Jenna Matthews

I think the key to my success has been getting around the right people, because I think your company definitely has a lot to do with it. In undergrad, I used to surround myself with a lot of people who just didn't believe that women should have careers, and they fully believed that women should be at home. But I've learned that you are who you run with. It's important to get around people who have the same values as you, especially in the legal field. If you're around professional attorneys who believe the same as you and treat their clients with respect, that will rub off on you. Before you know it, you're practicing differently, you're talking to clients differently, even down to how you draft documents. I personally know some attorneys in our area who will flat-out yell at their clients, and I don't agree with that, so I'm not going to try to learn from them. I wanted to get around my current boss specifically because she has a domestic violence background and has worked with victims of domestic violence and sexual abuse, which is the field I want to go into. I also think passion plays a huge role. I didn't come from money, I didn't come from parents who had a lot of resources or a background name that I could stand on, so I've had to make it for myself. I put myself through undergrad, I'm putting myself through law school, and it's all about making connections, putting yourself out there, and being willing to be told no and move forward anyways.

The best career advice I've gotten is to get around people who have the same values as you. Even being in a law practice, if you are around certain attorneys, that will rub off on you. Before you know it, you're practicing differently, you're talking to clients differently, you're even drafting differently. I've seen it with some attorneys. You are who you run with, that's the whole thing. So I think it is important, if you do have the opportunity, to get around professional attorneys in my field who believe the same as you. They don't have to eat the same breakfast as you, but do they respect their clients? I personally know some attorneys in our area who will just flat-out yell at their clients, and some people think that's okay, but I don't agree with that. So of course I'm not going to try to go buddy up with them and be like, hey, can you show me some of your ways? I think it's important to get around people who you can say, hey, you know, I like the way you do this, can you show me this? And just follow in their footsteps. Don't get around people who you wouldn't want to spend a day in their shoes.

If I could give one piece of advice, I'd probably just say keep going. There are a lot of days where, just being honest, I think, you know, hey, prostitution sounds pretty good - I wouldn't have to get up at 4:30, I wouldn't have to read 100 pages of case law, I wouldn't have to answer emails. But it's just every day, just taking it one day at a time, and just saying, hey, I'm going to complete today, I'm going to keep going, I'm not going to give up, and then tomorrow I'm just going to do it all over again. A lot of women get discouraged if they don't see a promotion within six months, or if they don't get into law school with the first acceptance, or if they don't even pass the bar the first time. I see a lot of women give up. I know a lot of women who took the bar the first time and they just gave up. But I think it's just take every day, day by day. Right now, as I sit, I don't even plan out my week within a week's advance because I don't know what my week is going to look like. I do it 24 hours by 24 hours, and I just tell myself every day I'm going to get up and I'm going to do the best I can, and I'm not going to quit. I joke around all the time with my close friends, I'm like, I'm just going to drop out and become a barista. But I know that wouldn't fulfill me. So I have to wake up and keep doing what I'm doing, even though sometimes it can get boring, sometimes you're tired, sometimes you're stressed, or whatever it might be. Sometimes you're going to do it with dirty hair, but you still got to do it. So just keep going. Wake up every day and just keep doing it. Also, from my personal experience entering into the legal field, I think women get looked down on because it is a male-dominated field. People look at women and they think we're ditzy, they think we're dumb, they think we're not going to work hard enough. I think it's just important you put your head down and you just kind of show them up. I've been doing that my entire life. You just put your head down, you go to work, and then you just shock the crap out of them.

From my personal experience entering into the legal field, I think women get looked down on because it is a male-dominated field. People look at women and they think we're ditzy, they think we're dumb, they think we're not going to work hard enough. Even being in law school, my law school is male-dominated, so I feel like every time a woman stands up to brief a case, the guy in the back row rolls his eyes. But it's 2026, women deserve to be here too. And I think it's the same in the courtroom. When a man walks in in his three-piece suit and a woman walks in in her heels, they almost just huff. But it's like, hey, we got the degree too, we passed the bar the same way we got the degree, we deserve to be here. So I think it's just not letting that get into your head, the stigma of hey, you don't deserve to be here, or in certain law places, hey, you don't deserve to be the top one. There are a lot of places where females are just the associate attorneys and they don't believe that they should be partners. I just think women sometimes let that get in their head and they're like, oh, this is all I'll ever be, this is the highest position I'll ever have. And I think it's just putting your head down and saying, hey, just because he's a man and this is a male-dominated field doesn't mean I can't go out and own my own law practice one day.

Professionally, I think keeping your word is a big one. I was raised in a small town, I was raised in the South, and your word means everything. It's kind of like how a handshake used to mean everything. So I think if I tell a client I'm going to do something, then I'm dang sure going to try to keep my word. Of course, if it's illegal, I can't do it, but if I tell my boss I'm going to do something, then I better sure figure out a way to do it. I think if you can make a reputation for yourself that you do keep your word, I think that does carry you a long way in the legal system. If you're not out here saying one thing and doing the next, or saying one thing during mediation and then all of a sudden you're drafting a different order or a different motion, people are like, what the heck? So I think keeping your word and building a good reputation on that is very important in your professional life and definitely in the legal system, and trying to keep your word with your clients. In my personal life, the value that I hold most important is honesty. This may sound silly and simple, but honesty is huge for me. When I was young, from the ages of 7 to 11, I was raped by my grandfather on a regular basis, and he would always tell me, hey, if you ever come out and say anything, they're not going to believe you, you're so young. But when I finally came out and told, I remember the prosecutor Philip Hatch asked me on the stand, what's the most important thing that you could ever do? And I said, tell the truth. And that has been ingrained in me ever since I was 14. So honesty is everything to me.