Jones Day
Global law firm, 133 years old, $2.88B revenue, 13th largest by revenue in the US.
On the record
Checkpoint: 2026 Am Law 200 rankings release, showing whether revenue-per-lawyer gap to Kirkland/Latham widened
The call
Jones Day is not disappearing, but it is growing slower than Kirkland and Latham while AI chips at the associate hours its pyramid depends on.
Jones Day is a major law firm that helps large companies with mergers, deals, and legal problems. It is hard to replace because lawyers need licenses from the state to practice, clients trust the firm's long history with Fortune 500 companies, and former Jones Day lawyers now work in the federal government and courts. The real challenge is that bigger rivals like Kirkland and Latham are growing much faster, and artificial intelligence is starting to do work that junior lawyers used to do, which could squeeze the firm's profits if it keeps relying on the old model of charging by the hour for junior lawyer time.
Why
01
AI pressure: GenAI document review and contract analysis tools. AI drafts first-pass memos and reviews documents, squeezing the associate-hour pyramid Jones Day bills on. Could AI do the core job? Unlikely.
02
Bigger players: Kirkland & Ellis and Latham & Watkins. Both firms are 2.5 to 3.7 times Jones Day's revenue and dominate 2025 M&A league tables, pulling laterals with bigger paychecks. Could a giant copy it? No, they are blocked.
03
What protects it. Bar licensure and malpractice liability mean only a licensed attorney can sign off on legal advice, so AI cannot replace the top of the pyramid.
What would change this call
2026 Am Law 200 rankings released showing Jones Day revenue-per-lawyer trend vs Kirkland and Latham. Would confirm whether Jones Day is losing ground in growth rate to faster-scaling rivals.
Reports of senior Jones Day partners departing to Kirkland, Latham, or other two-tier firms with guaranteed comp. Would show single-tier partnership model is losing talent to rivals' pay structures.
Jones Day announces shift from hourly billing to fixed or outcome-based fees on major matters. Would indicate AI is compressing associate billable-hour economics faster than expected.
Reports of senior Jones Day partners departing to Kirkland, Latham, or other two-tier firms with guaranteed comp. Would show single-tier partnership model is losing talent to rivals' pay structures.
Jones Day announces shift from hourly billing to fixed or outcome-based fees on major matters. Would indicate AI is compressing associate billable-hour economics faster than expected.
Key numbers
- $2.88B revenue in 2024
- Revenue grew from $2.5B (2022) to $2.88B (2024)
- Kirkland & Ellis revenue ~$10.8B, 3.7x Jones Day
Named risks
- AI-driven compression of billable associate hours eroding pyramid economics.
- Relative scale gap widening versus Kirkland and Latham in revenue and M&A league tables.
- Potential political retaliation risk tied to alumni ties to Trump-era DOJ officials.
- Recurring gender-discrimination and pay-bias litigation history could resurface reputationally.
Rivals, as read in July 2026
| Rival | Direction | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Kirkland & Ellis | losing to | 2024 revenue ~$10.8B vs Jones Day $2.88B; pressuring mid-tier firms per Bloomberg Tax, April 2026 |
| Latham & Watkins | losing to | 2024 revenue ~$7.0B vs $2.88B; topped 2025 global M&A volume at $786.7B, Jan 2026 |
| Skadden Arps | contesting | Named among top-five 2025 M&A advisers while Jones Day was not, per Bloomberg Law, Jan 2026 |
Questions people ask
- Is Jones Day profitable and growing in 2026?
- Yes. Jones Day's gross revenue grew from about $2.5 billion in 2022 to approximately $2.88 billion in 2024, ranking 13th on the 2025 Am Law 200. The firm added 33 new partners effective January 1, 2026, showing continued organic growth rather than contraction, as of December 2025.
- Has Jones Day had layoffs in 2025 or 2026?
- No evidence of layoffs was found at Jones Day in 2025 to 2026. Broader legal-market layoff trackers as of November 2025 did not name Jones Day, and the firm instead added 33 new partners effective January 1, 2026 and made multiple lateral hires through mid-2026.
- Who is Jones Day's biggest competitor?
- Kirkland & Ellis (2024 revenue about $10.8 billion) and Latham & Watkins (about $7.0 billion) are Jones Day's biggest rivals, both 2.5 to 3.7 times Jones Day's $2.88 billion 2024 revenue. Latham led 2025 global M&A volume at $786.7 billion, with Jones Day absent from the top five M&A advisers that year, per Bloomberg Law, January 2026.
- Could AI replace lawyers at Jones Day?
- Not the core work. AI is compressing associate-level tasks like document review, contract review, and first-draft memos, per Jones Day's own September 2025 client content, but licensure and malpractice liability rules block AI from court appearances or privileged advice, protecting senior attorney roles as of mid-2026.
- Who owns Jones Day?
- Jones Day is a private, single-tier partnership, not a publicly traded company and not VC-backed. There is no separate non-equity partner class; equity partners own and govern the firm, with Gregory M. Shumaker serving as Managing Partner as of 2026.
- Is Jones Day losing ground to Kirkland & Ellis and Latham & Watkins?
- In relative scale, yes. Kirkland (~$10.8B) and Latham (~$7.0B) 2024 revenues dwarf Jones Day's $2.88 billion, and Bloomberg Tax reported in April 2026 that Kirkland's outsized growth is pressuring mid-tier Global 200 firms like Jones Day to compete on culture rather than deal volume.
Timeline
- 2026-07-22Law.com reports single-tier partnership model helps Jones Day attract lateral hires
- 2026-06-16Jones Day hires McDermott real estate partner in New York
- 2026-06-10Jones Day's dedicated Artificial Intelligence advisory practice page live
- 2026-06-02Jones Day Paris ends two-year lateral hiatus, hires Linklaters banking partner
- 2026-04-16Bloomberg Tax reports Kirkland's growth pressuring mid-tier firms like Jones Day
- 2026-01-02Bloomberg Law: Latham tops Kirkland for 2025 M&A crown; Jones Day not in top five
- 2025-12-15Jones Day names 33 new partners effective January 1, 2026
- 2025-07-08Jones Day named BTI Consulting Innovation Icon
- 2025-02-25Jones Day resolves Savignac parental-leave bias lawsuit
Revision history
23 July 2026
First assessed. Hard to displace. The text above is fixed as of this date and is not edited afterwards.
In the same band
Sources
- Jones Day (2026-07-23)
- Jones Day
- Jones Day names 33 new partners (2025-12-15)
- Single-Tier Partnership Helps Jones Day Attract Laterals (2026-07-22)
- Jones Day, Global 2026
- List of largest law firms by revenue (2026-07-02)
- Jones Day named Innovation Icon (2025-07-08)
- Jones Day, Law Firm Profile
- Layoffs are rampant in 2025 (2025-11-30)
- Latham Tops Kirkland for M&A Crown (2026-01-02)
- Kirkland's Remarkable Growth Has Lit a Fire Under Its Competition (2026-04-16)
- GenAI for Lawyers (2025-09)