Jones Day - The Inside View

Unsure which area of law is ‘the one’ just yet? Put down the phone, and get out of those sweatpants, because at this global firm, you don’t need to commit on Day one. Jones Day recognizes that first years may have reservations about the right practice area, so instead of joining a specific group, every first year associate is placed into the firm’s ‘New Lawyer's Group,’ allowing juniors the freedom and flexibility to try a range of different practice areas. One source explained: “The New Lawyer's Group gives juniors more time to try things and figure out what they want to do.” But for those keen on a certain practice don’t worry; within the New Lawyer's Group, associates can focus entirely on sourcing work from one practice area.  As one insider said: “You’re not funneled into a practice group, you can seek out groups that you’re super interested in.” Reportedly, interviewees were afforded the luxury of trying out ten groups before they found the right fit – so you can clearly keep your options open.

“The firm is wonderful at getting younger associates substantive exposure right of the bat.”

This flexibility is paired with early responsibility, with one interviewee reflecting that the firm is “wonderful at getting younger associates substantive experience right off the bat.” That level of responsibility isn’t something that has hindered, but rather bolstered the firm’s different departments, as reflected in our sister guide Chambers USA, where the firm is highly ranked nationwide in appellate law, international arbitration, labor & employment, product liability, and retail: corporate & transactional. Associates emphasized this, noting how “the firm does great high stakes legal work.”

Strategy & Future

Sharyl Reisman, firmwide hiring partner tells us the meaning behind the firm’s ‘One Firm Worldwide’ motto: “From the moment you walk through the door, at whatever stage in your career you are, you have access to 2,500 of the best lawyers across the globe. No obstacles, because we are one network, and we’re incentivized to operate as one network and one seamless firm.” As well as discussing the importance of the firm’s culture, Reisman also highlights the firm’s commitment to developing their lawyers and thereby retaining them. She reflects on the success of the firm’s professional development goal, given in the most recent round of promotions, “almost 50% of that partnership class were former summer associates,” adding that “to have such successful retention speaks to the success of our initiatives and our culture.”

When discussing artificial intelligence, Reisman explains that the firm’s recently appointed global chair of AI and innovation, whose role, working alongside the AI and innovation committee, “is to ensure that we are bringing the most value to our clients using AI as well as for us internally.” Reisman was firm in stating that “it’s here, it’s not going anywhere, and recognizing its strengths and its limitations allows us to capitalize on its value and add value to our client service and the way we do business.”

Read more from our conversation with Sharyl Reisman under the 'Get Hired' tab.

Jones Day is recognized as a Strong Performer for AI Integration in our 2026 associate satisfaction survey.

Summer Program

“It was the best summer of my life,” smiled an associate who spent their ten weeks researching, drafting memos, carrying out due diligence work, and working on pro bono cases. Juniors praised the amount of substantive work they received, as well as the networking opportunities they were encouraged to participate in. We learned that the program “laid the groundwork for future relationships when you officially start at the firm.” Interviewees also enjoyed the number of activities the firm hosted. “There were activities every week,” said one junior; “maybe too many activities,” joked another. Insiders talked about their experiences going to a Cubs game and a Chicago architecture tour. Ultimately though, juniors pointed to the associate mixer as their favorite event. Overall, consensus seemed to be that Jones Day does a great job of introducing summers to various people for networking, helping them build the foundations for relationships they’ll continue to nurture upon joining the firm as first years, and more generally giving summers the tools they needed to really get to know the firm. 

The Work

Jones Day’s motto being ‘One Firm Worldwide’ means it doesn’t strictly have a US headquarters. The firm has 18 offices located around the US, with the biggest sitting in New York. 22 others extend internationally across Europe, the Middle East, Asia-Pacific and Latin America. The majority of associates are located in Cleveland, New York, and Chicago. The ones available to chat to us told us about the firm’s work structure. Essentially, in each practice group there is a partner who “has eyes on what people are working on and how many hours they’re working.” Weekly meetings are held within each group to discuss who has more or less availability in order to gauge capacity across the team. Sources explained that most matters they receive get communicated from partners directly, who assign work based on a range of things including capacity level. However, getting placed on matters works both ways with associates able to “reach out to any partner in your group for work” meaning, “it’s like a free market.”  

Associates in intellectual property described it as “well regarded” noting how the group “covers a little bit of everything.” Under the umbrella of Jones Day’s IP group, associates can work with the patent litigation team, on smaller teams working on trademark and copyright litigation, or even within the patent prosecution group– in short, there’s plenty of work to go around. One interviewee also told us how they often work on litigation matters before the International Trade Commission, adding how “some love them, some hate them… they’re on a shorter time frame so they move quickly.” And for those who thrive in fast-paced environments, “you can get a lot of experience very quickly.” However, if litigating isn’t your thing, this practice group also offers a transactional sub-group who work closely with corporate and other transactional groups that sit within the firm on matters triggering an IP element. Juniors in this team made it clear that newcomers must be driven to learn about new technology rapidly, to be able to simplify concepts and have “the ability to explain to people who aren’t familiar with the technology or legal issues.”

Intellectual property clients: Google, Johnson & Johnson, Labcorp. Represent Motorola and its affiliate WatchGuard Video in an eight-patent infringement case.

Over in Jones Day’s financial marketsgroup, there is a range of smaller sub-groups including capital markets, banking and finance, and commercial real estate finance. Insiders spoke about working on matters dealing with critical assets, commercial contracts and strategic agreements for lenders. One interviewee shared a little about the typical matters they do day-to-day: “A lot of transactional and syndicated deals, lender-borrower deals, and portfolio deals on commercial awareness real estate – it’s a pretty good mix.” Sources noted that finance can sometimes be a tough space to work in, due to how broad the practice is. We learned that to really succeed, “you have to do your homework outside of the work that you do.” One junior stated: “there will be things that you don’t understand, but it’s your responsibility to look them up.” So, for keen minds and intellectually stimulating work, take advantage of Jones Day’s new lawyers’ program and consider giving financial markets a go.

Financial market clients: Bank of America, Wells Fargo Bank, Guardian Pharmacy. Represented Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company as lender in connection with a delayed draw term loan facility.

“… they give associates opportunities to take ownership over matters. As a young associate, I’m getting a lot of substantive direct work…”

One business tort & litigation insider explained how in this practice group “we do everything.” The group spans a wide range of areas, from product liability matters, to disputes over the terms of an agreement, to lawsuits over statutory violations (and so much in-between). “It’s a broad group in terms of what types of litigation we do,” offered one junior. Associates not only praised the variety found within the group, but also the level of responsibility they’ve handled: “I was given a long-term client,” reflected an associate, “they give us opportunities to take ownership over matters, and as a young associate, I’m getting a lot of substantive direct work… I’m managing a case from inception to close.” Insiders seemed to agree that curious mindsets thrive in this practice.  “There’s always evolving law” explained one associate, “it’s such a wide array of matters so you need to be curious and be willing to gain experience in certain subject matters.”

Business tort & litigation clients: Chevron, Procter & Gamble Co., Verizon Communications. Represents Walmart in all facets of opioid litigation nationwide.

Career Development

At Jones Day, career development is shaped by its ethos, a principle that associates say genuinely holds up in practice. As one insider stated: “the idea of one firm worldwide is true, people aren’t fighting over clients, instead they are working together and identifying those in the firm that have the expertise to bring the best possible service.” The firm provides opportunities for both formal and informal development, including CLEs and practice group specific training sessions, for example, the financial markets group keeps associates on their toes as “every three weeks they do different online trainings where partners and associates present about different topics.” Associates were also pleased to report how approachable seniors are. “All of the partners I’ve worked with are willing to spend time with associates, answer their questions, and teach them how to do things,” shared one source.

“The firm invests in their young associates who then want to invest in the firm.”

Client contact is a key part of a rookie’s role at Jones Day and that early trust seems to go both ways. As one insider said: “the firm invests in their younger associates who then want to invest in the firm.” Another source also added how, “the firm is good at immersing you in front of potential and existing clients; they are interested in hearing ideas from associates.” Reisman also believes the firm’s mentoring program, where associates are assigned mentors “straight out of the box,” to be an incredibly important part of what they do at the firm. Associates are also often encouraged to find mentors organically.

Culture

Associates at Jones Day consistently described the firm’s culture as family-orientated and collaborative. Singular sports have no place here, where insiders revealed you have to be a team player to survive. As one insider explained, “you can’t be territorial, you have to do what’s best for the client,” which means working with your colleagues, and “thepeople who recognize that it’s a win-win to be collaborative really excel here.” Readers will be glad to know that despite the firm’s scale, hierarchy isn’t something that seems to dominate life at the firm.

Sources repeatedly discussed how approachable their seniors are, “they’re always happy to talk” noted one insider. With others highlighting how they even work directly with partners on matters – no middleman needed. Interviewees also told us that the firm has a full-time in-office policy of five days a week but noted that the firm is flexible and recognizes that people may need to work from home sometimes. With regards to the firm’s decision on in-office policy, Reisman stated that “there’s nothing more enriching than engaging with somebody one-on-one… it’s a great thing for our junior lawyers to learn and be with people. You can’t replace those interactions.”

Hours & Compensation

Billable hours: 2,000 target

“They value the wellbeing of associates.”

Despite the firm’s 2,000 billable hour requirement, it’s not strictly discussed on a regular basis. “I only hear about it in annual reviews,” said one insider. Sources were grateful that the firm takes a broad view when considering associate efforts, as “they consider business development and pitch work too, and they aren’t billable.” When deadlines are approaching, interviewees told us that they can often find themselves working from 8am till 7pm and then logging back on at 9pm until midnight. However, they emphasized how “those days are few are far between.” Another insider felt that “they do a good job of letting you have a rest after a crazy season,” explaining that “they value the wellbeing of associates.” Although hours can get a little crazy during high tide, juniors were pleased to note that “partners also want you to have a life outside of work”. As one interviewee stated, “BigLaw in general gets a really crazy stigma if you have no time to yourself; I don’t necessarily believe that to be the case here.”

Pro Bono

There are no fixed numbers on the amount of pro bono an associate can do, with “associates allowed to do as much as they want.” One source clarified that they are provided with “a soft guidance advising that your entire practice can’t be pro bono,” meaning there should be a reasonable amount of client work. However, the general feeling was that the firm ‘values’, ‘encourages’, and ‘cares’ about pro bono, with a dedicated pro bono coordinator working from each office providing a constant stream of opportunities for associates to partake in. Additionally, you can also propose an idea for a pro bono matter that interests you as sources say that the firm will almost always allow it. Currently the firm puts a big emphasis on immigration matters, housing disputes, domestic violence support as well as a big initiative for human trafficking prevention.

Pro bono hours

• For all US attorneys: undisclosed
• Average per US attorney: undisclosed

Jones Day is recognized as a Strong Performer for Pro Bono in our 2026 associate satisfaction survey.

Inclusion

We heard that Jones Day has made a push to recruit from a mix of local and national law schools in an effort to “keep things balanced,” when hiring its associates. Insiders also described talks and events held by the firm aimed at highlighting inclusion within the workplace.

The firm’s affinity groups were also praised, with one junior asserting that “the firm has remained dedicated to these groups to foster inclusion.” Groups are available to all to join, with offerings including (but not limited to): Black Lawyers Affinity Group, Women’s Affinity Group, Asian Lawyers Affinity Group, and South Asian Affinity Group. 

Get Hired 

The first stage:  1L / 2L recruitment on and off campus   

1L / 2L applicants interviewed: 1,921

Jones Day recruits through various sources including OCI, job fairs, and direct applications.  “We cast a wide net to various law schools to capture the best and brightest students and find our future leaders from all regions and all backgrounds,” explains hiring partner Sharyl Reisman.

The interviews are conducted by partners and associates from across the US offices. “There are no mandatory topics or questions, and questions are not based upon a particular formula,” Reisman explains. Rather, the firm is looking to gain an understanding of candidates, as well as “indications of leadership and commitment.” Reisman continues: “We use our interviews to try to identify those things, get a sense of the student’s passion and commitment to various activities, causes and organizations, and to really get a sense of the person as a person.”   

Top tips at this stage:   

“I always recommend that students try to learn as much about us – our culture, our programs, our structure, and specifically, why we are different. The Jones Day Careers website is a great start and rich with information.” – hiring partner, Sharyl Reisman.   

Callbacks   

2L applicants invited to second stage interview:  516

1L / 2L callback interviews:  797   

Successful candidates are invited to callbackinterviews, which consist of individual interviews with a mix of partners and associates (usually four to six lawyers).   Each interviewgenerally lasts 20-30 minutes. At this stage, interviewers are looking to see whether candidates “share our commitment to our clients and client service,” as well as commitment to the firm and its culture. “Our questions combined with what we can see of the candidate's past experience are intended to elicit this information,” says Reisman. Naturally, the firm is also curious as to what it is about Jones Day that has attracted the candidate: “The answer is pretty revealing with respect to what the student has done to research the Firm.”

Top tips at this stage:   

“A candidate catches my attention during the callback interview when they demonstrate by their questions and comments that they have read (or listened to videos/podcasts) about what makes Jones Day different. If they articulate two or three of these differentiators, I’m inclined to think they have researched and understands our culture and are sincere in their interest in Jones Day.” – hiring partner Sharyl Reisman.    

Summer program   

1L / 2L offers:  376

1L / 2L acceptances:     190

In addition to the 163 1L / 2L acceptances resulting from OCI, job fairs, and direct applications, 27 1Ls will be returning for their 2L summer.  The total number of 1L / 2L summer associates in the 2026Jones Day summer program is 190.

The summer program at Jones Day ties into its famed New Lawyers Group. “Summer associates do not rotate through practices; instead there are a variety of assignments available, and students can steer themselves to the areas they want to try.” There are work assigners who assign projects across the practices. These projects allow summer associates to hone their research and writing skills, while practical trainings cover things such as negotiation skills, how to take a deposition, or how to prepare documents for transactions. Each summer associate is also assigned a partner and an associate mentor.   

Top tips for this stage:   

“Get yourself exposed to as much of the Firm as you can and get involved in as much as you can. Don’t treat it as aten-week program, but as a process of getting to know our people and our culture  ” – hiring partner Sharyl Reisman.

Interview with Sharyl Reisman, firmwide hiring partner

Commercial strategy, market position and trends 

Chambers Associate: How would you define your firm’s current position and identity in the legal market? What differentiates your firm from your peer firms in the market?  

Sharyl Reisman: We're a global firm. We're 2,500 lawyers across the globe and we've got 40 offices. But I'd say it's not just our size; global integration is really our defining strength. It's about how we leverage that global presence to deliver a seamless and integrated client service. We operate as one unified network across the globe. We have never and we don't operate as vereins. We are unified, we are seamless and for our lawyers that join us, whether they join us straight out of law school or as lateral partners or associates, it is an incredible way to practice. We call it our One Firm Worldwide approach. From the moment you walk through the door, at whatever stage in your career you are, you have access to 2,500 of the best lawyers across the globe. No obstacles, because we are one network, and we're incentivized to operate as one network, one seamless firm.  

Additionally, we have something called the New Lawyers Group: when you join Jones Day as a new lawyer, you don't join a specific practice group – you join what we call the New Lawyers Group. Especially in this age where law school recruiting begins almost as soon as they begin law school, students don't know what they want to do coming into practice. Our New Lawyers Group gives our entry-level lawyers a chance to find their passion and their chemistry with their practice and the people. For approximately eight months to a year, our New Lawyers are able to sample different practices and work with different groups. And if you know what you want to do, you can do that from the very beginning. It gives our New Lawyers time to find out what they enjoy, what they're good at, who they enjoy doing it with, and then transfer into a practice. And that, from a long-term perspective, is incredibly valuable. It increases your network, it increases your knowledge of other practices, and the foundation it provides for that long-term practice is invaluable. We assign mentors out-of-the-box as well. Mentoring is an incredibly important part of what we do here. We also encourage people to find mentors organically. 

We have always brought balance to what we do in terms of geographies, different practices, and client base. That means there's no one client or one office or one practice or one lawyer or one matter that is more important than the next. In times like this, especially when the world is a bit unstable, and no one can predict what's going to happen on the next day, that stability is a secret to success. For lawyers who are joining out of law school, it's an incredible training ground.  

I'd say the last differentiator is our relationship with our clients. We have very deep relationships with our clients. We prioritize understanding our clients' businesses, their needs, partnering with them as thought leaders, guiding them through complex, novel issues that they deal with and that is part of our service to our clients. We encourage our junior lawyers to develop those relationships too because they are our next generation of leaders.  

Ultimately, it’s our culture that binds these elements together and sets us apart.   

CA: Have there been any developments at the firm over the past year that you’d like law students to know about?  

Reisman: I can talk about our continued focus on certain initiatives and growth areas, and one that is probably top of mind for everybody is technology and AI. We, of course, want to ensure that our lawyers have access to and training on emerging technologies and AI. But also, for a number of years, we have had a technology practice that advises our clients----whether they are technology companies or have their own interactions with technology--on all things technology-related. We've recently appointed a global chair of AI and Innovation, whose role , along with the AI and Innovation committee is to ensure that we are bringing the most value to our clients using AI as well as for us internally. So, it's an internal and an external look at AI, because it's here, it's not going anywhere, and recognizing its strengths and its limitations allows us to capitalize on its value and add value to our client service and the way we do business. 

We've continued to strengthen our corporate and transactional practices globally. I'd say another highlight is taking what's been a strength of ours, which is our litigation and mass actions and class action practices, for example, and focusing on deliberate coordination on the approach to client service and knowledge sharing across the globe. And from a law student standpoint, this is incredibly important. If we go back to what I was discussing in terms of how we operate seamlessly across practices, across offices: all of this is at a law student’s/summer associate’s soon to become a junior lawyer's fingertips. And so, this is not partner heavy and partner driven, it's really firm driven and we encourage everybody, from the moment they walk in the door, to get involved in all these fronts. 

CA: What is your firm’s commercial strategy focusing on, and how do you expect the next year to unfold? 

Reisman: Our commercial strategy is focused on the areas where we see client demand and long-term growth. That includes the areas I just spoke about: Corporate work, mass actions and class actions and litigation more broadly. At the same time, we are investing meaningfully in AI initiatives and technology development to help enhance how we serve our clients. An important part of that strategy is talent development.  If we look at the past year, we also continue to promote partners up from the ranks. We made 33 partners last year – 21 here in the US.  

An interesting trend for us that is consistent year on year and a reflection on our professional development goals is almost 50% of that partnership class were former summer associates with us. To have such successful retention really speaks to the success of these initiatives and our culture. If you look at our trend over the last five years, over 50% of the folks that made partner had never been at another firm – this was the one and only firm they worked at. Many of them had done judicial clerkships or may have served in the government before they came. It speaks to our commitment to developing lawyers and keeping them. 

The market is ever changing but that plays to our strengths. Our focus will be on continuing to deepen our client relationships, investing in our people and growing the firm so we are well positioned for not only this coming year, but the long term. 

CA: What qualities or experiences does the firm prioritize when assessing junior associate candidates? What qualities would you say grab your attention?  

Reisman: One thing that the Firm values is understanding and committing to our culture; we want people who are aligned with and want to be a part of this culture that we thrive on and value. That involves wanting to be something bigger than yourself: serving your clients, serving the Firm, and doing it collaboratively with the other lawyers and professionals at the firm. That's the way we really develop relationships.  

We also want to see  initiative and leadership. That means when you become a part of something, you're not just a member – you're a member who would like to see that institution getting better, who wants to make the institution's goals achievable, and also those who want to make sure what we're doing, we do in the best way we can. So, for us, that’s serving our clients.  

It's really somebody who's invested in thinking about how to improve X, Y, or Z: client service, knowledge of the law, making this firm a better firm. It's somebody who's always thinking and not just waiting for something to come their way. I'd say drive and demonstration of leadership is very important. One of the things that personally impresses me the most is somebody who's really all in. Somebody who is constantly thinking, how can I be helpful? What are we going to need next? How can I be ahead and make sure that, whether it's for a transaction or a piece of litigation, what's the next thing that our client needs? What's the next thing that a team needs, and how can I provide it? And just being the one to raise your hand, being the one to offer assistance and not waiting for somebody to ask you to do something. 

CA: What are your top tips for students who want to stand out in your application process? Is there anything they consistently overlook that they should be doing? 

Reisman: I would say one thing that's important to us is knowing the Firm, knowing how important our culture is, understanding what we do and how we do it, and knowing about our differentiators. Those are things that our lawyers will talk about and that we emphasize on our website. Because we really feel these differentiators define us; if somebody wants to be a part of that, it's helpful for us to see that they've invested the time to learn about it. Knowing who we are and what we do is really important to us.  Students should also think about  what you want us to know about you. Bring your authentic self.   Part of our interview process is really getting to know someone as a person. So, what is it that you want us to know about you, your experience, or the way you approach things, the way you analyze issues? It's helpful to be thoughtful about those things before you come to the interview and to ask questions that demonstrate those things.   

CA: Could you walk us through the structure of your recruitment process? Who will applicants typically meet during interviews, and what are you hoping to learn from those conversations?  

Reisman: With law school recruiting, it has changed so much in the past year. It used to be a fairly structured screening process through law schools where the law schools would schedule a day long process at their school, even if it was virtual. Now a lot of that is taking place outside the law school itself, and so, I would say a large percentage of our applicants come to us through our self-apply portal.  

After the application process on our portal, we will set up a screening interview or an informational interview. Following the initial meeting, we invite a number of candidates to come into our office to interview. We prefer to meet students in person, Meeting and getting to know someone face to face. is so important to us because we really want to understand who that person is. When we hire somebody, it's really hiring the whole person, not just somebody who can do the work. There are lots of bright people; I always say that academic excellence and being analytical and thoughtful is necessary, but not sufficient. We really want to get to know someone, so we have people meet four to six lawyers at the firm – and it's a mix of associates and partners. We're trying to gauge all those things I mentioned that are important to us: who that person is, what they've done, what indicia of leadership they have, and their interest in the firm. So, it's really a holistic, 360 look at somebody as we're trying to get to know them, and decide whether to extend an offer.    

CA: How does the firm’s summer program work? What should students expect to experience, and what do you hope to learn about candidates during the summer? 

Reisman: The summer program is a microcosm of what I described as the New Lawyers Group. When you come in as a summer associate, you have typically expressed your interest in a practice or multiple practices. There's no rule as to how many. You express what you have an interest in trying out that summer. You spend the summer working with people in those various practice areas that you've mentioned.  

We have social events so that the summer associates can get to know each other and also get to know the lawyers in the office. The people part of our job is really important to us, both in terms of connecting with other summer associates in their class and also connecting with lawyers more broadly in the office. As part of our summer program, we have what we call the National Summer Associate Event which is like a mini Academy that we run for our New Lawyers when they join the Firm. When our New Lawyers join the Firm, they gather in Washington, DC for four days to meet their fellow New Lawyers from around the world and also our Firm leaders. It's four days of learning about the Firm, our history, our people, and our culture from the firm's leaders. There are also various training aspects to those four days.  

A highlight of the summer program is what we call the National Summer Associate Event when we bring our summer associates from our 18 offices togetherin DC for a day to meet the other summer associates in the US and some of our lawyers and leaders. Our National Summer Associate Event and our New Lawyers Academy.  Connecting and networking, and learning and breathing who we are from day one is so important to us. For our seamless network to be successful, we have to know each other, and we have to know the Firm. The National Summer Associate Event and the New Lawyers Academy are both part and parcel of that same goal.   

CA: How is the firm evolving to accommodate the needs/expectations of the next generation of lawyers? 

Reisman: I think part of that is staying one step ahead of technology and AI, and ensuring that we have the tools and training necessary. The other is maintaining that culture that's so important to us. That is the key to weathering whatever's coming: the booms, the busts, and everything in between. There's been a big move for in-office attendance across every market. It's incredibly important from a training perspective, for us from a culture perspective, and really from a professional satisfaction perspective. There's nothing more enriching than engaging with somebody one-on-one. And so, in-office attendance is a requirement; we require people to be in the office, and it's a great thing for our junior lawyers to learn and be with people. You can't replace that one-on-one interaction.  

The Fun Bit 

CA: Throwing it back to law school: it's been a long day of classes and studying. What's your go-to easy meal to have before you crash? 

Reisman: I always have a snack with my meals and between meals. My two go to are soup and French fries. I don’t always have the French fries, but I always want them! 

CA: What was the first concert you attended? 

Reisman: The Police.    

CA: Thinking about the ways in which the legal profession is developing, what is the one skill you have learnt in your career that you think is key for young attorneys to learn? 

Reisman: Listening. I would say be all in and listening.