Melissa Jones says she is “one of those weird people” who
loved law school, so it stands to reason that she’s now
running one of the 200 largest law firms in the country.
She took over as managing partner at Stoel Rives this
January, starting a four-year term, and it’s her favorite
challenge yet.
No stranger to management positions, Jones had
already spent the previous five years as office managing
partner for the firm’s California offices in Sacramento, San
Francisco and San Diego, as well as serving on the firm’s
executive committee and as chair of the partner compen-
sation committee. She did all this while also juggling her
work as a trial lawyer on complex litigation cases focused
on Proposition 65 compliance. In her new position, Jones
relies on that experience to oversee about 375 attorneys
nationwide. She is one of only 24 women in the top posi-
tion of an Am Law 200 firm (the 200 highest-grossing law
firms in the United States as ranked by The American
Lawyer magazine).
“I oversee everything from the recruitment and devel-
opment of talent to budgeting, innovation and strategic
growth to providing excellent client service,” says Jones,
a Bay Area native who developed an interest in law as a
student at Chico State while volunteering at a clinic that
provided free legal services to women who experienced
physical abuse. She attended law school at UC Davis. “I
also visit our other offices — we have 10 in seven states.
Our largest, in Portland (Oregon), is more than 100 years
old. I really like to spend time with our partners, attorneys
and staff to connect with them.”
Emotional intelligence is key for Jones in her
many roles, as is the ability to try to put herself
in others’ shoes — “to understand the prob-
lems keeping them up at night,” she says
— as well as “never asking someone to do
something I wouldn’t do myself.”
Jones is also deeply involved in the
local legal community, which she chose
to remain part of eight years ago when
her former firm Morrison & Foerster
— where she had worked as litiga-
tion partner for 10 years — closed
its Sacramento office and she took
a position with Stoel Rives. She has
also done stints as president of the
Sacramento chapter of the Federal
Bar Association and as the chair of
the Eastern District Conference.
“I’ve been here for 20 years
now,” Jones says. “We have a
lovely legal community. I’m
happy I made the right de-
cision to stay committed to
this region.”
LAW
Melissa Jones
Managing Partner
Stoel Rives
by Jessica Laskey
March 2020 | comstocksmag.com
53