Her Story
About Jacqueline
I didn't always know I wanted to be a lawyer. After completing my undergrad in dance and English literature, I earned a master's degree in humanities and social thought from NYU, where I studied literature and queer theory. I actually applied to PhD programs in English literature, but when I didn't get in, one school invited me to attend their law school, which planted the seed. A few years later, after my husband finished his PhD, we moved to California for his job, and I attended Berkeley Law School. I started my career in big law at Drinker Biddle, and Reeth doing product liability work, then moved to Sheppard Mullin's international commercial arbitration group. After I decided to have a child, I sought a position with more work-life balance, so I joined Weintraub Tobin, a midsize firm where I received incredible training. I first-chaired an 8-week jury trial there, which was originally continued when I had my daughter six weeks early. The firm stood behind me and said they couldn't do the trial without me, and I ended up trying the case when my daughter was 5-months old. Recently, I decided it was time to go out on my own. I had a solid client base and wanted to work with Kevin Benedicto, someone I met through the Bar Association of San Francisco. We founded Benedicto and Siminovich LLP on March 30th. Now, as a founder, my days include administrative work like billing and client intake, extensive networking through groups like Harvest Goal Collective (a women's business networking group), and Bar Association events, plus the day-to-day work of being an attorney - preparing for trial, reviewing documents, writing demand letters, handling discovery disputes, and researching legal issues and writing briefs, which is what I love to do.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Jacqueline
01What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to my husband. We've been together since we were young, and he's always believed in me, even when I didn't believe in myself. We've gone through all these life changes together, and even when I didn't know what direction my career was going, he was always like, 'Well, you're smart, and you're hardworking, and I know you're going to achieve something great." Even when I was taking this leap to start my own firm, he was so excited about it and so supportive. Having someone who's always believed in me has made all the difference.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice I ever received came from a dance instructor at Muhlenberg College. I wasn't being cast in dance shows, and I was really down about it. He told me, "Just remember that you're beautiful, and you know you're beautiful, and it doesn't matter what other people are doing or if other people are casting you, because that could be for a variety of different reasons." I think that advice has transcended my different careers. When people say negative things to you, you always have to keep in mind that you are good enough, that you are beautiful.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
You still face challenges that you think you wouldn't face in 2026, like obstacles related to having a family and caregiving. When I lost my dad last year, it made me reevaluate what I needed to prioritize, and having a kid changed that too. Remember that you don't need to give up everything for your job. There can be alternative ways to do things. That's why I decided to start my own firm, because my role was no longer working for me as a mother and attorney. You may get the message that there's only one way to do things, but keep in mind that sometimes you need to think outside the box to find a different, better way,
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
AI is both a challenge and an opportunity right now. As these tools come out, it can be really difficult for lawyers to adopt them because of privacy concerns, since we deal with a lot of confidential information. But at the same time, these are tools that you need to use, because if you don't adopt them and you don't get comfortable with them, you're going to be left behind. At my old firm, because it's a larger firm, they were very conservative about AI, which is understandable, but now that I've started my own firm, we have the flexibility to adopt new tools. With AI we're able to increase efficiency, which is important for a two-person firm. I think AI is also disrupting the legal field because those assignments that you would give to junior attorney you can give to AI. It's going to make the field rethink how we train junior attorneys and what kind of work they get.
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