Sometimes it's the little things a person does for someone that can mean the most. Jacquelyn E. Stone, a partner in McGuireWoods' Richmond, Virginia office, vividly recalls how she felt when she helped the mother of a woman seriously injured in a bus crash this past June. The woman, a faculty member at at a school in North Carolina, suffered the injuries while chaperoning students on a school trip to Argentina.

The faculty member's mother traveled from Spain to Argentina, and then entered the U.S. through the Visa Waiver Program that allows citizens of certain countries to travel to the U.S. for up to 90 days.

Stone said she was contacted when the period of time the mother could stay in the U.S. was about to expire, which would force the woman to leave her daughter at a critical juncture in her recovery.

“We were very pleased that, against all odds, our request for the mother to stay longer was granted,” Stone said. “It was extremely satisfying to obtain this positive result.” She added, “I still feel the chills I felt when I called the mother and daughter to tell them the extension was granted.”

Stone is not the first member of her family to become a lawyer. Her father, the late William T. Stone, was the first African-American attorney to practice law in Williamsburg, Virginia. He created the first integrated law firm partnership in Virginia when he hired two white lawyers. He later was appointed as a substitute judge for Williamsburg. At a time when minorities were unlikely to be on the bench in the U.S., he became the first African-American judge in Virginia. Prior to starting her own legal career, Stone served as a legislative assistant in the U.S. House of Representatives. She first worked as a summer associate at McGuireWoods in 1984 and joined the firm as an associate in 1985 after receiving her J.D. from Harvard Law School. She is in the corporate securities department, focusing on governmental affairs and immigration matters.

“She was a trailblazer,” said George K. Martin, managing partner of the McGuireWoods' Richmond office.

Martin said Stone was the first African-American woman hired by McGuireWoods and the first African-American woman to be made a law partner in a major firm in Virginia. “She's smart as I don't know what and has a lot of energy,” he said. Stone served as McGuireWoods' firmwide hiring partner for more than 20 years, created and chaired the firm's Diversity and Inclusion Committee and has been a driving force in helping the firm develop and advance its diversity and inclusion initiatives. She has recruited many diverse lawyers over the years, including University of Texas School of Law graduate Jon Harmon, McGuireWoods' chairman and the only African-American leader of an AmLaw 100 firm. Recruiting Harmon is one of the accomplishments of which she is most proud, Stone said, noting that he “distinguished himself not only as an exceptional litigator, but also an outstanding person early in his career at McGuireWoods.”

Martin said Stone has done a lot to recruit women and minorities into the legal profession. “She is very generous with her time and serves as a mentor for a lot of those folks,” he said. “She's really good about staying in contact to offer her help throughout their careers.” Stone's efforts, as well as other efforts by McGuireWoods, appear to be getting results. This year, 50 percent of the firm's partner promotions are diverse, as are 44 percent of department chairs and 57 percent of associates, according to McGuireWoods.

Stone also serves on the board of Just the Beginning—A Pipeline Organization. The group is dedicated to encouraging underrepresented students to pursue legal careers and helping diverse law students obtain judicial clerkships.

Married to B.K. Fullton since 2014, Stone's family now includes his twin sons and her nephew.