Jones Day history

Frank Ginn joined the firm in 1899, and it changed its name to Blandin, Rice & Ginn.

1900: Firm name is changed to Blandin, Rice & Ginn with addition of partner Frank H. Ginn.

When Cleveland's Union Trust Company opened on December 31, 1920, firm partner Frank Ginn served as its counsel.

1927: Firm adopts name of Tolles, Hogsett & Ginn.

After Morley retired, in 1928, the firm adopted the name Tolles, Hogsett & Ginn.

After the stock market crashed in 1929, many businesses declared bankruptcy or were forced to reorganize or recapitalize.

The famous bank holiday in 1933 led to the law firm helping the Union Trust Company reorganize, while the federal government forced unsound banks to close their doors.

The 1935 Wagner Act revitalized the labor movement and led to new work for many labor attorneys, including those at the Cleveland firm.

In November 1938, then-managing partner Thomas Jones led the merger of Tolles, Hogsett & Ginn with litigation-focused firm Day, Young, Veach & LeFever to create Jones, Day, Cockley & Reavis.

1939: Merger with another Cleveland firm leads to name Jones, Day, Cockley & Reavis.

In 1944, an explosion at the East Ohio Gas Company killed 130 people and destroyed about 680 homes.

In 1946 Jones Day opened its first branch office in Washington, D.C., based on one of its attorney's considerable experience in the government.

Citing the firm’s 1952 defense of the steel industry, the courts found that only Congress could impose such a tax for fuel conservation purposes.

In 1967, the firm merged with D.C. firm Pogue & Neal to become Jones, Day, Reavis & Pogue.

In 1972 Jones Day won a case that allowed Ohio banks to start branches outside their home county.

1974: Jones, Day, Reavis & Pogue is adopted as firmwide name.

The famous bank holiday in 1933 led to the law firm helping the Union Trust Company reorganize, while the federal government forced unsound banks to close their doors. For example, about this time firm attorneys devised a way for mining companies to create what were known as 'cost companies' as a way to decrease taxes, a mechanism that survived until 1977 as an accessible means of financing joint ventures.

In 1980 it opened an office in Columbus, Ohio, mostly with local attorneys.

In addition, the firm represented two Cleveland firms started by local inventors: Thompson Products, Inc., which became TRW, and the Weatherhead Company, a diversified manufacturing company that remained a major client until 1983.

In 1984 Jones Day opened its second Texas office, this time in the state capital of Austin, a fast-growing city with more high-tech firms supported by research at the University of Texas.

In 1985 R.J. Reynolds (later RJR Nabisco Holdings Corporation) chose Jones Day to be its national coordinating counsel when it and other tobacco manufacturers were sued for health damages.

1986: Firm merges with Surrey & Morse, adding offices in New York, London, Paris, and Riyadh.

Starting in 1987, the law firm represented Sherwin-Williams in lawsuits claiming damages from lead in the company’s paint.

1989: Brussels, Tokyo, and Pittsburgh offices are opened; merger with Atlanta's Hansell & Post.

Borowitz, Albert, Jones, Day, Reavis & Pogue: The First Century, Cleveland: Jones, Day, Reavis & Pogue, 1993.

In 1997, 40 states reached a settlement with the tobacco industry that agreed to pay $368.5 billion over the next 25 years to compensate the states for healthcare costs, pay individuals suing for damages, conduct research, and fund programs to prevent juveniles from starting smoking.

The firm won a jury trial in the Galbraith case in California, a case extensively covered by the media, and by 1999 Jones Day had helped Reynolds win some 250 cases, but the antismoking forces also won their share.

Moreover, top accounting firms employed thousands of lawyers, and one of the big issues that confronted Jones Day and other law firms in 2000 was the possibility of the American Bar Association allowing lawyers to work with other professionals such as accountants.