Discovery with Joan Foote Jenkins

The Houston family lawyer knows secrets, imitations and the accordion

Published in 2016 Texas Super Lawyers magazine

By Joan Foote Jenkins on September 6, 2016

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My nickname is … Jo.

 
I can’t go a day without … chocolate.
 
My colleagues would be surprised to know that … I once played the accordion.
 
When I was a newbie lawyer I … had two children and a “night school” law degree.
 
The quality I most like in a lawyer is … pragmatism.
 
My pre-trial routine is … hard, hard work.
 
The lawyer I most admire is … Donn Fullenweider.
 
When I started, I wish I knew … anything! I had never been in a courtroom or law office before I was sworn in.
 
My career high point (so far) has been … earning the respect and friendship of Burta Rhoads Raborn—one if Texas’ finest women lawyers.
 
If I weren’t a lawyer, I’d be … a psychologist.
 
The SCOTUS justice I’d like to meet is … Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
 
The SCOTUS decision I’d overturn is … Citizens United.
 
A different practice area that intrigues me is … personal injury work—or what is left of it.
 
I can do a pretty good impersonation of … almost anyone. I am a great mimic.
 
My hero is … anyone who works for Doctors Without Borders.
 
On weekends I … am in Wimberley on the Blanco.
 
The talent I wish I had is … writing well enough to write fiction.
 
The most fascinating person I ever met is … Robert Duvall.
 
I get angry when … I encounter a bully.
 
My earliest memory is … a huge snake crawling across the living room of our home—circa 1950s.
 
My favorite song lyric is … any George Strait song—especially “Murder on Music Row.”
 
The three people I’d invite to dinner are … Charlie Rose, Michelle Obama and Kris Kristofferson.
 
I wish I had invented … the iPhone.
 
If I had a morning show, my co-host would be … Gayle King.
 
The last TV show I binge-watched was … Orange is the New Black.
 
Nothing cheers me up like … my grandsons.
 
If I won the lottery I’d … give half to Doctors Without Borders.
 
The most annoying thing about my job is … other lawyers—especially the lazy ones.
 
My worst previous job was … credit clerk for Montgomery Ward.
 
My favorite word is … not printable.
 
My least-favorite word is … not printable.
 
My guilty pleasure is … a secret.

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