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Polymath in the Law - Janet Ward Black - Part 3
Polymath in the Law - Janet Ward Black - Part 3
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 so I guess, particularly in some of the leadership roles that you mentioned, I figure I'm not there just to take up space that I need to. Using what creativity and brain that I have to figure out if I can improve the circumstance of the institution. So I think I was pretty much like that from the beginning.
Nothing wrong with that. Were you, did you know, growing up, I wanted to, I suspect you always knew you wanted to serve others. That's just. Who you are, but did you know it was going to be in law or did you, you actually have a scientific background too at Davidson, which I did not know. And I've known you for a while.
I knew exactly what it, what I wanted to do from the time I was about three. Oh, wow. And that was to be a doctor. Ah, and so I was quite the science head. For example, when I was a teenager, people would bring me jars of animals to dissect as Christmas present. and I did manage to get a chemistry scholarship to David.
And the worst thing that happened to me was I placed out of high school biology and that put me in organic chemistry the second semester of my freshman year at Davidson. And that was the end of my plan to become a doctor. I had never made bad grades before. And I made a C plus on one of their tests and I thought I was going to die at Davidson.
It was very competitive for premed there. And my dad that I mentioned about growing up in the depression, he'd always told me, he said, I want you to have a job where you never have to ask somebody for a job. So I knew doctors didn't have to ask people for a job. At least I thought they didn't. And I'm like, okay, what else can I.
I know I'll be a lawyer and it is that level of intellectual rigor that I use to make the decision to go to law school. Now in addition, when I mentioned about my chemistry scholarship, that actually came from the cannon foundation in can Annapolis. And the scholarships that the cannon foundation provided were in very specific study areas, because a lot of what they were hoping is that people would come back and work in the mills or work in textiles.
So it was a way to bring young people back into the community. So economics was not on the list of approved majors, but at Davidson wonderful liberal arts school, that it was, that's what I decided I wanted. To major in. So I had to March myself back to the cannon board and ask them if they would make an exception and let me change my major from chemistry to economics and still keep the funding that they provided.
And they were kind enough to do that. I had no great. Now, in retrospect, I know is exactly what I was supposed to do. I would've made a rotten doctor. The minute somebody died on me, I would've been a puddle and not able to operate, but by a, by working in the law, we are able to affect policy that can help, for example, all north Carolinians.
So it allows a bigger impact than one person at a time. So in, in retrospect it was absolutely the right thing, but did I have some good plan to do this? Absolutely not. I started as a biology major in college, and I have a theory about I did. I took a lot of chemistry and I had this theory that you're either solution chemistry or organic and you're, and I was more a solution chemistry either like algebra, calc.
Or you like trigon geometry. I was a solution chemistry, algebra calc, and I like the, yeah. Organic was not, I don't think anyone has an easy time with organic chemistry. And I thought I wasted a lot of credit hours. I was actually pretty close to, I could've, and I don't remember the exact number of hours, but it took me a little bit longer to get through college in part because of switching majors.
But I thought, at least said, no. I'm sorry, I've heard organic chemistry has made more lawyers than about any other course in study, and I believe that, and actually I'm grateful for it. I'll tell you the truth though. I don't think a scientific background in what you do and or what I do is necessarily bad.
Understanding body mechanics and things are, has been valuable to me. Yeah. I think I know the answer. I think I know the answer, this and I know you're in, I remember when your mom passed and I was sadden for you at that time, and I know she was incredible influence on you. And so I'm assuming she's gonna be one of your greatest influences, but who were your influences growing up?
It could be family. It could be national leaders. It could be friends, oddly. I think it's somebody that I met when I was a docent in fifth grade, there was a pathologist who came to my classroom and I was supposed to show parents around the classroom and he, his name was J Williams and he thanked me for showing him around and asked me if I wanted to come to the hospital and see what they did in the pathology.
And I think just the offer of that time to let me see what he did for a living was something that I shouldn't have expected. So I think that probably that, that generosity had an impact on me that I've tried to pay forward a good bit, but you're exactly right. It said that you don't think your parents have any sense until you're 30.
I think that there was a long period of time where that was true, but in retrospect, I now. Recognize the influence that being a teacher had on young people. So for example, every time we would go out to dinner in can Annapolis or Concord, somebody would come up to my mother and say, Ms. Black, you are the hardest teacher I had in high school, but now I've become a so because of what I learned.
That sort of admiration of the influence of teachers was really profound. And so I've had some teachers in my life that, that had a big impact on me as well. But I think my mother first and foremost, and as you feel comfortable in, it's not something that I think reminds me of a verse that I think is attributed to natural law theorists, where it says go there for and spread the good news of the gospel and if necessary use words.
