Biglaw

Even When They Try To Do Good, Jones Day Screws It Up

Donald Trump's law firm of choice can't even get pro bono representation right.

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A Jones Day recruiter on the lookout for new talent, probably. And yes, this caption works regardless of who you think the recruiter is in this picture. (image via Getty)

Jones Day has come under a lot of well-deserved scrutiny during the Trump administration. They have become the legal farm team for the Trump administration, and given the Trump administration’s actually embarrassing record in court, that is not a compliment. We all knew that some Biglaw firm would sacrifice its reputation for the racist, sexist, authoritarian President. However, if you had polled lawyers in 2015 and asked them “which one” Jones Day would have easily been in the top-three, which means their current role as Trump stooges has the added effect of being totally “on brand” for the firm.

A normal firm would look to mitigate its increasingly evil reputation by loudly promoting the “good works” done by its lawyers. Jones Day somehow got the National Law Journal to put it on their “pro bono hot list” for 2019. Among other things, the publication touted the firm’s victory in an asylum case. That’s a little bit like lauding the arsonist for calling the fire department, but whatever.

Luckily this is Jones Day we’re talking about. Even when it tries to get good press, the firm’s true colors shine though. From the ABA Journal:

Two former mobile home owners have filed a malpractice suit against Jones Day that claims that the law firm’s work on their eviction case was a “fiasco.”

Zona Bernier and Gary Hill of Orange County, California, allege that Jones Day pressured them to accept a “burdensome settlement” without asserting legitimate defenses and then dropped them as clients a few weeks after the deal was signed. Bernier and Hill said they couldn’t navigate the deal themselves, and they became “permanently homeless” after being evicted.

Defendants are Jones Day and four attorneys.

Again, so on-brand for the firm. The allegation is that they forced a bad settlement, something that they could probably lodge as a quick pro-bono “win” for people who make hot lists, then dropped their clients who ended up actually homeless. The only way to make this more of a Jones Day representation would have been if it ignored an attempted rape allegation somewhere along the way.

On-campus recruiting starts soon and I’m sure some bright young law students will get offers from Jones Day and try to figure out if all the bad press they receive is justified. It is. Adjust your interview lottery requests accordingly.

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Jones Day sued for alleged malpractice by pro bono clients who say eviction deal left them homeless [ABA Journal]

Elie Mystal is the Executive Editor of Above the Law and a contributor at The Nation. He can be reached @ElieNYC on Twitter, or at [email protected]. He will resist.

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