Kailey McNeal joined our New Lawyers Group (NLG) in 2024. The NLG provides our newest lawyers with the opportunity to gain exposure to different practice areas and lawyering styles before making a commitment to a specific practice. Individuals in the NLG may focus on a particular area of practice, or compare practices, during their first year with Jones Day.
Prior to joining Jones Day, Kailey worked primarily in animal protection legislation in her home state of Texas and in the District of Columbia. She has drafted legislation and provided oral and written testimony before the Council of the District of Columbia. She is a member of the D.C. Bar Association's Animal Law Committee and a young lawyer vice chair for the American Bar Association's (ABA) Animal Law Committee within the ABA's Tort, Trial, and Insurance Practice Section.
Kailey is also passionate about criminal justice, earning Best Oral Advocate, Best Written Submission, and Best Overall Team at D.C. Justice Lab's Richard K. Gilbert Policy Competition in 2024. Kailey spent her final year of law school as a student attorney in GW Law's Criminal Appeals and Post-Conviction Clinic (CAPS), where she represented an incarcerated client in oral argument before the Appellate Court of Maryland. Outside of the office, she is a volunteer mock trial teacher at Stuart Hobson Middle School.
- The George Washington University (J.D. with honors 2024; Presidential Merit Scholarship; Hojo Scholarship in Animal Law; Dean's Recognition for Professional Development); Pitzer College (B.A. in Political Studies with honors 2021)
- District of Columbia
- Law Clerk: U.S. Department of Justice, Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD), Environmental Crimes Section (Spring 2023) and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Environmental Appeals Board (Fall 2022)