It is my honor to welcome you to Drake University Law School. Here, you will find a community of accomplished faculty, engaged administrators, exceptional students, and extraordinary alumni united in a common purpose: to prepare outstanding lawyers who will promote justice, serve their communities, and uphold the ideals of ethics and professionalism. Our relentless drive and collaborative spirit spark innovative scholarship and creative teaching, and set the standard for an education that combines theory and practice.

At Drake Law School, we recognize the importance of learning by doing. As one of the nation’s 25 oldest law schools, our founders established this institution to teach law in proximity to the courts so students could witness the law in action. From our top-tier legal clinic to our first-in-the-nation trial practicum to our Institute for Justice Reform and Innovation to our centers of excellence, we provide a superior practical training experience. Our frequently cited journals publish exemplary articles that are practical and relevant to the legal community. And our innovative curriculum prepares you with the knowledge, skills, and global perspective essential to practice law effectively in the 21st Century.

At Drake Law, we raise the bar.

• We raise the bar by providing an exceptional learning environment in a welcoming, inclusive community distinguished by accessible and accomplished faculty, dedicated staff, and a collegial student body.
• We raise the bar with small class sizes that allow students to engage closely with one another and our professors.
• We raise the bar with our faculty of leading scholars, dedicated to teaching and producing legal scholarship that shapes public discourse.
• We raise the bar with a learning environment comprised of excellent students from diverse perspectives and backgrounds.
• We raise the bar with our 7,000-strong law alumni who have made extraordinary achievements in the legal profession and who are eager to share their experience and expertise with students.
• And we raise the bar with our location in the capital city of Des Moines, which provides our students with unmatched access to the bench, bar, legislature, and leading companies.

The legal profession is a career choice that comes with a profound responsibility: lawyers protect rights, fight for justice, and interpret, or even make, the law. Our graduates practice in law firms of all sizes, work as in-house lawyers for corporations, hold positions in government and nonprofits, and serve as judges and elected officials. I am proud to lead this distinguished Law School that is dedicated to training the next generation of lawyers and leaders. I am inspired every day by the work and accomplishments of the community I am privileged to serve, one that is dedicated to the Drake Way: practical skills, collegiality, student success, and public service.

I encourage you to explore our website to learn more about our programs and resources. It is my pleasure to also invite you to our campus so that you can experience for yourself our exceptional community and learn more about what makes a Drake Law education so special.

Sincerely,

Roscoe Jones, Jr.
Dean and Professor of Law

 
Biography

Roscoe Jones, Jr., is Dean of Drake University Law School. He is the 22nd dean and the first Black dean in the Law School's 160-year history. Before joining Drake Law, Dean Jones taught courses on mass incarceration, civil rights policy, and administrative law at Yale, Chicago, Michigan, Georgetown, George Washington, and University of Washington Law Schools and the Harvard Kennedy School.

Prior to his career in academia, Dean Jones practiced law as a partner and co-chair of the Public Policy Group in the Washington, DC office of Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP, an international law firm, where he helped clients with governmental relations and congressional investigations. He served for a decade on Capitol Hill as chief of staff to Rep. Abigail Spanberger, legislative director to Senator Dianne Feinstein, senior counsel to Senator Cory Booker, and senior counsel on the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee to then-Chairman Patrick Leahy. He worked at the U.S. Department of Justice as special counsel to then-Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Tom Perez, appellate attorney in the Civil Rights Division, special assistant U.S. attorney in the District of Columbia and assistant U.S. attorney in the Western District of Washington (Seattle). He was a Murnaghan Fellow at the Public Justice Center in Baltimore, Maryland. He clerked for Judge Carl E. Stewart on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and Judge Alexander Williams, Jr. on the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland.

Dean Jones believes in the power of higher education to transform the lives of individuals and communities.  He serves on national legal academic boards for the Association of American Law Schools, including the Section on Law School Deans, Rural Access to Justice Working Group and Workshop for Pre-Tenured Law School Teachers of Color Working Group.

Dean Jones chairs the national board of the American Constitution Society and is Secretary for the national board of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. He has served on the boards of the Medgar and Myrlie Evers Institute (Vice Chair), Stanford Athletic Board, President Lincoln’s Cottage, and the advisory boards of the Center for Democracy and Technology and the International Spy Museum in Washington, DC. He is an elected member of the American Law Institute, a fellow of the American Bar Foundation, and an elected member of the Council on Foreign Relations. He was a Stennis Fellow on Capitol Hill and Wasserstein Public Interest Fellow at the Harvard Law School.

Dean Jones has received numerous honors. During his deanship, the National Bar Association recognized him with the Presidential Excellence Award. He was three times named to the Lawdragon list of the top 500 lawyers in America and Chambers USA ranked him as one of the nation’s top government relations specialists. He was named to The Hill’s Top Lobbyists list and the Top 100 Black Lawyers list by the National Black Lawyers Association. He received the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Brooks R. Burdette New Board Member Rising Impact Award and has been recognized by the Drake Black Law Students Association for his leadership.

Born in Mississippi and raised in Texas, Dean Jones received his B.A. in political science and history from Stanford University with high honors and his J.D. from the University of Virginia Law School, where he was editor-in-chief of the Virginia Journal of Social Policy & Law and co-founded the Center for the Study of Race and Law. He played football at Stanford University and studied abroad at Oxford University's Brasenose College. He has been published in the Harvard Law and Policy Review.  He has been a commentator for major news outlets including Scripps News, Iowa Public Radio, Politico, Roll Call, The Hill, Law360, Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, Iowa Lawyer, Stanford Magazine, Business Record, Above the Law, and others.

Areas of Expertise

Civil Rights
Administrative Law,
Criminal Justice Reform Policy
U.S. Congress

Education

• JD – University of Virginia Law School
• BS – Stanford University with high honors

Professional Experience

• Drake Law School Dean since 2024
• Partner; Co-chair, Public Policy Group, Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP, Washington, DC
• Chief of Staff to Representative Abigail Spanberger
• Legislative Director to Senator Dianne Feinstein
• Senior Counsel to Senator Cory Booker
• Senior Counsel on the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee to then-Chairman Patrick Leahy
• Special Counsel to then-Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Tom Perez, U.S. Department of Justice
• Appellate Attorney in the Civil Rights Division, U.S. Department of Justice
• Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Washington (Seattle)
• Clerk for Hon. Carl E. Stewart, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
• Clerk for Hon. Alexander Williams, Jr., U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland

Significant Accomplishments

• Three times named to the Lawdragon list of the top 500 lawyers in America
• Ranked as one of the nation’s top government relations specialists in Chambers USA
• Named to The Hill’s Top Lobbyists list and the Top 100 Black Lawyers list by the National Black Lawyers Association
• Received the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Brooks R. Burdette New Board Member Rising Impact Award
• Recognized by the Drake Black Law Students Association for outstanding leadership
• Recognized by the National Bar Association with the Presidential Excellence Award