As counsel to the Maryland Minority Contractors Association, Inc. (MMCA) in the early years of the firm, Jones was closely involved in legislative issues affecting minority and woman owned businesses.  While representing MMCA during the 2001 Session of the Maryland General Assembly she was able, among other things, to assist in the passage of legislation that increased the procurement goals under the State of Maryland’s minority business enterprise program from 14 to 25 percent.  She also represented MMCA and the Baltimore Hispanic Business Group in connection with Council Bill 00-211/Minority and Small Business Opportunity, which passed in the fall of 2000 after the City of Baltimore’s MBE/WBE program was struck down by the courts due to the lack of a disparity study.  In 2003, Jones was a member  to Lieutenant Governor Michael S. Steele’s Task Force on Minority Business Enterprise Reform and was appointed to the City of Baltimore’s MBE/WBE Certification Appeals Board.

Due to her tireless efforts representing her clients over the next several years, Lisa Harris Jones quickly became recognized as an attorney and lobbyist with the ability to effect real change in the legislative process, regardless of the size of her client or the perceived power of her opponent.  Jones represented a wide range of business interests before the Maryland General Assembly and the Baltimore City Council, including, but not limited to a major telecommunication provider, a gaming entity, several non-profit institutions, and a technology company.

In 2008, Sean R. Malone joined the firm which led to the well-known and respected name throughout Maryland “Harris Jones & Malone, LLC” (HJM). Immediately prior to joining HJM, Malone served as Deputy Legislative Officer in the Governor’s Office of Legislative Affairs under Governor Martin O’Malley.   As Deputy Legislative Officer, Malone assisted in the creation, drafting and lobbying of the Governor’s legislative agenda and oversaw agency legislative efforts in labor, collective bargaining, public safety, economic development, veteran’s affairs, administrative law, and judicial proceedings. In addition to his role in the Legislative Office, Malone also acted as the State’s Chief Labor Negotiator, successfully drafting and negotiating contracts for each of the State’s seven collective bargaining units.

Before joining the Governor’s Office, Malone was Labor Commissioner for the City of Baltimore from September 2003 to January 2007. As a member of the Mayor’s cabinet, Malone was a trusted advisor to the Mayor on labor and political matters. Known as a “tough, but fair” negotiator, Malone drafted, negotiated and implemented 16 multi-year city-wide labor contracts and acted as a hearing officer in grievance proceedings. Also, during his tenure as the Labor Commissioner, Malone represented the City’s Administration before the legislature in Annapolis during the 2005 and 2006 Sessions of the Maryland General Assembly as a member of the Mayor’s government relations team; he also represented city agencies and the Mayor’s administration before the Baltimore City Council.

For more than three and a half years, and before his tenure as Labor Commissioner, Malone was a member of the command staff for the Baltimore Police Department, serving as the Department’s Chief Legal Counsel and Chief of Professional Standards. Malone provided legal advice to the Police Commissioner on employment, criminal, and administrative law issues. He successfully litigated cases before administrative trial boards, the Baltimore Circuit Court, the Maryland Court of Special Appeals and the Court of Appeals during his tenure. Malone honed his litigation skills, initially, as an Assistant State’s Attorney for Baltimore County after graduating magna cum laude from the University of Baltimore School of Law.  In 2017, he entered his 20th year as a member of the Maryland Bar.

The combination of Lisa Harris Jones’ private sector experience and Sean Malone’s public sector experience proved to be the perfect mix.  Now with a strong team of hard working associates, Harris Jones & Malone, LLC is recognized as one of Maryland’s premier law and government relations firms, representing clients in a multitude of industries across the State.

Harris Jones & Malone celebrated its 20^th anniversary in May of 2020. As founder, Lisa Harris Jones remains the first and only African-American woman in the State of Maryland to own and manage a law practice with a focus in lobbying, government relations, procurement, labor relations, and litigation at both the state and local levels.

Due to Ms. Harris Jones’ successful performance history and powerful leadership at HJM, its clients have enabled her to become the first woman and the first person of color to top the earnings list for registered lobbyists in Maryland.