Since starting with the Firm, I have worked with lawyers in almost every practice area and have been consistently impressed by the level of responsibility and client contact that partners and associates assign to us as trainees. And importantly for my personal development as a lawyer, the...

At Jones Day, you get your own office and they say "go ahead." You seek out the kind of work you want to do, you go knocking on doors, you go to the floor that interests you, or if you don't know yet, you knock on every door and see what comes your way. So, in that sense, you really shape your experience.

How We Recruit
We have one trainee intake in September each year. We mainly recruit through our work Placement Schemes in the Winter, Spring and Summer vacations; but sometimes will make exceptions for those who are unable to complete our schemes. To apply for a Training Contract, apply for a Placement Scheme. A Placement Scheme application is also a Training Contract application.

Am I Eligible? Which Scheme?
You need a 2.1 degree (gained or predicted) and (ideally - though we do make exceptions) AAA at A level (36 in IB or equivalent).
Any final year students, graduates, postgraduates and career changers from law or non-law backgrounds can apply for any scheme.
Penultimate year students of qualifying law degrees can apply for our Summer scheme.
Other students: please meet us at one of our Question Time events, enjoy your early years at University, and apply when eligible.

When Should I Apply?
We will open applications for our 2016/7 Placement Schemes on 1 September 2016. Whilst we will then be recruiting for Training Contracts with start dates for September 2019, we may see fit to recruit into intakes with sooner start dates if places are available and we identify suitable candidates who are able to start sooner.
Please note that places for our schemes are offered on a rolling basis, which means we are unable to guarantee availability of places. So please apply as soon as possible after applications open to avoid disappointment. Our scheme dates (and deadlines) are:

Winter: 5-16 December 2016 (closes 28 October 2016)
Spring: 20-31 March 2017 (closes 16 December 2016)

Summer Schemes:
Scheme 1: 3-14 July 2017
Scheme 2: 17-28 July 2017 (both close 13 January 2017)

It doesn't matter to us whether you are a graduate, postgraduate, or coming from a different career, which University you went to, or whether you read law or not at University. We seek the best and recruit to retain.
Academic achievements are important: we expect at least a 2:1 University degree. But we are equally as interested in the person you are and the lawyer you can become.
We want our trainees to have understood and enjoy our distinctive, non-rotational training system, the global nature of our work and our culture.
We treat you as part of the Firm from the moment you accept a Training Contract offer with us and will stay in touch and support you through Law School until you arrive at the office on your first day as a trainee.
This is your invitation to begin shaping your career at our unique international law firm.

Jones Day is proud of its long tradition of pro bono work.
In London, our active pro bono practice enables lawyers to use their legal skills to help individuals and non-profit organisations both in the UK and internationally. Our lawyers are engaged with Amicus and Reprieve, providing legal support to advocates whose clients are on death row in various parts of the world. As a member of LawWorks, we provide advice to UK clients on wide ranging matters such as dispute resolution, corporate restructuring and real estate. We have a long standing relationship with the Waterloo Legal Advice Centre, to which we provide financial, administrative and organisational support. Every week, our volunteers advise individuals living in the local areas, who cannot afford to pay for legal counsel and do not qualify for Legal Aid, on their everyday legal problems. We also regularly advise non-profit institutions.
Through the Jones Day Foundation, we work with the Bingham Centre for the Rule of Law to create a programme of international events, research and other activities to promote and enhance the rule of law worldwide. Our other international projects include helping the African Prisons Project to build a children's library in Lang'ata Women's Prison in Kenya.