R osema Ry Jones 2022 Southwest Woman Executive of the Year

“I was young and naive. I realized it was going to be years before I could get into administration. I didn’t want to wait that long,” Jones said with a laugh.

Her sister had already begun a legal career, which appealed to Jones’ sense of challenge.

“I think she quickly realized that not only was what I was doing very lucrative, but she would be happier practicing law,” Sage said. “I think she saw what I was doing

Professional associations

  State Bar of Texas: Labor and Employment Law Litigation Sections

  Texas Association of Business, Board of Directors 2010-13

  Smith County Bar Association – Former Board Member and Women’s Division, Past Chairman

  American Bar Association

  Federal Bar Association for the Eastern and Northern Districts of Texas

  Texas Association of Defense Counsel, Defense Research Institute

  College of the State Bar of Texas

  East Texas Human Resources and Southwest Human Resource Management Associations

  Texas Bar Foundation Fellow

  American Board of Trial Advocates and saw some of the challenges that come with practicing law.”

Added Jones, “Watching [Robin] and seeing her made me realize that if I put hard work into it, I could do it too. It was her role model that got me into that.”

While attending law school at Baylor, Jones worked as the executive director of the Baylor Law Review and won the school’s moot court competition. After graduation, she took a job at a large law firm in downtown Dallas. She stayed there for three years before a cousin practicing law in Tyler invited her to join his firm.

“There were a lot of requirements and pressure and I really was kind of starting to focus on my family,” she said of the transition. “I realized I couldn’t have the best of both

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From page worlds in a job like that,” Jones said.

Board certified as a labor and employment law specialist and a personal injury defense attorney, Jones had options. She moved to Tyler and began working at Ramey & Flock, which was situated in the heart of Tyler. She and her future husband, Walter “Chip” Jones, met at church not long after her arrival.

Together for 29 years now, the couple has two children. Their son lives in the Dallas area with his wife and son; a second child is on the way. A graduate of Southern Methodist University, he works as a financial analyst. Their daughter is following in her mother’s and aunt’s footsteps, pursuing a law degree at Baylor.

After settling down in Tyler, Jones made it clear that being involved in the community was important. She became active in many local civic groups, including the Tyler Area Chamber of Commerce and the Tyler Economic Development Council, among others.

According to Sage, this sense of community had been instilled in Jones by their mother, who served on the Longview School Board and Parks and Recreation Board.