The London office of US firm Jones Day has lost as many as eight partners in just eight months. Now, former partners are weighing on what might be pushing talent away from the firm. According to one former partner, the notorious lack of standardisation and transparency around the way the firm rewards members of its partnership may be breeding an uncomfortable workplace culture at Jones Day and unsustainable relationships with management. The firm does not publish an associate pay scale, with partner remuneration determined by management on a case-by-case basis.
While the secrecy around pay can help smooth over workplace hierarchies, it can also ‘breed mistrust’, argues one former Jones Day partner. ‘There’s no origination credit and no billing credit, and somehow the firm is meant to see what you have done and compensate you accordingly – how do you know that works?’ they commented.
However, other former partners have defended the ‘black box’ system, arguing that it avoids oversimplifying remuneration and reduces salary competition. ‘[Jones Day] thinks that its compensation system works better because people aren’t always vying for better salaries,’ commented one ex-partner formerly based in Jones Day’s New York office. Another added: ‘As long as I’m getting what I think I’m worth in the market why should I give a monkeys what someone down the corridor gets paid?’
Recent partner demotions and a sense of disconnection between the London office and the global Jones Day firm have also been thrown up us possible reasons behind the exodus. Source: Legal Week
Email your news and story ideas to: [email protected]
