Legal Legacy

After establishing New Hanover County’s Public Defender Office in 2008, JENNIFER HARJO is looking forward to what’s next on the docket: her April retirement after seventeen years of dedicated legal service. 

Harjo says that while the law and the “drama of court” fascinate her, she isn’t an extroverted personality herself. But getting up and arguing on someone else’s behalf is something she can do. And how apropos, because with her newly found free time, she plans on getting up on stage when she performs with her all-female band called The Hot Flashes among other ventures.

WILMA spoke with Harjo as she prepares to transition from the legal world. 

Accomplishments in her time as chief public defender: 

Harjo says that one of the most rewarding aspects of her work was when she heard from former clients who were able to get out of the system and turn their lives around. 

“Sometimes you feel like you’re spinning your wheels a little bit when your clients don’t help themselves as much as you want them to because they don’t have any hope, and it’s hard to get out of that rut or that depression,” she says. 

She recalls, for example, a woman who moved to another state, is off probation, and now rescues animals and volunteers at shelters in her community, and a client who was able to get out of a harsh and lengthy probationary term and is now raising his young family.  

“They’re very appreciative and thankful for everything we’ve done, but honestly, they’ve put in the hard work.”

On lessons learned: 

“One of the things I have to remember, and this is a good lesson for myself, and I think it’s a good lesson for everybody: We are all just human beings, and a lot of us are subjects of the environments we lived in and the upbringing we had – and I’m no different from any of my clients. There are people in jail, and just because they’re in jail it doesn’t mean they are bad individuals,” Harjo says.

“One of the big lessons – the daily lessons – that I have is that I have to be mindful of the fact that everyone isn’t perfect. Oftentimes prosecutors are far from it, so are judges, so are police officers, so are defense attorneys. It’s just a reminder to try to always do better, be the better person.” 

Thoughts on women in leadership roles: 

“I have a lot of women in leadership roles in my office – unfortunately not as many as I’d like to see in the judicial system and in government in general,” Harjo says. 

“Women do an excellent job in leadership roles, in managing people, in thinking clear-headed, and in being able to make tough decisions at the right time with the heart, which is what’s necessary.” 

She says she would love to see more women in law, specifically criminal defense but admits it’s a tough job. “I think it’s a great, worthwhile career choice, and I really hope we can steer more women toward that area of the law, but it’s not a lot of money and not a lot of appreciation.” 

Advice for other women in law:
When she was growing up, Harjo said she remembers being surrounded by lawyers who were helping her family with tribal law (she is of the Muscogee, or Creek tribe), and from that experience, felt called to work in that field. She didn’t see many women in those roles, however, and she didn’t know how to express that she wanted to do that type of job. 

“When I was growing up, there weren’t a lot of women in law, and the thoughts of even expressing that this is what I want to do, it was kind of embarrassing,” she says. “I never said that to anybody for the longest time.” 

After earning a degree in accounting – because at the time, she says, that was the “safe” thing to do, she realized that she still wanted to work in criminal law. She applied to law school, was accepted, and stayed true to following her passion. 

Above all, she advises: “Be strong, be yourself, don’t back down, don’t worry about what others say about you, and stick to your convictions.” 

To view more of photographer Madeline Gray’s work, go to madelinegrayphoto.com.

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