Elaine R. Jones, Life Fellow, was honored by the Bar Association of the District of Columbia at their BADC Annual Awards Banquet and Gala on December 7, 2024. She was named as the 2024 recipient of the Hon. Annice Wagner Pioneer Award.
The Bar Association of the District of Columbia is the first bar association in the District and third oldest bar association in the U.S. The Pioneer award is named for Judge Annice Wagner and seeks to recognize individual who has taken risks, the benefits of which provide significant contributions to the advancement of others in the legal profession.
Jones was the President and Director-Counsel of the Legal Defense Fund from 1993 to 2004, making her the first woman to head the organization. Most of her legal career was spent at the LDF, apart from two years spent as a Special Assistant to the United States Secretary of Transportation. She was honored with the Jefferson Medal of Freedom, the highest honor that the University of Virginia bestows, as they do not award honorary degrees. In December 2000, President Clinton presented her with the Eleanor Roosevelt Human Rights Award.
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