Our Firm has focused rigorous attention on diversity. As a global law firm with more than 2400 lawyers in 42 offices around the world, who are citizens of 58 nations and speak some 60 languages, diversity is in our DNA. We understand that a strong team is a diverse team and that a variety of backgrounds and perspectives makes us better able to meet our clients’ needs. It is our goal, therefore, to be the firm of choice for highly qualified diverse lawyers. Diversity is not about numbers, however. It is about creating an environment where people of all races, backgrounds, genders, faiths, and family structures feel welcomed and valued. At Jones Day, our diversity mission is to empower our lawyers to use their unique life experiences to provide the best possible service to our clients. We are laser focused on increasing, retaining and advancing our diverse lawyers.

Jones Day’s commitment to diversity is strong and is demonstrated from the ranks of associates through the highest levels of Firm leadership.  As of December 2022, women make up 42% of our U.S. lawyers – 30% of our partnership and 50% of our associates. In the last three years, 19% of the U.S. attorneys admitted to the partnership were diverse and 47% were women.  In the United States, 11% of our partners and 22% of our associates are diverse.  Over the past two years, 14 lawyers of color have joined the partnership in our U.S. offices, either by elevation from the ranks or laterally.  Of the law school graduates and judicial clerks who joined our U.S. offices in the fall of 2022, 51% are women and 22% are diverse.

The Firm’s leadership similarly reflects this commitment.  Jones Day’s office and regional leadership is the most diverse in the country (per Bloomberg Legal News). Kevyn Orr, a diverse partner, is Partner-in-Charge of the U.S. region, which includes 2,847 lawyers and staff.  Kevyn, an up through the ranks partner, has held many leadership positions in the firm, including Partner-in-Charge of Diversity, Firmwide Hiring Partner, and Partner-in-Charge of the Washington office.  More than half of the 18 U.S. offices were led by a woman and/or a diverse lawyer in 2022, including many of our largest:  Chicago (234), Cleveland (620), Dallas (152), Los Angeles (149), and Washington (342).  The Partners-in-Charge of our California Region and Southeast Regions are women.  Women also lead our European Region, with 931 personnel, as well as nine individual offices in Europe and Asia.  Women lead or are in key leadership roles for 31% of Firmwide practice groups, including  two regional practice groups – Firm's European Distress Investing and Alternative Capital Initiatives; and M&A Asia.  Seven of 15 members of the Firm’s Partnership Committee, which advises on partner compensation and admission, are diverse and/or female.  And the Firm’s Advisory Committee this year is comprised of 47 percent female and/or diverse lawyers.

While we have made significant strides on gender diversity, we recognize that there is much more to do to improve racial diversity in the profession and in the Firm. We are in law schools speaking on panels, conducting writing workshops, judging moot courts, and mentoring diverse students.

It is the policy of the Firm to hire well qualified people to perform the work required to provide exceptional service to clients at reasonable costs. At its core, Jones Day’s culture is one of teamwork. Dedication to and effort for common goals are key to success at all levels of the Firm. This culture of teamwork requires that lawyers and staff members from multiple backgrounds and cultures are all able to develop their potential to contribute to the Firm. 

Lawyers and staff members are expected to respect and display appropriate sensitivity to the different racial, cultural, and other backgrounds of Firm colleagues to promote effective teamwork and professional development. An integral part of this culture is to provide equal employment opportunity for all persons.

Thus, the Firm (1) adheres to applicable laws and regulations with regard to nondiscrimination against job applicants and Firm lawyers and staff members; and (2) provides equal employment opportunity in its recruiting practices and its administration of hiring, working conditions, benefits, compensation, training, opportunities for advancement, and terminations of employment, without regard to a person’s age, race, religious creed, gender, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, color, national origin, ancestry, genetic information, or mental or physical disability or any other status protected by applicable law. All lawyers and staff members are expected to carry out their job responsibilities in a manner that comports with the Firm’s equal employment opportunity policy.

Jones Day is partnering with The University of Minnesota Law School on the new Jones Day Diversity Fellowship, with hopes of increasing diversity in the legal profession.  The fellowship will kick off in fall 2023 with its inaugural student selected from the next class of incoming law students.  The recipient of the fellowship will receive a full-tuition scholarship for all three years of law school, a position as a paid summer associate at Jones Day during the first two years of law school, mentorship from Jones Day attorneys and consideration for a full-time position after graduation. The firm has arranged for the fellowship to continue for the next five years.

In 2016, we started an annual Diversity Conference for First year law students, Perspectives and Pathways.  We invite 60 to 100 students from across the country (all expenses paid) to spend two days in one of our offices with Jones Day lawyers and in-house counsel learning about the practice of law and the many different career paths available to law school graduates.

Jones Day is a strong supporter of Sponsors for Educational Opportunity (SEO).  SEO provides students from under-represented populations the opportunity to get real life experience working in a law firm during the summer before their first year of law school.  In 2022, we partnered with SEO in our Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Columbus, Dallas, Detroit, Houston, Miami, New York, San Diego, San Francisco and Washington offices — more locations than any other SEO law firm partner.  As a result of this partnership, each of these offices welcomed one or more SEO Fellows into their summer associate programs.

The Firm is also a founding member of the Leadership Council on Legal  Diversity (LCLD).  We have just selected our tenth lawyer to participate in the year-long LCLD Fellows program. We also participate in LCLD’s Pathfinder’s Program, the Success in Law School Mentoring Program and the 1L Scholars Program — all aimed at providing networking and business development opportunities for diverse lawyers at different stages of their legal career.  Other pipeline organizations the Firm supports include Just the Beginning Foundation, the Ohio Law and Leadership Institute, and NY Legal Outreach.

Jones Day is partnering with The University of Minnesota Law School on the new Jones Day Diversity Fellowship, with hopes of increasing diversity in the legal profession.  The fellowship will kick off in fall 2023 with its inaugural student selected from the next class of incoming law students.  The recipient of the fellowship will receive a full-tuition scholarship for all three years of law school, a position as a paid summer associate at Jones Day during the first two years of law school, mentorship from Jones Day attorneys and consideration for a full-time position after graduation. The firm has arranged for the fellowship to continue for the next five years.

In 2016, we started an annual Diversity Conference for First year law students, Perspectives and Pathways.  We invite 60 to 100 students from across the country (all expenses paid) to spend two days in one of our offices with Jones Day lawyers and in-house counsel learning about the practice of law and the many different career paths available to law school graduates.

Jones Day is a strong supporter of Sponsors for Educational Opportunity (SEO).  SEO provides students from under-represented populations the opportunity to get real life experience working in a law firm during the summer before their first year of law school.  In 2022, we partnered with SEO in our Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Columbus, Dallas, Detroit, Houston, Miami, New York, San Diego, San Francisco and Washington offices — more locations than any other SEO law firm partner.  As a result of this partnership, each of these offices welcomed one or more SEO Fellows into their summer associate programs.

The Firm is also a founding member of the Leadership Council on Legal  Diversity (LCLD).  We have just selected our tenth lawyer to participate in the year-long LCLD Fellows program. We also participate in LCLD’s Pathfinder’s Program, the Success in Law School Mentoring Program and the 1L Scholars Program — all aimed at providing networking and business development opportunities for diverse lawyers at different stages of their legal career.  Other pipeline organizations the Firm supports include Just the Beginning Foundation, the Ohio Law and Leadership Institute, and NY Legal Outreach.