At a time in history when outrageous takes the day and what is awesome most likely isn”™t, Stephen Jones steps up to bat for all that is trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean and reverent and hits one out of the park for the good guys. He is a community volunteer and a lawyer who aligns the law with the cobbling and the candlestick making by saying: “It”™s all about client relationships.”
Jones, 44, is founder and principal at Jones Garneau L.L.P., a law firm with offices in Scarsdale, Stamford and Manhattan. The firm has 25 attorneys and staff. Jones”™ office is that of a working lawyer. Large file boxes, open and active, attest to complex issues and might as well be labeled: DAUNTING. There is no TV; no talk radio or music in the background. “Foremost, what I do is I practice law and represent our clients,” Jones said, his demeanor calm and in turn calming. Though eloquent to the point you notice how beautifully he speaks right away, “I spend most of my day listening.” He started Jones Garneau eight years ago.
Jones as a boy in Massachusetts earned the rank of Eagle in the Boy Scouts. Boyhood honors top out at Eagle Scout. Those who earn the Eagle medal ”“ all other Boy Scout ranks are badges ”“ carry the distinction through life under the motto “Once an Eagle, always an Eagle” and include President Gerald Ford, Neil Armstrong (among 32 Eagle astronauts past and present) and Sam Walton. An all-county halfback or honor society member might or might not earn kudos 30 years down the line; with Eagle it”™s a given. The road to Eagle has never been easy and Jones notes, “We weren”™t messing around. For lifesaving, we had real professionals training us and they really worked with us.” He has never forgotten Scouting”™s lessons and has recently been named to the board of directors of the Boy Scouts of Westchester and Putnam. Scoutlike, his children hear on a regular basis that they have already won the lottery: “I tell them they are the luckiest kids on the planet because they were born in America and they can grow up to be anything they want.”
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Jones grew up in Northampton, Mass., where he went to high school, and then went to Williams College. He worked in corporate jobs out of college and then went to Fordham Law School. From there he entered private practice, but said he has always operated under the idea he wanted to avoid a long commute and be close to the family he and his wife began planning as undergraduates at Williams.
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Jones wife is Susan Christenson, an artist whose work graces the Jones Garneau walls in Scarsdale. She maintains a studio at their home and is, in Jones”™ words, “both a full-time artist and a full-time mother.” She is currently also showing at Morgan Stanley headquarters in Purchase in a group exhibit. The couple”™s children, from age 10 to 2, are William, Henry, Elliot and Diana.
“A full-service firm” is how Jones describes Jones Garneau. “The firm conceptually is divided into businesses and professional services, and services to individuals and families.” Jones ticked off a list of the arenas in which Jones Garneau participates that includes, on the business side, business litigation services, commercial real estate and real estate agency law, business immigration law and corporate law and, on the personal side, matrimonial law, residence purchases, personal immigration law and trust and estate planning. ?“We also give advice to numerous licensed professionals,” he said. “We live in a highly regulated society ”“ codes of conduct, rules and regulations ”“ and we handle those matters, as well. We frequently represent doctors and lawyers and accountants. It”™s a real honor to be asked by someone to work on something that”™s important to them ”“ important enough that they need a lawyer. It”™s particularly heartening when we”™re hired by people who know what lawyers do ”“ lawyers and other professionals ”“ who are able to draw a distinction, who could pick from many firms, and they look to us. It”™s a real compliment when a fellow professional turns to you for help. That”™s not the largest part of the practice, but it happens with enough frequency that it”™s always a pleasure.”
Jones is the immediate past board chairman of The Business Council of Westchester, the position now held by Christopher O”™Callaghan. He and Susan Christenson were honorary co-chairpersons of the Mental Health Association of Westchester Fall Dinner, slated for last week, which this year was to honor actor and mental health advocate Joe Pantoliano, Four Winds Hospital Executive Vice President Janet Z. Segal, wealth management firm Strategies for Wealth and association volunteer Dino Venuto. Jones also is a board member of: United Way of Westchester and Putnam; Legal Services of the Hudson Valley; and Westchester Medical Center Foundation. Past board work includes the Food Bank of Westchester.
“All that I’m able to accomplish I do with the help of the people here at the law firm,” he said. “Without all their hard work, nothing happens.”
