How Is Jones Day Different?

We are a long-term institution; we do not manage to short-term metrics, as our decision not to fire associates and staff during the recent difficult economic environment illustrates.  Decisions are made based on the long-term best interests of the Firm and its clients, and never to any extent on how outside media or other observers evaluate the Firm.  We march to our own drumbeat; we do not feel compelled to respond to other firms’ or analysts’ perceptions of the legal “marketplace.”  We deliberately rely only on self-generated revenues; as a deliberate institutional choice, we have no debt, and thus are not compelled to worry about the reaction of banks or other creditors.  We do not accept that metrics like profits per partner or revenues per lawyer are the most useful measures of law firm success.  Instead, we let our clients determine our success by their continued demand for our services.

We believe that the long-run success of the institution, not any individual or group, must be the governing principle for all decisions.  We believe that we have collective obligations – not only to clients, but to all of those (probably in the aggregate 20,000 or more people) who depend on the continued success of Jones Day as an institution – that outweigh any individual or group desires.  We also believe that most talented lawyers want to provide truly effective service to clients, and that the Firm should be operated to enhance their ability to do so.  We recognize that the words in which these principles are expressed are not unique to Jones Day.  What is unusual is the fact that the Firm is actually managed through the active application of these principles.

There are many rewards, economic and other, to members of a great professional institution. But in the end, they all derive from the willingness of clients to continue to seek help and advice from that institution, to expand their initial use of that institution to other disciplines and other locations, and to communicate to their peers their satisfaction with the professional service they receive – all of which will inevitably be reflected in the continued success of that institution over time. Continuous growth in the amount and kind of legal services that a law firm is asked to undertake for its clients will serve to attract talented lawyers to want to become part of that firm, and will be a strong force in retaining the firm’s talented lawyers against the solicitations they will inevitably receive from others. All of this is self-reinforcing; each aspect strengthens the other. But they all flow from consistently satisfying clients.

There is obviously a significant business component that underlies our professional efforts; we understand we have an obligation to our clients and to all our lawyers, our staff, and their dependents to operate effectively and efficiently. Our view is that is best accomplished by maintaining an intense focus on the values and principles on which Jones Day was built over the years, including most significantly client service. It is the execution of that approach over more than a century that has produced what we believe is a unique global legal institution.