Following graduation from law school where he served on the staff of the Texas International Law Forum, Dale Jones spent the next two years as an examiner in the United States Copyright Office. He then moved back to Texas and engaged in the private practice of law in Lubbock for almost 30 years. His private practice experience included both criminal and general civil trial work in state and federal courts with an emphasis in appellate practice. He has been a participant in the Fifth Circuit's Texas Appointment Plan since 1985, representing indigent appellants in criminal cases by direct appointment from the court of appeals.

Professional memberships for Professor Jones include the Appellate Section of the State Bar of Texas, the Bar Association of the Fifth Federal Circuit, and the Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association. He is a Life Fellow of the Texas Bar Foundation. He is admitted to practice in the state courts of Texas and in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas, the Fifth, Tenth and Eleventh Federal Circuit Courts of Appeal, United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces, and the United States Supreme Court.

In the fall of 1999 after 20 years with the firm of Shelton & Jones, Professor Jones began teaching full-time on the faculty of the law school as a Legal Practice Professor. In November, 1999 his article entitled Law and Politics in Lubbock County in the 20th Century was published in the Lubbock Avalanche Journal as one of twelve monthly retrospectives on the history of Lubbock County during the past 100 years.

While at the law school, Professor Jones continues to serve as legal counsel for Palo Duro Presbytery and also serves on the executive committee of the South Plains Council of the Boy Scouts of America.