Clerking for Judge Theodore T. Jones.

• Author: Kim, Jay
• Position: New York Court of Appeals - Testimonial

Shortly after his untimely passing in November 2012, many kind words were expressed praising the great character and significant accomplishments of Judge Theodore T. Jones. Of course, to many, Judge Jones was best known as the Justice of the Supreme Court who, in 2005, effectively ended a transit strike that crippled the City of New York when he imposed monetary fines upon the Transport Workers Union and sentenced its president to jail for violating a previous court order. Certainly, that case, which garnered significant media attention, helped propel Judge Jones to the New York Court of Appeals where, from 2007 to 2012, he presided over cases of great statewide importance from his familiar seat at the far end of that venerable bench. While at the Court, Judge Jones authored numerous opinions that advanced the jurisprudence of the State of New York while concomitantly revealing him to be a fair and thoughtful legal mind who took tremendous care in reaching reasonable and equitable results. Among his many personal causes, he truly championed equal justice, having co-chaired the New York State Justice Task Force, and diversity, serving as the head of the Diversity Committee at the Court. In furtherance of these special causes, Judge Jones traveled the state extensively to raise the public's consciousness about these issues and to encourage others to participate in effecting change. Thus, the eloquent words written and spoken in the wake of Judge Jones' passing are undoubtedly deserved and perfectly encapsulate his innumerable and varied contributions to the State and City of New York as an attorney and a jurist. Therefore, I would like to humbly contribute to those words of remembrance by speaking about the great honor, privilege and pleasure it was to serve in the chambers of the man I simply called "Judge."

As a law clerk, the work was challenging in light of the nature of the issues presented and the constant cycle of preparing for cases. Judge Jones, however, intuitively understood the demands of the position and afforded his clerks tremendous respect and autonomy in the management of the work load. In turn, we reciprocated that confidence by ensuring that Judge Jones was thoroughly prepared for every matter so as not to betray the trust he placed in our hands. He never imposed any additional pressure or burden on his staff, but heartily encouraged our efforts. Every submitted assignment would elicit a remark of "Beautiful!" before he...