Before you can start your training contract, you'll need to study and pass the Graduate Diploma in Law (if you are a nonlaw student) and the Legal Practice Course.

• Graduate Diploma in Law (GDL)
  The GDL is a one-year course (if studied full-time) that all nonlaw graduates or overseas graduates are required to complete successfully before starting the vocational stage of training.
  
  Students are required to pass seven subjects plus one other area of legal study. The foundation subjects are Criminal Law, Equity and Trusts, Law of the European Union, Obligations 1 (Contract), Obligations 2 (Tort), Property/Land Law, and Public Law (Constitutional Law, Administrative Law, and Human Rights Law). It may be possible for students to claim a full or partial exemption from the GDL if they have passed corresponding subjects within a degree programme. A list of providers offering the GDL can be found on the Solicitors Regulation Authority web site.
  
  Jones Day sponsors its future trainees through the GDL. We pay all course fees and a maintenance grant of £8,000.
  
  
• Legal Practice Course (LPC)
  The LPC is a one-year course (if studied full time) that all future lawyers must complete before they can commence their training contract. The course is intended to prepare students for practice and focuses on the application of knowledge and skills in the workplace. The LPC consists of a core element (which consists of the compulsory subjects, the pervasive areas, and skills assessments) and then a separate elective element.

Core 

The compulsory subjects are Business Law and Practice, Litigation and Advocacy, and Property Law and Practice.
The pervasive areas include Professional Conduct, Client Care and Accounts, Financial Services, and Human Rights.
The skills assessments include Practical Legal Research, Writing and Drafting, Interviewing and Advising, and Advocacy.


Electives

In addition to the core, students must study three elective subjects (the choices differ according to provider). The electives are typically spread over 10 weeks, after the core teaching has been completed, and a minimum 100 hours of study should be devoted to them. 

Jones Day sponsors its future trainees through the LPC. We pay all course fees and a maintenance grant of £8,000.

• Jones Day Requirements
  
  Jones Day has appointed BPP Law School as its preferred provider for LPC. We believe that the consistent input and improved level of training this will offer will enable us to align the LPC to our practice strengths and maximise the efficiency of our internal development programme. We want to integrate the LPC year with the training contract period so we'll also offer you a series of firm-specific sessions during the LPC to give you the best possible preparation for your training contract. Jones Day recommends that trainees opt for the following electives:
  
  Private Acquisitions
  Debt Finance
  Equity Finance.
  
  
• Awards
  
  If, after you have accepted a training contract offer from us and you do well in your studies, Jones Day will reward you as follows: 
  • £350 for a commendation in the LPC. 
  • £750 for a distinction in the LPC.
    
    
• The future of the LPC
  
  The LPC has been under review for some time now. A decision finally has been made to split the course into two distinct parts. Stage 1 will consist of the current core course (compulsory subjects, pervasive areas, and skills) and must be completed before commencing a training contract. Stage 2 will consist of the current elective teaching. Firms, and indeed individuals, will be able to choose whether Stage 2 is completed immediately after Stage 1 or during the training contract period. Stage 2 of the LPC will have to be completed prior to qualification, however. The new LPC will be available from September 2010, although some providers plan to offer it from September 2009. We are monitoring developments closely. Although we strongly suspect we will continue to ask our trainees to complete the LPC in its entirety before starting with us, we may review this decision if we think it will benefit our future lawyers.