Firm Profiles
IN-DEPTH RESEARCH REPORT
on Jones Day
- - Financial Information
- - Compensation
- - Billing Rates
- - Lateral Partner Moves
- - Pro bono
- - Key Contacts
Jones Day
- Designation: National
- Head Count: 2,363
- Gross Revenues: $1,716,000,000
- Revenue Per Lawyer: $725,000
- Profits Per Partner: $915,000
- Year Over Year Change: 1
By many measures, Jones Day is the archetypical megafirm: thousands of lawyers (2,502 at last count); hundreds of partners (828); dozens of offices across the globe (35 to be exact), and, of course, the requisite billion–dollar revenues (at just over $1.6 billion, the firm placed seventh by gross revenue on the 2011 Am Law 100 list). More than half of the Fortune 500 companies bring work to Jones Day, particularly for the firm’s strengths in antitrust, products liability, employment law, mergers and acquisitions, and litigation (Jones Day was The American Lawyer’s Litigation Department of the Year in 2002, a finalist in 2004, and has earned multiple honorable mentions since).
But in other respects, Jones Day marches to its own beat—and not just because started in Cleveland. The firm is famous for giving its managing partner an unprecedented level of responsibility—and power—in everything from setting each attorney’s pay to picking his or her successor. There are no bonuses and no lockstep compensation at Jones Day—and as the firm’s Web site takes pains to spell out, no pay formulas, period. Billing more hours than the next lawyer doesn’t guarantee a bigger payday (though we’re guessing it doesn’t hurt). As the site rather bluntly puts it: “We are not a shirt factory. ” Jones Day stands out in another way, too: It didn’t lay off lawyers or staff during the recession. The firm’s site explains: “We are a long–term institution; we do not manage to short–term metrics. ” If it did, the story might be very different, given that Jones Day’s rankings on some of the short–term metrics The American Lawyer tracks take it out of The Am Law 100 and put it in The Am Law 200 (116th in revenue per lawyer in 2011; 111th in profits per partner).
Jones Day has also made some bold moves, too. It was one of the first law firms to grow through merger, combining with another firm in 1939 and repeating the process numerous times since. It was one of the first firms based outside Washington, D.C., to open a D.C. office. Those decisions, of course, turned out to be winners. You don’t get to 2,500 lawyers placing bad bets.
—Updated as of 1/1/12
Firm Rankings
| Survey | Rank | Year Over Year Change | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Am Law 100 | 6 | 1 | Gross revenue |
| Am Law 200 | 6 | 1 | Gross revenue |
| NLJ 250 | 3 | no change | Lawyer head count |
| The A-List | NR | N/A | Overall excellence |
| Pro Bono Scorecard | 72 | 3 | Pro-bono commitment |
| Diversity Scorecard | 98 | 5 | Minority head count |
| Midlevel Associates Survey | 63 | 16 | Job satisfaction |
| Summer Associates Survey | 70 | 4 | Summer programs |
In the News
Gide Adds Shanghai Partner
Jessica Seah : The Asian Lawyer : April 26, 2013
Paul-Emmanuel Benachi was previously head of the Shanghai office for another French law firm, Lefèvre Pelletier & associés.
Finding Fair Use, Circuit Overturns Infringement Ruling
Mark Hamblett : New York Law Journal : April 26, 2013
A secondary use of a copyrighted work does not require comment on the original artist or work or popular culture in order to be transformative and qualify for the fair use defense to infringement under the Copyright Act, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled yesterday.
Greenberg Settles with Heller Estate for $5 million
Scott Graham : The Recorder : April 26, 2013
Another settlement domino has fallen in the Heller Ehrman bankruptcy litigation, with Greenberg Traurig agreeing to pay $4.9 million to settle the Heller estate's malpractice, conflict of interest and preference payment claims.
Allen & Gledhill Recruits Six Arbitration Partners
Jessica Seah : The Asian Lawyer : April 25, 2013
The Singapore firm raided local rival Rajah & Tann for five of its new partners, include the latter's former arbitration head.
Rocket Science
Claire Zillman : The American Lawyer : April 25, 2013
How court reform turned Munich into the new hot spot for patent litigation in Germany.
'Gulf Fleet' a Lexicon for Sponsors, Affiliate Transfers and Failed LBOs
Corinne Ball : New York Law Journal : April 25, 2013
In her Distress Mergers & Acquisitions column, Jones Day partner Corinne Ball writes: Litigation over affiliate transactions arising in failed portfolio companies continues to provide guidance on core common issues such as breach of fiduciary duties, avoidance actions, equitable subordination and recharacterization. A recent bankruptcy case illustrates how at least one court will analyze allegations regarding affiliate transactions in the context of a motion to dismiss a recovery action based on a failed leverage buyout.
Big Deals
David Marcus : The American Lawyer : April 25, 2013
American/US Airways; Linn/Berry Petroleum
Disappearing Act
Amy Kolz : The American Lawyer : April 25, 2013
Cull the partnership to boost profits: That's the conventional wisdom. But is it truth—or illusion?
Greenberg Settles with Heller Estate for $5 million
Scott Graham : The Recorder : April 25, 2013
General Litigation Award: Jones Day, The Collaborators
Mary Welch, Special to the Daily Report : Daily Report : April 25, 2013
Walter W. Davis says the Jones Day difference starts with how its lawyers are paid.
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