“I think being underestimated is a good thing. Because it gives you the opportunity to just prove them wrong.”
Janelle Carney is the Managing Shareholder of the Spokane and Tri-Cities offices of GLP Attorneys. Janelle has consistently been honored as one of Spokane’s Top Lawyers from 2014 to present, and she has been awarded the Rising Star Super Lawyers Award for the past nine years (the top 2.5% of attorneys in the State of Washington.) Janelle graduated from the University of Washington in 2005 and Arizona State University Law School in 2007/ She has been practicing law ever since.
Liv Gooding:
Hi Janelle, thank you for being here. Can I ask, what made you want to be a lawyer?
Janelle Carney:
Well, I wanted to be a lawyer ever since I was about nine years old and a teacher brought it to my attention. My parents would always say it as a joke because I always argued with them. But the truth of the matter was that I was always the mediator at school. There was a kid in my class that was always getting into trouble. But there was this one time when he didn’t actually do it, and they just kicked him out of class and made his parents come in. I knew he didn’t do it, because I sat behind him, so I went to the teacher and to the principal and said “this isn’t fair”. They ended up apologizing to him. But that was just the beginning of things to come.
After that, I was always just kind of looking into it. There weren’t any lawyers in my family, but my dad would read John Grisham books. And when I was in fifth grade my dad said the books were about lawyers so I started reading John Grisham books. There are actually some really funny photos of me, just a little peanut reading these big books. But that just always followed me.
There were a lot of times like throughout the years where I would think about doing something else, but there were always signs that took me back to it. For instance, I really liked advocating for people. And I knew even before I went to law school that I wanted to do plaintiffs work and represent people.
My whole family has been in insurance. The insurance claim process is basically part of our vocabulary. But I knew I didn’t want to be on that side. I think that there were a lot of signs and I feel really lucky that the signs in my life were right. I really do feel I’m doing the right job for me.
Gooding:
What type of law do you practice?
Carney:
I do plaintiffs work, personal injury. I’ve done that since I graduated law school.
Gooding:
Why did you choose this area of law?
Carney:
I knew that I wanted to fight for people who were the underdogs; people who needed an advocate and who couldn’t do it on their own. I think that was very clearly why I wanted to be a lawyer from a young age was that feeling of being strong enough to stand up for people that can’t do it themselves.
I also knew that at the end of a job well done, I wanted to be able to hug my client, which feels really rewarding.
I worked in an insurance company before law school, and I learned very quickly that it wasn’t for me. I mean, it serves a purpose for sure, but I didn’t really want to work on that side. I didn’t want to pull those hours just to make an insurance company richer. I just knew I wanted to represent an individual person.
Gooding:
Is there anything that really stands out that you like most about what you do? And what don’t you like about what you do?
Carney:
What I like most about it is my clients. I really feel I can make a difference. Even if it’s a small difference, it’s still a difference in their life and it’s rewarding. I really enjoy my clients. On the days where I’m exhausted, I feel there’s always something good that happens on that day. I’m working really hard, but it helps this person in a tough time in their life. That’s what I love about it.
What I don’t like about it is the amount of fighting you have to do. It’s frustrating. Sometimes you don’t want to fight anymore but you have to ignore that. Sometimes there is the thought that you should just give in because this is exhausting, but you have to ignore that when it’s somebody else’s life.
Gooding:
Do you find that female attorneys get treated any differently by lawyers or judges?
Carney:
Yes I do but it’s much better than it was when I started. When I first started, I was in Arizona and then I went to Seattle, and I did feel that. And when I came over here to Spokane, it was even worse than in Seattle. When I was in court sometimes I would be the only female. And I was constantly asked when the lawyer would show up.
In my early jobs, people would just assume I’d be getting the coffee. Or I was often mistaken for a court reporter. But I tend to not dwell on that because I think being underestimated is a good thing. Because it gives you the opportunity to just prove them wrong.
Gooding:
Do you think it’s a lot better in Seattle and worse in Spokane, or do you think it’s universally bad everywhere?
Carney:
I wouldn’t say it’s bad everywhere. I would just say it’s still there. If you done research on how many women are shareholders in a law firm in Washington state, it’s really not very many, especially considering how many women are graduating from law school.
But I do think Spokane has been slower to catch up. But I also feel that Spokane is small enough that your reputation precedes you. I’ve been here long enough that that stuff doesn’t happen to me anymore.
At one time our Spokane office had all female attorneys and people made disparaging comments about that, that we difficult to deal with. But if you think about the amount of time that has passed since women could even be lawyers, I feel like we’ve come pretty far. But I also am a glass half full person.
Gooding:
We are getting there, right? Have you even done any pro bono work?
Carney:
Yes, I actually graduated from law school with pro bono distinction. So I did a lot of pro bono work with women’s shelters and women that were escaping from domestic violence with their children. I helped them get restraining orders, get set up in housing, things like that. Then I started a not-for-profit a couple of years ago to try to limit gun control.
Gooding:
Wow – and that is something you do outside of working at GLP Attorneys?
Carney:
Yeah.
Gooding:
Do you follow any cases that are currently in front or working their way up to the Supreme Court?
Carney:
Yes, I do.
Gooding:
Are there any that you have paid particular attention to recently?
Carney:
Well, obviously, Roe v Wade, I’ve been paying close attention to it.
Gooding:
Do you think it’s good or bad that the decision was leaked?
Carney:
If I were to answer that as a lawyer, it’s bad. The Supreme Court has rules for a reason. Decisions shouldn’t be leaked. The rules of decorum and the rules of the Supreme Court should be respected.
On the other hand, I think that it’s a frightening decision, not just for women’s rights, but for everyone. It is setting what we call “precedent”.
It’s really belittling what our country has been founded on, which is case law and precedence and the balance of power. I can get all heated and frustrated about the social justice part of it, and what the decision says. But the actual legal analysis as a lawyer is really, really frightening.
Gooding:
Do you think having Jackson on the Supreme Court will have any real effect on the Court’s decisions?
Carney:
I think that every person who is on the Supreme Court has a important effect. If you think about how much it can affect young women who are growing up in similar circumstances, to see someone who looks like them, who had experiences like them, and is now sitting on the Supreme Court, can really encourage them to go places. Whether that’s the Supreme Court or being a lawyer or being a doctor or anything they want to be. One person can definitely affect the Supreme Court. I mean, you can just look at RGB and what she did for our country.
Gooding:
That’s great. The last question I have is, what advice do you have for any young woman who wants to get into law?
Carney:
Well, I would say one piece of advice for anyone who wants to get into the law is to surround yourself with lawyers and actually work in a law firm to make sure you want to do it.
In law school for some people it was the thing that they thought they were supposed to do. Then they got into it and they hated it. It’s a very expensive undertaking if you don’t like it. The first thing I say to everybody is, actually work at a law firm, see what it’s like. It’s not like the TV show “Law and Order”.
If you don’t like school and you don’t like reading, you’re not going to like being a lawyer. If you don’t like talking in front of people, you’re not going to like being a litigator. First, make sure that it’s truly something that you want. Then once you’ve made that decision, I would just say: work your ass off.
And also find a good mentor. Find someone who supports women, find someone who you can ask questions of. Never feel you are going to look stupid for asking a question. Because in the law there are so many things to think about on both sides. Strategy is all about asking questions, thinking things through – then just stand up for yourself and believe in yourself.
My favorite quote is “behind every successful woman is a tribe of successful women who have her back”, so work hard and find your tribe.
Gooding:
Thank you so much. This has been really helpful.
Carney:
You’re welcome. Where will this go?
Gooding:
I’m doing a legal literature website. I’ve been interviewing lawyers and writing articles about current cases and other legal topics of interest regarding women in the law.
Carney:
Awesome. Great idea. You should put on TikTok.
Gooding:
I might have to.
Carney:
You never know. You could go viral.
Gooding:
I could!