Jones for the defense - lawyer Elaine R. Jones

Black Enterprise, August, 1993 by Caroline V. Clarke, Jonathan Sapers

As for its alliance with the NAACP, for tax purposes the groups split more than 30 years ago, since then operating as completely distinct groups with separate budgets, boards and priorities. The lingering confusion over their relationship is a problem only when it comes to fund-raising. Yet at a time when filling the coffers is tougher than ever, that is a problem LDF can ill afford.

Compounding the economic crunch facing all nonprofit groups today is the "struggle-is-over" mentality fostered by Reagan-bush allies. Given that the last thing Jones needs is people making out checks to the NAACP believing the money is going to LDF. Set against the backdrop of skyrocketing litigation costs and LDF's need for capital improvements (like a new phone system and the computerized integration of its offices), the distinction becomes even more important. Without the money, everything else stops.

Knowing When To Push, When To Pull No Punches

If anyone was prepared to hit the ground running at LDF, it was Jones. When the board began casting about for a new director-counsel to replace Julius L. Chambers last year, Jones was their instinctive choice. She had proven herself a tireless and outspoken advocate for civil rights as well as a dedicated manager, litigator, strategist and justice seeker over her many years with LDF. As its deputy director-counsel since 1988, Jones was Chambers' alter ego, running the group's D.C. office and spearheading its legislative advocacy efforts (Jones rejects the label "lobbyist") on Capital Hill.

Her diligence, persuasiveness and unique ability to build coalitions among competing factions has earned her a reputation as a political mastermind. Dr. Joseph Lowery, president of the Atlanta-based Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), calls her "informed, brilliant and practical."

LDF attorney Kerry Scanlon, LDF'S assistant counsel, worked closely with Jones in pushing the embattled Civil Rights Bill of 1991 through to passage. "In the most difficult situations, Elaine would always have the best judgments on when to push and when not to, or who the key people were to talk to. She's a person who steps in at critical points to bring things to closure," he says.

Just to make sure they weren't prejudiced in favor of her, however, LDF'S board considered about 30 other candidates both inside and outside the organization, recalls board member Karen Hastie Williams, adding, "It was no contest."

Jones' place in the history books was secured in 1967 when the Howard University honors student became the first black woman to graduate from the University of Virginie School of Law. After accepting a job atwall Street's Mudge, Rose, Guthrie & Alexander-a rare opportunity for an African-american back in 1970-Jones reneged at the last minute, opting forthe calling closestto her heart.

"I always wanted to work with my own people," says Jones. "I thought I'd go back to Norfolk, hang out my shingle, and handle anything that walked in the door."

Instead, at the urging of her law school dean Jack Greenberg, she went to LDF as one of three lawyers arguing death penalty cases throughout the South. In 1973, she became managing attorney in the New York office, quickly mastering the administrative duties involved in overseeing a law practice. After a brief respite, between 1975 and 1977, working as a special assistant to then U.S. Secretary of Transportation William T. Coleman Jr., Jones returned to LDF to head its new Washington office and to become its first official logislative advocate.