2024 DIVERSITY DATABASE UNDERWRITER Jones Day

• “Lawyers at the firm generally provide substantive assignments during the summer associate program, and the firm aims to ensure that every summer associate has at least one substantive writing assignment, such as a memorandum. The summer associate program also involves significant training, including deposition, negotiation, and writing workshops.”
• “In the summer program, you get assignments in any practice group for which you express interest. Sometimes, attorneys reach out to you with an assignment. Other times, you reach out to them. I was impressed by the willingness of partners from other offices around the world to put me on matters when I reached out to express interest.”
• “The firm assigned each summer associate a dedicated work-assigner who ensured that we had adequate workloads during the summer. I was assigned a variety of projects in different practice areas, which allowed me to get a small experience with each group.”
• “The firm has a very well-organized assignment system where summer associates express interests in various groups and are then doled out projects based on those interests. The projects range from business development work, pro bono projects, and billable matters. They are all substantive, and all require summer associates to meet and coordinate with more-senior associates and partners. Summer associates also partake in weekly trainings and discussions that are super helpful in developing an understanding of the firm's culture and partner expectations.”

• “We had two or three social events every week, which gave us plenty of opportunities to interact with attorneys in our office and at other offices. The firm also held a firmwide summer associate academy, where we met the firm's senior leaders and all summer associates. I still stay in touch with the summer associates I met, and they have introduced me to other attorneys. Everyone is willing to help each other out.”
• “The summer associate program had many wonderful social events. We did a cooking class, top golf, pottery class, weekend in Palm Springs, and much more. The associates are extremely welcoming and lovely to hang out with.”
• “There were so many chances to interact with attorneys in the firm and other summer associates at a variety of social events, including regular lunches, happy hours, and fun events like boat rides and paddle boarding. Our summer associate class was very close by the end of summer, which made returning to the firm after law school feel more like reuniting with friends. Favorite event = go kart tournament.”
• “Our summer class was extremely close, and we all got along well and are good friends. The firm put attorneys (from partners to associates) in front of us in social and professional settings every single day. Additionally, even as a summer, you could knock on anyone's door, and they would be more than happy to talk or get coffee. The events were great. Braves games, bike tours, bars, axe throwing. We probably had two events a week, at least.”

• “When I was a summer, our assignment system was relatively coordinated and structured. Now, during our New Lawyers Group year, I feel like it's very free market with assignments. If you are able to get work you like, it's something that you have had to spearhead.”
• “The biggest difference between the summer program and starting as an associate is the manner in which work is distributed. During the summer, they had assignments ready for you as soon as you arrived and made sure that you continuously had work. As an associate, it is largely your responsibility to solicit work opportunities from within the firm, which can take some getting used to. I have been pleasantly surprised by the substantive assignments I have received and the amount of trust that has been placed in my work product and judgment. … I have drafted pleadings, motions, and discovery responses. In short, as an associate, I feel like a valued member of the team.”
• “The experience is what I predicted after my summer. Hard work and sometimes long hours that are substantively interesting and exciting. The firm means what it says when it offers new lawyers a year to figure out what they are interested in, and I have taken advantage of that to the fullest extent.”
• “I'm getting work that I didn't expect to see until I was a third or fourth year. Further, I've had several face-to-face client interactions as a first year.”

Jones Day provides unlimited opportunities for talented lawyers, not only within the firm but also in boardrooms and courtrooms worldwide. Participation as a summer associate is the best entryway to these opportunities. Our dedication to training and the relatively small size of the summer/new lawyer programs enable us to staff matters leanly, providing summer associates and junior lawyers with substantive and meaningful experiences on cutting-edge legal matters. Because of the Firm’s structure and supportive and collaborative environment, summer associates and junior lawyers also have vast resources at their disposal, not least of which is the firm’s deep and well-regarded bench of 2,500 practitioners across the globe. In addition, summer associates join in pro bono projects and community service work with organizations both inside and outside the law to address pressing social issues, including human trafficking, asylum, clemency, domestic violence, and veterans’ affairs, to name a few.