Insider report Jones Day
Tara Bhattacharjee completed the winter vacation scheme at Jones Day in 2018 and will commence her training contract in 2021.
No of scheme places 70 Location of schemes London Length of schemes 2 weeks Remuneration (per week) £500 Dates of schemes Winter: December 2019 Spring: April 2020 Applications open on 1 September 2019. We recruit on a rolling basis and cannot guarantee availability, so apply early. Final deadlines: Winter: 25 October 2019 Spring: 13 December 2019 Summer: 10 January 2020 We recruit nearly all trainees from our placement candidates. Application procedure Online at www.jonesdaylondon.com Summer: July 2020 Closing date for applications For full contact information and details of Training Contracts, see the firm’s full entry in the main directory on p367
What did you do while on the vacation scheme (eg, type of work, networking, presentations or social events)? The interesting and unique thing about doing a vacation scheme at Jones Day is that you’re not put in a specific department or seat. On our first day we were introduced to the scheme, given IT training and an office plan and then told to ‘walk the floors’ – which means approaching lawyers directly to ask for work. This meant that I was able to target the departments I was particularly interested in and assist with their current cases or transactions. This approach is reflective of the non-rotational training contract the firm operates, so the two-weeks was really like a ‘mini-training contract’ and allowed me to test whether this was the right system for me. The work I did was varied and included sitting in on calls with partners, helping trainees with their work and various research tasks. For example, I created a research document into the effect that Brexit could have on the financial services industry. There was also a business presentation and negotiation exercise which were great ways to show your commercial awareness rather than testing for legal knowledge. Social events included welcome drinks, ice skating and the Jones Day Christmas party which was definitely one of the highlights of the vac scheme. What did you feel that you gained from the placement (eg, insight into the firm, useful contacts or an appreciation of a trainee’s workload)? The placement gave me a lot of independence which I really enjoyed. Being able to take ownership of the scheme in this way is not something that you get at other firms’ vacation schemes. Because the work I was doing was on live client matters, it also gave me a realistic insight into the type of work of the firm as well as the way the training contract operates. Which were the most enjoyable – and most challenging – aspects of the scheme? I really liked the freedom afforded by the non-rotational aspect of the scheme and being able to look for my own work. The firm has a genuine open-door policy and everyone I came into contact with was friendly and willing to offer me work or talk to me about their area of practice. The challenging part was juggling the workload through peaks and troughs. Did the scheme end with a training contract interview or some other kind of further recruitment process? Jones Day recruits solely through the vacation scheme. The assessment process is a holistic one and focuses primarily on feedback on work. There was also an interview in the second week. Is there one key thing that you took away from the experience that you would pass on as advice to others? Don’t be afraid about approaching lawyers, whatever their seniority. Ensuring you get work from a broad range of people is what the scheme is about.
Remember to cite The LawCareers.Net Handbook on your application form if you apply to this law firm.
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WORK EXPERIENCE
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