Clyde E. Jones: My Fierce Courtroom Battle Against This Master Litigator

By: Donald V. Watkins

Copyrighted and Published on January 11, 2026

Clyde E. Jones, Birmingham, Alabama.

An Editorial Opinion

From 1985 to 1998, I battled scores of good litigators while representing the City of Birmingham and Mayor Richard Arrington, Jr.  The best one, by far, is Clyde E. Jones.

Jones was educated in the Birmingham public schools. After attending Parker and Ramsey High Schools, Jones enrolled in Knoxville College (in Knoxville, Tennessee) where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology in 1976.  Jones earned his law degree frpm Cumberland School of Law at Samford University in 1979.

After graduating from law school, Clyde Jones served as a Deputy District Attorney in the Tenth Judicial Circuit and an Assistant District Attorney in the Fifth Judicial Circuit.  Jones also served as a partner in the law firm of Penick, Williams and Jones before opening his own law firm, Law Offices of Clyde E. Jones, P.C., in 1987.

Jones is the son of the late Rev. Clyde M. Jones (1927 to 2017), a Birmingham civil rights icon and one of the first black applicants in 1956 for a police officer position with the City of Birmingham. Jones came from a family of high achievers and he was a high achiever himself.

Our Battle Inside the Courtroom

I met Clyde Jones in 1989 when he was a solo practitioner.  Our meeting occurred inside the courtroom.  I was representing the City of Birmingham and Jones was representing Mr. Rick Bentley, a well-known local contractor who was suing the city.

I did not know it at the time, but the scouting report I was provided on Jones by the city's law department was wholly inadequate. It grossly understated Jones' litigation skills and provided no substantive information on his exceptional family.

When litigating and winning cases, everything matters, including information on the family background and personal attributes of the opposing lawyer. This is especially true in cases where opposing counsel is the child of an iconic figure in the community.

When Jones walked into the courtroom, I could tell immediately that he had been in the gladiator pit before -- many times.  Jones, who was tall, fit, energetic, and confident, introduced himself to me while looking into my eyes and shaking my firm firmly.  There was no fear in his eyes even though I had a reputation for annihilating my courtroom opponents in a fair fight. 

Jones took a seat at the counsel table, along with his client.  When he pulled his case files out of his briefcase, I noticed how organized everything was. He also had a trial notebook that was tabbed throughout. Right away, I knew Jones was ready to fight.

When Jones addressed the court, he stood tall and spoke with authority.  He exuded a level of confidence I had not seen in opposing counsel in any of my prior City of Birmingham cases.

Then, the fighting began. Clyde Jones was super-smart, fearless, strong, aggressive, and highly skilled in presenting Rick Bentley’s case.  He knew the rules of evidence without looking in the book.  He knew how to present his client's case in a succinct and efficient manner.  He was methodical with the use of his trial exhibits and brilliant in examining and cross-examining witnesses.  

Clyde Jones was a master litigator. We fought a long, hard, and fierce courtroom battle that day.  In the end, I prevailed – barely.

A Draining and Hard-Earned Victory

Two things contributed to my draining and hard-earned victory.  First, I had five more years of litigation experience than Jones.  I had to use every litigation technique I had learned to defeat him. Second, I had the substantial financial resources of the City of Birmingham underwriting my trial preparation.  Despite Jones’ masterful use of litigation skills, his client could not match our resources.

I did not know Clyde Jones prior to our courtroom battle, but I damn sure knew his name him after that fight.

I left the courtroom with another victory notched on my belt and went straight to Mayor Arrington’s office.  I was highly pissed-off. As soon as I saw Arrington, I chewed him out because the scouting report I received on Jones from the law department did not have any substantive information about his trial skill level or family background. As a result, Jones mauled me like a ferocious tiger mauls his prey.  

I never fought Clyde Jones again, and I had no desire to do so. To this day, my respect and admiration for Jones is off the chart.

In 2002, Clyde Jones became a judge in the Criminal Division of the Jefferson County, Alabama Circuit Court. He was re-elected multiple times.  Jones retired from the bench on January 16, 2023.