About Barbara I.
Barbara I. Jones moved through three distinct fields of study before settling into law. She earned a B.A. in English from Christopher Newport University, then an M.A. in Communication from Regent University, and later completed a J.D. at North Carolina Central University School of Law in 2017. Those academic stops left her with a mix of rhetorical training, mediation skills, and legal grounding.
Jones began applying that mix while still in law school. She worked in the NCCU School of Law Mediation Clinic in 2015 and the Criminal Defense Clinic in 2016. She also took part in Lawyers on the Line in 2015, an experience that exposed her to high-volume legal reach and short-form client counseling. Those early clinics gave her hands-on courtroom time and put her in front of clients at the start of their legal journeys.
After law school she moved into private practice and criminal defense. In 2019 she was a criminal defense lawyer at Hamilton & Bain Law. The next year she held dual roles. She became Principal Lawyer at Nelson Law Office, PLLC in 2020. At the same time she served as Restorative Justice Program Director for Communities Supporting Schools of Wayne. That role stretched her beyond courtroom advocacy and into community-focused dispute resolution and program administration.
Her work since then has balanced courtroom representation with restorative and mediation approaches. Jones has handled the sorts of cases that put defense lawyers in front of judges and juries. She has also worked to build programs that aim to reduce conflict before it escalates. The clinic work she did as a student continued to inform how she evaluates plea options, mitigation strategies, and alternatives to traditional sentencing.
Jones practices in North Carolina. Her career shows a steady focus on criminal defense while threading in mediation and restorative justice work. She has alternated firm-side roles and community program leadership in a way that shapes how she counsels clients. The pattern is practical: she brings courtroom experience and program-level perspective to each file.
Today she operates out of The Law Office of Barbara I. Jones. Her current practice centers on criminal defense representation and on applying mediation and restorative practices where they may change outcomes for clients and communities.
