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Polymath in the Law - Janet Ward Black - Part 5
Polymath in the Law - Janet Ward Black - Part 5
We are joined by attorney extraordinaire Janet Ward Black of the Ward Black Law Firm.
Law Talk is a non-partisan forum to discuss the law and legislation, developing legal issues, public policy, and practice tips for legal professionals and Lawyers in North Carolina.
We invite speakers from different backgrounds and perspectives to be guests.
And I couldn't find a parking space and I couldn't find the building because it said van HEK. We talk on it. Not. And then I drove to Durham and there was this big gravel parking lot outside of a big old, ugly building that said law on the outside. And I said, that's the place for me? so I chose to based on basically the parking situation and I don't think it's gotten any better.
At chapel, I've been at a time or two at the, I think I apologize if I'm calling it wrong, the school government. And I seem to just go in circles and go in circles and then having gone to state, I'm not that far down the road, but I've tried a case or two right there off of Franklin street. In fact, I did not know that the courthouse in chapel hill.
Is actually in the post office. And so I was walking back and forth. I'd go past the hot dog place. And then I would go down the street a little bit more. I'm like, it's, it says I'm right here. And then finally some said, you're looking for a courthouse. And I went in to the left side is a, it's a neat little courtroom.
And then the right side's the post office. So I think that's interesting. Neat parking lot. So note two, all law school deans have good parking. Exactly. So you did law school. It's the three year thing. I think it was. It's always been that I don't know any school's been longer than that. And then you went to work for a district attorney's office, right?
Yes. I was actually in a small firm. First off, I made a number of errors going during law school. One of which was not taking trial advocacy cuz I was afraid to speak in public. So I thought I need to do whatever I need to do to not have to speak anymore in. So I didn't take trialed. And I thought that I wanted to be a corporate lawyer that I wanted to maybe represent sports stars or actresses and actors.
And when I had a hard time finding a job, when I got outta duke law school, So I ended up in a teeny, tiny law firm in Charlotte, right downtown. And I was living in Salisbury and having to commute back and forth every day. And I started about doing that work and realized not only was I not good at it, I didn't like it.
And I didn't care really about page 27 and where the comma was. And should it be a cynical and versus, or. I had to figure out what I was going to do next Cober and Roanne counties were together judicial and they had never had a girl da before. So I went and interviewed and my home county and much to my delight, the elected district attorney took a chance on me and hired me as the first girl assistant as he would refer to me.
And that was a real challenge for everybody because they've not had a whole lot of women in court. and it ended up being one of the greatest jobs I could ever have because I was forced to stand up and try and have a docket with 200 cases on it. Five, four days a week in district court. And then after about 10 months in district court, one of the senior assistants went out on his own.
So they kicked me upstairs, as they say, and I went to superior court and then I got to try jury cases for almost three. And it's very hard these days to get that kind of courtroom experience in most practice areas. And I loved every single minute of it. I loved police officers. I loved what they did.
I loved the bar in Salisbury and cabs. I knew a lot of those lawyers, frankly, a lot of them were taught by my mother and they were therefore afraid of Ms. They taught by my mother. And it was just an absolutely remarkable time to be able to learn trial skills. There you go. Y'all you have one of the best trial advocates in the state of North Carolina who did not take trial advocacy in law school, my trial advocacy class at Campbell.
It wasn't optional. We had to take it. And one of my professors was two that I remember, I think both of 'em one's Rick Glazer and the other one was Billy Richardson. And. They were just private practicing attorneys and don't take long, you can Google either one of them and find out what they've done in the state.
Rick is one running one of the programs for advocacy for people. And Billy just finished up one of his terms or finishing up one of his terms in the North Carolina general assembly, both Fayetteville, Cumberland county lawyers. And that's one of my great sadnesses because. I realized the quality of lawyers that were treat teaching trial ad at duke.
It was the Don kins and the Don Cowans and people that I knew once I got out how prominent they were and how much I could have learned under them, but I was afraid to do it because I frankly was afraid that I would get embarrassed public. If I took trial ed, it would be too much stress on me.
And it was the wrong decision now in retrospect, but at least I got to make up for it in the DA's office. And that's one of the disadvantages of living in Charlotte. I would teach in a minute if I could, even in part-time basis, I would love to do that. It's just, it's all I ain't nowhere close to Charlotte is we like to say, or as listed Ramsey used to call us the great state of me.
So who were the leaders in the law then in Cabra row when Charlotte used to be like me and I think Aston cross the river was part of ours. And then there was that big district that went from edge of high point. So Lexington that went all the way across, over to what we say, Dale and over to Taylorville.
So he had Morrisville, Statesville went across Rowan. So when. and I had mentors and people, I just stayed walking in a courtroom. I'd sit down and watch them. Who were the people? And when you were working in cabs county or Rowan county, excuse me, as the da one was that actually two of them were former assistant district attorneys, Tim Hawkins, and Wayne Nixon in cabs county.
