Soul of 78: Allison Jones

"My first job out of college was at Jefferson County DHR - a job I had promised myself I would never take. But my undergrad degree is in social work, so that's where I started. At 23 years old I had a case load - all of these huge cases in foster care. I felt helpless, lost...it was a very trying time. It was in the courtroom that I finally realized that maybe, just maybe, I could accomplish more on the other side of things. So, I went to law school.""I attended school at night and worked during the day. It's funny, because at this time I went through some old notebooks from high school, and I found a journal that I had written for class saying that I wanted to become an attorney. Of course, back then, I thought, 'Oh, attorneys make a lot of money,' which can be the case sometimes - but that's not what makes the job worth it. What makes this job worth it is being able to make a difference.""When I got into the field, I was doing personal injury work, but there was always a part of me that wanted to do juvenile court - to work with kids and families, to represent parents. So, in October of 2017, I got a contract with the state. I'm one of seven appointed attorneys for the juvenile court system. I went out on my own in March 2017, and I'm currently renovating an office downtown. I still handle social security cases, car wrecks, child custody and divorce cases. But this aspect of working with kids is just very rewarding.""There are times that I feel defeated. There are some cases that you win, and there are some cases that can never be a win. A divorce case is always lose-lose - a marriage is ending. But being able to connect with people, to help them, it really matters. I feel like I'm making a difference."- Allison Medlock Jones, Allison Jones Law, LLC#Soulof78 #78MagazinePhoto + Interview by Blakeney Cox