White-shoe law firm Jones Day made a splash in early 2015 when it announced plans to open an office in Detroit after successfully guiding the city through municipal bankruptcy. A year later, the growth of the firm's Detroit business has led Jones Day to lease 25,000 square feet in the 150 W. Jefferson Building in downtown Detroit.
"Over the last year we have built the personnel from three lawyers to 10," says Tim Melton, partner in charge of
Jones Day Detroit.
In addition to its 10 staff attorneys, Jones Day's Detroit office employs two full-time support staff and hosts a steady rotation of legal personnel from the multinational firm's other offices.
"We have enough space for 25 lawyers," Melton says. "The expectation is we will have that many lawyers by 2018."
Based in Cleveland, Jones Day has 43 offices around the world. The law firm made a name for itself locally when it helped shepherd Detroit through municipal bankruptcy in 2013. One of its partners, Kevin Orr, left the practice to serve as Detroit emergency financial manager during that time. He eventually rejoined Jones Day after the city exited bankruptcy.
The law firm opened a Detroit office last year to help better serve its clients in the area. Melton declined to discuss its current roster of local clientele but did say the firm has been adding new clients and new work from existing clients over the last year.
"We're starting to do work with more companies on the automotive side and other large businesses that are headquartered here or have large operations in Detroit," Melton says.
Source: Tim Melton, partner in charger of Jones Day Detroit
Writer: Jon Zemke
Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.
Enjoy this story?
Sign up for free solutions-based reporting in your inbox each week.