The information in this book comes largely from my interviews with more than 180 people. Most were current or former Jones Day lawyers, but they also included judges, opposing attorneys, witnesses, and others who have interacted with Jones Day or had notable experiences with the legal industry. Many, fearful of the professional consequences of discussing a powerful, secrecy-prizing law firm, spoke on the condition that I not identify them as sources. Others—including those whom Jones Day’s leaders authorized to answer my written questions—were on the record.
When faced with conflicting accounts of specific incidents, I used the descriptions that struck me as the most plausible, based on factors including the credibility of different sources. In some cases, I have included dissenting accounts in the text or footnotes.
In addition to interviews, I drew on court documents, oral histories, family scrapbooks, university archives, academic research, many books, and contemporaneous media reports, as well as internal emails, memos, and other materials that I obtained via sources and Freedom of Information Act requests. These are detailed at the end of the book.