David E. Jones, a shareholder in our Atlanta office, passed away on June 20 after a courageous 18-month battle with cancer. In 1992, I personally hired David to create a workplace safety and health group for our firm. At the time, he was serving as legal counsel and special adviser to the chairman of the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission, which was a presidential appointment. David was a nationally known authority in workplace safety law, and we were lucky he decided to join our firm.

Under David's leadership as head of our workplace safety and health practice group, the firm has developed one of the largest safety and health practices in the country. As the practice grew, David encouraged collaboration between offices and regularly traveled across the country to assist with accident investigations, provide counsel, and jump in when a fellow attorney was in a pinch. David was a tenacious lawyer, patient mentor and tremendous inspiration to many in our firm and the larger legal community. He was the first African-American lawyer to join our firm, and he was indispensable to creating the extensive diversity in the firm today.

David was not just an excellent lawyer. He was also an incredible athlete and often competed in marathons and triathlons. David even completed a number of Ironman 70.3 races, which include a 1.2-mile swim, 56-mile bike ride and 13.1-mile run. David was a force to be reckoned with—both in his practice and on the race course.

Throughout the more than 25 years David and I practiced together, we also shared a warm and personal friendship. In fact, over the past few days, I've heard from many who considered David a close friend. He was kind, engaging and generous, and he often asked: “How are you doing? How is your family?” David was the type of person who went out of his way to warmly welcome new attorneys and staff, and rarely passed anyone in the hallway without a smile. He was truly a wonderful person.

David's death is a great loss to the legal community, to our firm, and to me personally. David was a model of integrity and professionalism, and lived the firm's core values as well as any. We will all miss him terribly.

David is survived by, Robin his wife of more than 23 years, his daughters, Samantha and Jessica, his son, Lance and his wife, Shimika, his sister, Donna Northington, and his mother, Mae Jones. A memorial service will be held in the Chapel at the Mt. Paran Church of God, 2055 Mt. Paran Road, Atlanta, GA, on July 12 at noon, followed by a reception in the Great Hall. Reverend Derek Grier, founder of Grace Church in Dumfries, VA will officiate.

Homer Deakins

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart