The Work

At Jones Day we give our summer associates real work for real clients, to provide them an opportunity to learn what the practice of law at a large firm is all about. At the same time, providing challenging assignments allows us to assess summer associates' potential to deliver first-rate legal services and to flourish in the Jones Day culture.

Summer associates will find themselves undertaking a wide variety of assignments, from drafting transactional documents, writing a basic legal research memo, and drafting significant portions of a brief, to framing discovery requests, interviewing witnesses, and learning the mechanics of closing a deal. Summer associates often work directly with partners and other senior lawyers in preparing for depositions, arguments, negotiations, or client meetings. Whenever possible, with the consent of the client, we give summer associates the opportunity to attend closings, meetings, depositions, and hearings, sometimes involving out-of-town travel.

We do not operate a formal rotation system. Rather, we strive to ensure that each summer associate receives a variety of assignments for different lawyers, with a focus on those practices in which the summer associate has expressed a particular interest, so that he or she may gain exposure to a variety of practice areas and lawyering styles. Pro bono work is an important component of our summer program.

We emphasize real-world training for our summer associates. While training activities will vary from office to office, typically the summer associate will participate in hands-on training in one or more exercises such as depositions, oral arguments, and negotiations, as well as programs on legal research and writing. Some offices conduct full-blown trial programs.  But the most effective training is on-the-job, which is why we place a premium on having our summer associates do meaningful client work.

Each summer associate is evaluated informally after each assignment and receives a formal evaluation halfway through the summer. We also assign mentors to each summer associate, to help him or her make the most of all aspects of the Jones Day summer experience.

The Activities

Throughout the summer we host activities that are designed to showcase the cultural offerings of the cities in which we practice. For summer associates who are new to a particular city, these events provide an opportunity to get to know the city's neighborhoods, arts, sports teams, and restaurants. For all of our summer associates, our social and community service programs provide a great way to get to know our lawyers, their families, and their communities.

The Intangibles

Over the course of the summer, we evaluate whether our summer associates are compatible with the Firm's culture. We are seeking lawyers who will thrive in the exceptionally supportive, nonhierarchical, team environment that is the hallmark of Jones Day. We want our lawyers to share certain fundamental principles: exemplary integrity, a selfless dedication to the Firm and our clients, and a sense of responsibility and initiative that leads them to take ownership of assignments and to perform them at the highest level of quality legal service. We seek lawyers who are always looking for opportunities to contribute more in solving our clients' problems and who focus on "why" we are crafting a particular solution rather than merely concentrating on the mechanics of "what" needs to be done.

Our summer associates have a sense of involvement in the Firm and leave with an accurate picture of what being a Jones Day lawyer is like.  Perhaps that is why our acceptance rates are high and the vast majority of our new associates join us after spending a summer at Jones Day.