C. Lyonel Jones, the Executive Director of the Legal Aid Society of Cleveland, dedicated his life to assuring that no resident of the city would be denied the right to legal protection, no matter the financial circumstances. Following his graduation from Baldwin-Wallace College, Jones worked as a probation officer in the Cleveland Municipal Court, an experience that would lead him to study law at CSU College of Law. In 1966, Jones was hired by the Legal Aid Society of Cleveland as attorney-in-charge of the Society’s office in Hough. In 1968, he was named the Society’s Executive Director, a job he held until his retirement in 2005. During his 39 years of service, he guided Legal Aid through racial turbulence, rising crime rates, and declining sources of revenue—yet the organization survived, expanded, and remained steadfast in its dedication to the city’s most vulnerable citizens.