I was saddened to hear of Susan's passing.  I remember her as always considerate and honest  I remember her as hard working, focused and accomplished.

Andrew J. Brown Brandeis Class of 1977

My condolences to Susan's family. 

I had the pleasure of being one of Professor Jones Business Law clinic students in 1993. She was an amazing professor and an even more amazing person.  She ran the clinic as many professors do like a law firm with students like myself as an associate.  I learned so much from Prof Jones including how to manage a small client base. One such client  was the incomparable Lily Spandorf who was one of DC’s best watercolor artist who painted vintage DC landmarks prior to them being destroyed.  I went on to manage a successful nonprofit practice of my own thanks to the tutelage of Prof Jones.  Over the years we stayed in contact and became friends  (“Don’t call me Professor Jones, call me Susan” she would say).

We recently reconnected as my wife and I pledged to support her Financial Literacy and Economic Justice program. 

Just several weeks ago she wrote me excited about candidates for the program   She wrote…

“I'm in the midst of preparing to send clinic acceptance emails for the fall semester in the morning. The applicant pool was terrific. Looking forward to connecting with you and Sheila in the fall.

Warm regards,”

She will be sorely missed as she has touched so many students and members of the community over her long tenure of service.  

Our family friend Susan Jones transcended last week. Susan was an immigration lawyer and professor. She was a kind, spiritual and caring person. She was always supportive of me and my endeavors. She opened her home to me and my family. Susan exposed me to holistic healing and nutrition, she introduced to me to the concept of the Secret. Susan was a childhood friend of my sister. When my sister pasted away, she became a surrogate sister to me, and she helped me make sense of my loss. Susan thank you for sharing your knowledge your spirit and home with me. You will be missed but never forgotten. Please give my sister a big hug for me when you ascend above the clouds.

Love Mike Markman

I grew up with Susan, back then Susie, on Manhattan’s Lower  East Side in NYC where we lived in the same building.  Our mothers were dear friends, and we exchanged play dates at each other‘s houses. I knew back then that Susan had a depth of kindness, insight, and integrity that she boldly brought forth into the world with her legal  work as an adult. She was an awesome connector and stellar human being. 

I serve as the Chair of the American Association of Law Schools (AALS) Leadership Section, and Susan was a friend and inspiration to many of us in the Section. She was an active member of the Executive Committee of our Leadership Section and a passionate advocate for leadership education in law schools. She will be deeply missed.

I recently asked Susan to answer some questions for an upcoming profile in our Leadership Section newsletter. I am reprinting her very thoughtful answers below.

Susan R. Jones, Professor of Clinical Law:

· Why is teaching leadership in law schools important?

Teaching leadership in law schools is part of professional development identity and professional responsibility. I’ve been inspired by Professor Rhode’s book, Lawyers as Leaders and Professor Anthony Thompson’s book, Dangerous Leaders: How and Why Lawyers Must Be Taught to Lead. Both scholars assert that while lawyers are often in positions of leadership they have not been taught leadership skills, principles and values.

· If you teach a leadership course, what’s the title and brief description of the course?

I don’t teach a leadership course, but I incorporate leadership into my Small Business & Community Economic Development Clinic. As part of clinic orientation, I ask students to read an ABA article, Start Now to Become Tomorrow’s Legal Leader and I encourage them to think about their leadership role in the clinical law firm and in their smaller teams. In my clinic, leadership is listed as a lawyering competency and learning outcome alongside self-evaluation, reflection and learning from experience.

· If you use a textbook or book, what do you use?

I introduce students to law and leadership using principles from Donald J. Polden and Barry Z. Posner, Leading in Law, Leadership Development for Law Students, Carolina Academic Press (2022) which I integrate in case supervision meetings.

· If you or your law school have a leadership program, what’s the title and brief description of the program?

Leadership at GW law is taught in the Fundamentals of Lawyering, a program that introduces first year students to the skills that will advance them from the classroom to the law firm, boardroom, courtroom, and many other settings where law is practiced.

· What’s your favorite leadership book? Why?

Leading in Law: Leadership Development for Law Students by Donald J. Polden and Barry Z. Posner, Carolina Academic Press (2022). It is comprehensive, straightforward and grounded in an evidence- based model, the Leadership Practices Inventory - five practices including model the way, inspire a shared vision, challenge the process, enable others to act, and encourage the heart. It unpacks critical leadership skills and behaviors – credibility; ability to lead change in a complex environment; good judgment; persuasiveness; creativity, entrepreneurship and innovation; ability to build and sustain relationships; inclusiveness; resiliency; and personal responsibility. are standout chapters on Developing Emotional Intelligence and Handling Adversity and Leading the Charge for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion alongside leadership examples and questions for reflection.

· What’s your favorite leadership quote?

I have a few:

Maya Angelou

A leader sees greatness in other people. He nor she can be much of a leader if all she sees is herself.”

On dealing with other people: “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

Lao Tzu

A leader is best when people barely know he exists, when his work is

done, his aim fulfilled, they will say: we did it ourselves.

· What, if anything, do you want the reader to know about your views about leadership that doesn’t fit any of the above questions?

My leadership perspective is driven by my decade long experience as a certified executive leadership coach and my leadership coach training at Georgetown University Institute for Transformational Leadership Executive Certificate in Leadership Coaching Program. I hold the designation Professional Certified Coach (PCC) in the International Coach Federation (ICF). As a business lawyer and clinical teacher representing businesses, nonprofits, social enterprises, worker cooperatives, artists and creatives, I am drawn to transformation, innovation, and change theories. Being a leadership coach has given me insights into law practice and the legal profession. My law review article, The Case for Leadership Coaching in Law Schools: A New Way To Support Professional Identity Formation, 48 Hofstra Law Review 659 (2020) explores the history and uses of coaching in business and higher education. At its core, leadership is about transformation. Leadership coaching, a personalized and confidential form of professional and personal development, is a creative partnership between a coach and a client to empower the client toward greater self-reflection, clarity of purpose, meaningful change, accountability, and effective engagement in the world. The thesis of my article is that the relationship between leadership coaching and leadership classes is like the relationship between doctrinal and experiential education. In short, leadership coaching is the glue that makes leadership education stick. Graduate business schools include leadership/executive coaching in the curriculum. Law schools should consider that too. This article is included in Chapter 10, A Guide to Restructuring the Pipeline to Power in, Second Edition, Renee Knake Jefferson and Hannah Brenner Johnson, American Case Book Series, West Academic Publishing.

The intersection of law and leadership influenced my co-edited book, Investing for Social Impact, Economic Justice and Racial Equity, American Bar Association Business Law Section (2023).

Lee Fisher

Dean, Cleveland State University College of Law

Joseph C. Hostetler-BakerHostetler Chair in Law

Chair, AALS Section on Leadership

1801 Euclid Avenue, LB 138 |Cleveland, Ohio 44115 -2214

216-386-8688 | lee.fisher@csuohio.edu