Jones Day
Overview
Jones Day is a global, full-service law firm built around a One Firm Worldwide® model and a longstanding tradition of client service. The Firm operates as a single global partnership, deploying teams from across offices and practices to serve institutional clients and counts roughly half of the Fortune 500, Fortune Global 500, and FT Global 500 among its clients. Jones Day is distinguished by cross-border transactional and litigation capabilities, deep sector experience (notably M&A, intellectual property, ESG/energy and global disputes), and its New Lawyers Group approach that gives new lawyers early, substantive responsibility.
- Founded: 1893
- Lawyers: 2,500
- Trainees: 15
- Offices: 40
Values & Culture
Practice Areas
- Corporate & M&A
- Intellectual Property
- Energy & Natural Resources
- ESG & Sustainability
- Dispute Resolution & Litigation
- Financial Services & Regulation
- Employment
- Competition & Antitrust
- Private Equity & Venture Capital
- Tax
- Real Estate
- Infrastructure & Projects
- International Arbitration
- Data Protection & Privacy
- Capital Markets
- Insolvency & Restructuring
- Healthcare & Life Sciences
- Insurance & Reinsurance
- Pensions
- Technology & Digital
Geographic Focus: A truly global footprint: strong presence in the United States, major European hubs (London, Brussels, Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Paris, Milan, Madrid), Asia-Pacific (Hong Kong, Beijing, Shanghai, Taipei, Tokyo, Singapore, Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Brisbane), Latin America (São Paulo, Mexico City) and the Middle East (Dubai). The firm positions itself to deploy cross-office, cross-practice teams on multinational matters and emphasises ‘One Firm Worldwide’ resourcing for complex, multi-jurisdictional,
Training Contract
Jones Day uses a New Lawyers Group model in many jurisdictions (a non-rotational approach where graduates can seek work across practices during their time in the New Lawyers Group). In some offices (for example Hong Kong) the training contract blends a structured rotational first year — three practice seats of four months each — with a flexible final 12 months (a 'floating' seat) that allows trainees to work with practices of their choice and transition to an associate role. Trainees are assigned a supervising partner and receive formal reviews, internal training seminars and cross-office exposure via the New Lawyer Academy.
- Starting Salary: Year 1: £60,000; Year 2: £68,000
- NQ Salary: £165,000
- Trainee Intake: 15
- Academic Requirements: Minimum degree: 2:1 (as a guideline from supplementary data). Minimum A-level requirement: No minimum (supplementary data). The firm accepts non-law graduates and emphasises strong academics and commercial aptitude.
- Application Deadline: 7 January 2026
Seat Options
- Corporate & M&A
- Dispute Resolution & Litigation
- Competition & Antitrust
- Intellectual Property
- Energy & Natural Resources
- Employment
- Financial Services & Regulation
- Real Estate
- Private Equity & Venture Capital
- Infrastructure & Projects
- Data Protection & Privacy
- Capital Markets
Sponsorship
PGDL/PGDL grant: £15,000 (supplementary data). SQE grant: £20,000 (supplementary data).
SQE Support
Financial support for qualification study is provided: LegalCheek supplementary data records an SQE grant of £20,000. The firm also states it provides support for additional study that would benefit a trainee's practice.
International Opportunities
The firm highlights cross-office collaboration and the New Lawyer Academy as global-development opportunities; selection and availability of formal secondments abroad vary by office. LegalCheek data reports a 0% chance of secondment abroad for trainees (statistical indicator from supplementary data).
Client Secondments
Approximately 25% (statistical indicator from supplementary data).
Mentorship
Trainees are assigned a supervising partner; offices also assign a mentor (senior associate or partner) and a buddy (usually a junior associate). New lawyers attend the New Lawyer Academy and have regular formal reviews and access to firmwide and local mentoring programmes.
Programmes & Schemes
An eight-week Summer Clerkship in the Sydney office giving penultimate-year law students real, substantive work across practices under the non-rotational model; clerks receive mentors and supervising partners and participate in training sessions and seminars.
- Duration: 8 weeks
- Deadline: 2026-07-12
A four-week internship for penultimate year students in Hong Kong providing real-client work, drafting, research and exposure to multiple practices. Preference is given to applicants seeking to start as trainee solicitors.
- Duration: 4 weeks
- Deadline: 2026-01-31
Annual fellowship competition for Chinese law students (graduate or third-year undergraduates and above). Winners receive a RMB35,000 (after tax) scholarship, a Jones Day Fellowship certificate and a possible internship with the Beijing or Shanghai offices.
- Salary: RMB35,000 (after tax) (scholarship for winners)
- Deadline: 2026-04-23
A two-week summer experience scheme for pre-university students in Hong Kong offering early exposure to legal work and the profession.
- Duration: 2 weeks
- Deadline: 2026-04-30
Notable Matters
Jones Day acted for BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. in its $4.8 billion acquisition of Amicus Therapeutics, advising on M&A, IP and related regulatory and employee benefits issues for a cross-office team spanning the United States, Europe and Asia.
Corporate & M&A
Jones Day advised Wabtec Corporation in its $800 million acquisition of Frauscher Sensor Technology Group GmbH, leading a multi-jurisdictional M&A team with involvement from Frankfurt, New York and other offices on transactional, antitrust and IP matters.
Corporate & M&A
Jones Day advised Hexagon AB on the €2.7 billion sale of its Design & Engineering business (including MSC Software) to Cadence Design Systems, covering M&A, antitrust, tax and IP work across multiple offices.
Corporate & M&A
Jones Day advised Lyft, Inc. on its acquisition of the United Kingdom business of Gett, providing cross-border M&A, competition and regulatory advice with teams in London and Silicon Valley involved.
Corporate & M&A
Jones Day acted as lead counsel to NOVA Infrastructure Management in the formation and $1.45 billion fundraising of NOVA Infrastructure Fund II (parallel funds in Delaware, Cayman and Luxembourg), advising on fund formation, tax, private equity and employee benefits.
Private Equity & Venture Capital
Jones Day advised Capital A Management B.V. on the oversubscribed close of Capital A Fund V at €515 million, leading private equity fund formation and fundraising work from the Amsterdam office.
Investment Funds
Jones Day represented Peabody Energy Corporation in a Rule 144A offering of $250 million aggregate principal amount of convertible senior notes, advising on capital markets and related transactional matters.
Capital Markets
Jones Day advised Verbrec Limited on the sale of 100% of Competency Training Pty Ltd to RelyOn Australia Pty Ltd, handled from Australian offices (Brisbane/Sydney) on M&A matters.
Corporate & M&A
What Jones Day Looks For
Key Competencies
- Commercial awareness
- Strong academic record (2:1 guideline)
- Attention to detail and technical competence
- Teamwork and collaboration
- Initiative and the ability to manage time and shape one's own experience
- Resilience and ability to handle a demanding, client-focused workload
- Excellent interpersonal and communication skills
- Language skills for relevant offices (e.g., Mandarin/Cantonese in Asia)
Evidence Signals
- Clerkship, paralegal or substantive internship experience (demonstrable matter work)
- Cross-border or multi-jurisdictional project experience
- Commercial work experience or industry-relevant placements
- Language skills for target international offices (e.g., Mandarin/Cantonese for Hong Kong/China)
- Pro bono involvement and public-service activities
- Demonstrable initiative (running projects, leading teams, founding activities) and clear examples of client service
Benefits & Wellbeing
- Trainee salary Year 1: £60,000
- Trainee salary Year 2: £68,000
- NQ salary: £165,000
- PGDL/GDL grant: £15,000
- SQE grant: £20,000
- Competitive compensation and benefits packages
- Private medical, dental and life insurance (explicitly mentioned in Hong Kong office information)
- Support for additional study and training (study leave/support referenced)
- Access to firmwide training programmes and New Lawyer Academy
- Pro bono opportunities and substantial firmwide pro bono resourcing
- Annual leave: 25 days (supplementary data)
Wellbeing
The firm highlights professional development, mentoring and pro bono engagement as central to lawyer wellbeing; medical, dental and life insurance are explicitly offered in some offices. Insider data flags mixed perks/office scores, and the firm offers internal training, mentoring and New Lawyer Academy support.
Awards & Recognition
- BTI Consulting Group — Ranked #1 in BTI Client Service A-Team (multiple years; cited as sixth consecutive year in one announcement)
- BTI — Identified as an M&A Powerhouse (M&A Outlook 2022 commentary referenced on firm pages)
- Chambers Global — 2024: 105 practice rankings and 114 lawyer rankings (firm announcement)
- Chambers Asia-Pacific — 2026: Ranked in 22 practice areas, Band 1 rankings in Intellectual Property (Asia-Pacific Region) and Corporate/M&A (Singapore)
- Chambers USA — 2026: Best-in-field / multiple Band 1 practice rankings and numerous Band 1 lawyer rankings (firm announcement)
- Legal 500 U.S. — 2024/2025: Multiple practice rankings and recommended lawyers; Legal 500 Asia-Pacific 2026: 35 practice rankings including three Tier 1 rankings
- Best Law Firms® / The Best Lawyers in America — multiple recognitions across jurisdictions (firm announcements cited)
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
Jones Day states a firmwide commitment to hiring, retaining and developing lawyers from historically underrepresented groups and to supporting pipeline programmes; the firm emphasises merit-based employment decisions while running firmwide and office-level inclusion committees and external partnerships to broaden access to the profession.
- Firmwide Inclusion and Advancement Committee (IAC)
- Firmwide Women’s Affinity Group
- Office-level inclusion committees and local affinity groups
- Conference for first-year law students
- New Lawyers Group and New Lawyer Academy (developmental pipeline)
- Perspectives and Pathways podcast and similar career-development programming
- Firm sponsorship/partnerships: Lambda Legal (national sponsor/partner), Leadership Council on Legal Diversity (national sponsor/partner), SEO Law Fellowship Program (supporter)
Pro Bono
Jones Day regularly dedicates over 200,000 hours annually to pro bono matters. The firm runs global initiatives (e.g., Ukraine Task Force), local legal clinics, and pro bono leadership is coordinated firmwide (Global Pro Bono lead: Laura K. Tuell). Pro bono work is counted toward professional development assessments and the firm supports large and small matters across jurisdictions.
Innovation
Jones Day positions itself to advise on technology-driven legal issues and invests in specialist practices (cybersecurity/privacy, data protection) and thought leadership on new technologies. The site highlights the firm’s readiness to counsel clients on blockchain, AI and other emergent technologies. Insider data gives the firm a C rating for legal tech, indicating room for further investment in named legal‑tech product rollouts or firmwide tools.
- Firm thought leadership and programming on emerging technologies (AI, blockchain, robotics, self-driving vehicles) and related legal implications
- Cybersecurity, Privacy & Data Protection practice group (dedicated practice)
- Firmwide communications and learning resources (webinars, JONES DAY TALKS® and the What Makes Us One series)
Quick Application Angles
- Position applications around 'One Firm Worldwide' — highlight cross-office, multi-jurisdictional experience or an ability to work on international teams (the firm emphasises seamless cross-office collaboration).
- Reference relevant recent matters (e.g., BioMarin’s $4.8bn acquisition, Wabtec’s $800m acquisition) when demonstrating commercial awareness in M&A/sector applications.
- Emphasise ability to take responsibility early and shape your own seat mix — Jones Day’s New Lawyers Group/non-rotational approach rewards initiative and the ability to manage and seek out work.
- Call out technical strengths or language skills that match the office applied to (e.g., Mandarin/Cantonese and cross-border experience for Hong Kong/Beijing/Shanghai roles).
- Leverage insider metrics in interviews: the firm scores highly for training quality (A), quality of work (A*) and partner approachability (A) — show evidence you will thrive in a rigorous, high-quality environment even if it means long hours.
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