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Satisfaction with Work

• "The quality of work is impressive, and responsibility is possible from the off. Partner contact is constant and the way the firm works is truly non-hierarchical. The deals and transactions are always well explained when a trainee undertakes a task, no matter how trivial that task may be. There is also the opportunity for plenty of client contact." -- First year trainee
• "We get great client interaction from an early stage and with that comes a great deal of responsibility. You are not treated as a "bottom of the pile" trainee, and genuinely get to feel part of a team you can contribute to." -- Second year trainee
• "I have been at the firm for many years and am given enormous responsibility and freedom to pursue my own career path, within the supportive system of a firm. I am lead contact for several clients and have a diverse range of interesting work." -- Senior solicitor
• "Limited interaction with clients." -- Senior solicitor

• "It is possible to take on as much responsibility as you wish. The opportunity is certainly there to take on work at a level you might be surprised to experience at other firms. The non-hierarchical structure is at the heart of the training scheme in that we work consistently with partners directly, and grow in confidence by doing so." -- First year trainee
• "I have been given steadily increasing levels of responsibility and had client and partner contact from the start (which has also steadily increased). I have been exposed to a wide range of transactions, especially in the areas of M&A, capital markets and private equity." -- Second year trainee
• "I get a lot of high quality work, which is both interesting and challenging. From relatively early on in my training contract I was entrusted with meeting with clients and answering their queries directly. Jones Day is great in that it allows you the room to develop and learn, whilst providing the necessary support and supervision." -- Newly qualified solicitor

What does your typical day at work involve?

• "Summarising documents, research, pro bono projects, due diligence, drafting." -- First year trainee
• "Visiting the fee earners in their offices registering an interest in working for them/their department. Taking notes on tasks given, completing the work, gaining feedback and making amendments." -- First year trainee
• "Every day varies especially as we have a non-rotational system, you can be doing property one day, litigation the next." -- Second year trainee
• "Reviewing and negotiating transaction documents, drafting emails, liaising with colleagues." -- Senior solicitor
• "Getting up-to-date with client and general law developments of the day – finish overnight work from the US, address new projects, internal meetings, providing training in-house, drafting client newsletters, writing articles." -- Senior solicitor

• "Because of the non-seat system, working for different departments simultaneously means every day is different." -- First year trainee
• "Conference calls, drafting/reviewing documents, now (18 months in) "supervising" more junior trainees for basic tasks, liaising with clients, associates, partners, attending meetings." -- Second year trainee
• "Research tasks, document management, drafting, client correspondence and in-firm training." -- First year trainee
• "Varied. Some days I will be focusing solely on a large litigation case, either conducting research or doing case analysis. Others I will be focusing on a large number of smaller cases, drafting letters, applications, witness statements and emailing or otherwise communicating with clients." -- Newly qualified solicitor

Culture

• "Because of the seat structure there is great trainee solidarity and one can always go to a fellow trainee to ask any number of questions or float ideas." -- First year trainee
• "It is a very friendly and sociable firm. There is no top-down hierarchy which makes for a comfortable working environment." -- First year trainee
• "The culture is extremely informal (in a good way). There is genuinely no social hierarchy, which means partners to secretaries are treated equally and all have banter with one another. There is, of course, a professional hierarchy. Trainees support each other, especially because the non-rotational system gives trainees the ability to concentrate on their preferred areas throughout their contracts. So a trainee with a corporate focus will know who to call if they have a litigation related question, and vice versa." -- Second year trainee
• "Very few social events organised by the firm. Lawyers do not really interact outside work with each other unless they went to the same uni or become friends during the course of training. Associates compete heavily for billable hours. I find associates very professional at my firm." -- Senior solicitor

• "Trainees help each other out with finding work if they know someone to be busy, indicating which partners and associates have helped them produce good work and who are consequently good to work for. Trainees socialise as a whole or in smaller groups on an ad hoc basis." -- First year trainee
• "It is great to be part of a medium-sized firm as it enables you to know people across the different departments. Trainee intake is relatively small (between 8 – 12 typically) which means you get to know each other and make solid friendships." -- Second year trainee
• "As no formal supervising structure exists, trainees are especially supportive of one another and are a common first port of call for questions." -- First year trainee
• "Jones Day has partners which head up the different departments much like any law firm. I work very closely with my supervising partner in all the work that I do and the other associates are all very supportive. As well as being good work colleagues, a number of the members of the firm are also my friends, and we regularly meet up in the pub for a pint on Friday evenings." -- Newly qualified solicitor

Seats during the Training Contract

• "We have a non-seat system, so technically, over the two-year training contract you can experience doing work for every single department in the firm. There is a lot of choice. Recently, the firm has opened up a secondment to the firm's Dubai office." -- First year trainee
• "We do not have a seat system, which I think works really well as it allows us to be more flexible in our approach to the departments and gain a real understanding of a department over a long period of time, rather than it being a forced 4 or 6 month seat." -- Second year trainee
• "Non-rotational system, hence no seats. There’s a very broad choice of departments to work for (within SRA requirements to complete a certain amount of work in contentious and non-contentious areas). No general seat abroad system, but travel is possible on transactions." -- Second year trainee

• "There is no formal rotational seat system. This means that we are able to try every department and hence make an informed decision as to where we should qualify. The choice is huge and you can shape your training contract to a certain extent." -- First year trainee
• "Non-seat system. We take work from as many, or as few, departments as we wish. The choice is completely free (subject to SRA requirements). There is an opportunity to do a seat in Dubai." -- First year trainee
• "We do not operate a seat system. The non-rotational system allows us to gain an insight and experience in all departments, or as many as we choose (so long as we gain experience in at least three areas). Recently, it has become possible to go to Dubai on secondment for 6 months." -- First year trainee

Partner / Solicitor Relations

• "The patchy communication of firm-wide decisions and the lack of involvement of people in those decisions are probably the worst things about the firm." -- Senior solicitor
• "I work very closely with my supervising partner who respects my opinion and values the input I am able to give. The partners as a whole at the firm keep us involved with updates as to new work and marketing events." -- Newly qualified solicitor
• "No information about firm-wide decisions." -- Senior solicitor

• [NB. Since April this year, the firm has taken proactive steps to involve all Associates in Business Development (BD) and Marketing. Regular meetings and presentations from our BD Partner and BD team to Associates have taken place and Associates are involved in individual BD initiatives. In addition, all Associates were allocated a significant budget for a client event which they led and at which over 80 of their nominated clients have since attended. Further, steps have been and continue to be taken to ensure we communicate transactions and deals both internally and to the press and to mention Associates in press releases. We are also now actively communicating to our Associates details of new lawyer arrivals, general growth plans and new business won.]
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Formal Training

• "PSC course is completed throughout the training contract; this aims to introduce the topics as they have become more meaningful rather than in isolation at the start of the job. A one-on-one training session for the legal databases is given." -- First year trainee
• "There is a series of seminars and workshops set up which are taken seriously and are usually very relevant to the work we undertake. So far, the learning has been factual rather than skills based." -- First year trainee
• "The firm has a comprehensive CPD programme as well as weekly departmental updates." -- Newly qualified solicitor

• "Very well organised, taken very seriously, attendance is mandatory. Skills taught are both legal and non-legal." -- First year trainee
• "Training programmes are organised and taken seriously. Generally, there is time to attend the events, although of course work can occasionally get in the way. The seminars are generally good, although of course different topics are more relevant to different trainees." -- Second year trainee
• "Enough time to attend legal training and what there is, is very good, but there is little budget to attend outside seminars/events." -- Senior solicitor

Informal Training & Mentoring

• "Every piece of work you receive is a form of training as long as you receive feedback. Associates and partners are incredibly accessible and you benefit from having any number of mentors at one time. Drafting, research skills and due diligence have been a focus area recently in my training contract." -- First year trainee
• "Lots of fee earners on hand to help out/answer queries, etc. be they partners, associates or trainees. Informal training happens on a day-to-day basis. Partners and solicitors make good mentors and are accessible." -- First year trainee
• "My supervising partner sets aside a lot of time to teach me new areas of law. I have also learnt a lot about client management from being so closely involved in this aspect of the job." -- Newly qualified solicitor

• "Most people are willing to help with whatever issue you have. It's easy to approach all associates and partners and they are willing to give advice." -- First year trainee
• "I find the informal training by far the more important element. Literally all of the firm's lawyers are very accessible, and partners will take the time to discuss transactions with trainees and provide advice regarding career development and other issues. I have also learnt a lot from observing partners or senior associates negotiate documents and deal with clients and other lawyers, both in terms of legal skills and "soft" skills." -- Second year trainee
• "I have had no mentoring." -- Senior solicitor

Career Progression

• "I became a partner at 6 years PQE (and subsequently ceased to be one when I went part-time), but it is now a longer process." -- Senior solicitor

• "Not at all easy to move. Promotion is very slow and in order to be promoted you have to know the US partners very well." -- Senior solicitor

Pro Bono

• "It counts as billable hours and there is a dedicated pro bono partner." -- Newly qualified solicitor

• "Pro bono is encouraged but not compulsory or in any quota." -- Senior solicitor

Diversity (women, minorities & LGBT)

• "The maternity leave policy is not very generous, but flexible arrangements for working with a family are very good. In terms of ethnic minorities, I think we do pretty well." -- Senior solicitor

Offices & Dress Code

• "The key difference regarding the office is that every trainee has his own office (mine happens to be particularly spacious). Otherwise, facilities are fairly standard, I suppose. Dress code is comparatively informal, most dress down on Fridays, and quite a few partners can be spotted in jeans even during the week. Clearly, business attire is obligatory for client meetings, etc., but the atmosphere internally is fairly relaxed." -- Second year trainee
• "Office space is a good size, though no office sharing, no food facilities or vending machines." -- Senior solicitor
• "The offices are pleasant and the facilities are good. The dress code is a bit vague, but seems to work okay." -- Senior solicitor

• "It is great to have your own office with no distractions. It makes you a more independent worker and forces you to increase your confidence as interaction with the rest of the office is not automatic." -- First year trainee
• "Professional attire Mon – Thurs. Smart/casual on Friday (unless attending a client meeting).Lovely office space, lots of lights. Central location. Good facilities." -- First year trainee
• "The office is very good and new, with each associate (and trainee) getting their own office. The dress code is fairly relaxed with the last Friday of every month being a charity-donation based dress down day." -- Newly qualified solicitor

Green Initiatives

• "Glass bottles, recycling bins, cycling schemes, sensor lights." -- First year trainee
• "There is a new policy of turning off the printers overnight when not in use." -- Newly qualified solicitor

• "Printers and air-conditioning are turned off overnight, paper is recycled." -- Second year trainee
• "We just recycle paper." -- Senior solicitor

Where do you see yourself over the course of the next 5-10 years?

• "I see myself continuing as I am." -- Senior solicitor
• "In-house opportunities." -- Senior solicitor

• "Hopefully making partner." -- Newly qualified solicitor

How prepared do you feel to practise law upon qualification?

• "Very prepared." -- Second year trainee
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• "95%" -- First year trainee
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