brzonkala v. Morrison. Alabama's brief urged the Supreme Court to hold that the 1994 federal Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) is unconstitutional. The statute allows women to sue their attackers in federal court. In May 2000, the court sided with both Alabama and the defendants and held the VAWA ventured into legal areas reserved for the states. In March 2000, Jones Day's Timothy Dyk argued that the Supreme Court should limit state power in Natsios v. National Foreign Trade Council. At issue is a Massachusetts law that creates barriers to winning contracts with Massachusetts for companies that do business with Myanmar, the country formerly known as Burma. Dyk contended on behalf of the trade council that the law falls into the realm of foreign policy that should be left to the federal government. This may be Dyk's last argument before the Supreme Court - he has been confirmed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Bankruptcy deal maker In April 2000, the head of Jones Day's bankruptcy department Richard Cieri became the first bankruptcy lawyer to make American Lawyer magazine's list of top ten deal makers. Indeed, Cieri was busy in 1999 working for the creditor's committee in the Chapter 11 bankruptcy of one of the nation's largest health care foundations, Allegheny Health. Cieri helped negotiate the sale of the foundation to Tenet Healthcare Corp. that allowed Allegheny to keep its eight hospitals and 21,000 jobs. Cieri also worked on a deal in the Purina Mills bankruptcy, allowing the company's creditors to accept newly issued stock in exchange for debt. The agreement with the creditors allowed Purina to return to relative financial health in just five months.
Tier two, too If you're interested in Jones Day, don't count yourself out if you're not a graduate from a top-tier law school. "The firm is very selective but it looks at a broad range of schools," an associate says. But Jones Day can be "particular about grades." One lawyer claims that the firm usually takes from the top 15 percent of students for the top law schools and the top five percent of students for other schools. Callback interviews at the firm usually are a series of half-hour casual chats, during which the Jones Day lawyers just try to get to know the candidate. "There are not a lot of people who want to grill you," says a Washington lawyer. A Jones Day interviewer tells us that "there are three things I'm looking for: a basic level of intelligence; a basic level of competence; and the Atlanta airport test - would I be willing to spend 10 hours on a layover in Atlanta with this person?" A source in Washington says the firm wants "fun and good-natured associates." And a Cleveland associate tells Vault.com, "Arrogance and cockiness doesn't fare well. People who are too full of themselves don't get offers." While every interviewer will be looking for the candidate to ask questions, it's especially important at Jones Day. "I like to open questions up to the candidate," says one contact, "because there are a lot of misconceptions about Jones Day. We're often the target of those kinds of things, especially from other firms who like to paint us as a sweatshop."
The big family machine Lawyers describe Jones Day as everything from a "big family" to "a machine." One lawyer tells Vault.com, "I like coming here and the people I work with." Another source says, "Everything is well-managed and there is a committee for everything. The bad part is that it can feel bureaucratic and unfeeling." Many lawyers feel that an abundance of bureaucratic procedures is just part of life at such a huge firm. "It's managed like a corporation," notes another insider. But most associates feel Jones Day's size is a selling point for the firm. A contact in Dallas says: "We've got the resources to do just about anything a client could want. With a click of the mouse, or by getting on the phone, you can get the expertise you need. The strength of numbers is tremendous." Associates say that Jones Day really does operate as one firm. "Infrastructure-wise it's one firm," comments a source. Jones Day associates get plenty of opportunities to interact with their colleagues throughout the country at the firm's training programs. Attorneys also get to work with fellow associates from around the nation because matters are often staffed in more than one office. But some attorneys feel that the DC and Cleveland offices are the "showcase offices in the firm." Another attorney thinks the L.A. office is the firm's "red-headed stepchild." Gods of Cleveland Insiders say that Jones Day is very "hush-hush when it comes to pay." Junior attorneys receive lockstep compensation but mid-level and senior associates' paychecks vary from lawyer to lawyer. Insiders say that Jones Day decided in 2000 to pay a merit based bonuses for the first time. But the bonuses will not be tied to billables because the partnership reportedly believes such compensation schemes encourage over-billing. "The bonuses are sort of secretive," says one source. Associates say the firm has kept up with the 2000 salary race and pays the market rate at most of its offices. That's good news for associates in less pricey areas of the country. According to one well-compensated insider: "The starting salary in Cleveland is $110,000. You can live like a god in Cleveland for that money." Shockingly extensive training Associates say the formal training programs at Jones Day are "excellent to the point of overkill." Another source exclaims, "I am shocked by how much training there is!" New associates attend a three-day session with their fellow first-years from around the country. Moreover, Jones Day does not assign first-year associates to specific departments, but rather allows them to experiment. After trying out assignments from various practice areas, they can choose which department they want to join. Work work work (not really) An attorney in the Jones Day headquarters says, "The firm has a sweatshop reputation, but I don't see that. It's not a fair assessment. A sweatshop in Cleveland is closer to a lifestyle firm in New York City." A Dallas associate concurs: "The Jones, Day, Nights & Weekend rumor has not proved true here." In 1999 Jones Day's average billable hours per associate was 1,955. Most Vault.com sources find this level of commitment to be "very livable." Some even say the schedule is not a big deal. "Nobody seems to care about your hours, as long as you're available and doing your work," according to one lawyer. But an L.A. associate adds, "the partners expect you not to blink when you have to work a weekend. They want you to treat this like a career, not a job." Support for women, sometimes Associates say that Jones Day hires just as many (and some years more) women as men. The firm offers a woman-friendly part-time schedule in which associates can work on a reduced percentage or hourly basis. But one source says, "There is a stigma when you go part-time. Women may have other commitments to their children. But here the priority is the workplace." In contrast, an associate in the Chicago office observes that a lot of female lawyers are having children and the firm appears to be supportive. Another associate explains, "Once you go part-time then you're off the partnership track. You can get back on but it can take a year or two longer." Jones Day also runs the "In Counsel with Women" program that helps young female attorneys learn how to bring in clients. The program features luncheons with prominent women in business and law, and helps female lawyers to develop client contacts and foster relationships. "The firm shows a commitment to helping women with getting clients," says one woman lawyer. Do as you will pro bono When it comes to pro bono at Jones Day, "it's kind of do what you want," sources say. The firm regularly circulates messages about pro bono opportunities. The Washington, DC office, for example, does work for legal clinics for the homeless. New associates also have the option to spend a month at Legal Aid, which counts toward billable hours. "If you want to do pro bono work, you will be supported," according to one lawyer.
Jolie A. Blanchard Firm Director of Recruiting (202) 879-3788
Kirkland & Ellis;Latham & Watkins;Sidley & Austin;Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom More Company Profiles For more career information, go to Vault.com ©2000, Vault.com Inc
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