Federal District Court judge Barbara S. Jones is joining the Manhattan law firm Zuckerman Spaeder. The former prosecutor presided over a wide range of cases including the 2005 trial of Bernard J. Ebbers (former WorldCom CEO who got 25 years for an $11 billion fraud) and the 1997 trial of Autumn Jackson, who tried to extort $40 million from comedian Bill Cosby (although she could have received 5-6 years, Judge Jones gave her 26 months). Zuckerman Spaeder was recently part of the team that successfully defended Dominique Strauss-Kahn, former head of IMF, against sexual assault charges.
Remarkably, Judge Jones has never worked in a law firm. President Bill Clinton, on the recommendation of Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan, nominated Jones for a judgeship in 1995. Her first job out of college (Mount St. Mary’s, 1968) was as a hostess at a Howard Johnson’s restaurant in Los Angeles. She’s known at the federal courthouse for hosting a big blowout holiday party for all employees.