Feb 25, 2020
In this episode of the Fenom Podcast I am talking with Jennifer Givens, she is a UVa Law School Associate Professor, on the General Faculty at UVA law and the Director of the Innocence Project Clinic.
Previously she worked as an assistant federal defender in the for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and as a senior staff attorney with the Virginia Capital Representation Resource Center, where she represented death-sentenced inmates in post-conviction proceedings.
An off hand comment in a 9th grade Political Science class about how she’d “make a good lawyer,” launched Jennifer on her path of representing and serving others in, arguably, one of their most trying times. She went straight to law school at DePaul College of Law after finishing her undergrad at Furman and found her niche after working for criminal defense attorneys who represented death row inmates in their appeals. She began working as a staff attorney out of law school and went on to become an Assistant Federal Attorney in Philadelphia where her professional career flourished.
She met her now husband at 38 and had to make the complicated decision every professional woman is faced with - family or work. She decided she would make the most of her career and with the support of her husband they have figured out what works for them and their son. I have known Jenny for years and her “can do” energy is infectious whether it is in taking classes at my studio or out serving the greater community or into the class room she has the unique ability to see past obstacles and focus on what is actually possible.