TCDIP Featured Lawyer: Jihan Jenkins
Jihan Jenkins
Cargill Law Department
Intellectual Property
Jihan answers four questions on how she has achieved her level of success.
How did you do it?
Ha, I’m still doing it! I’ve by no means achieved all the goals I’ve set for myself but I try to remember that my career path is a marathon and not a sprint. A mentor of mine once pointed out that my reluctance and dislike of change would hold me back. In view of that advice, I strive to remove myself from my comfort zone and take more chances (but it’s not easy!). I can’t do that without my support system, which is made up of attorneys and other professionals from a variety of backgrounds. It’s important to surround yourself with people like you, but I think it’s just as important to surround yourself with people who are not like you as well. Some of my biggest supporters and sponsors look nothing like me and have had vastly different experiences. Having such a diverse support system has allowed me to gather different thoughts and perspectives, reflect on that advice, and make what I think is the best choice for me, my family, and career goals. If you think you’re going to be able to do it alone, you’re mistaken.
What do you do outside of the law?
Before having my son, I had a lot of hobbies! In my stage of life right now, I try to spend as most time as I can with him, my husband, and two dogs. Spending time with them makes me happy and allows me to reflect on what’s most important.
Who were the people critical to your success?
Again, I think the questions for me is who are the people critical to my success because I’m still in the beginning stages of my journey. There are simply way too many to name! As I mentioned above, my mentors and sponsors have been super critical to my success this far. And, I think it’s a great time to be a woman, a minority, and a working mother attorney. There’s been so much chatter about us lately, it’s so very awesome! There have been so many professional minorities, women, and mothers, whom I don’t know personally, that have paved the way for my success. We are moving away from being less valued in the workplace to demanding equal opportunities and I love it! I have certainly benefited from their tireless advocacy in enhancing awareness of the importance of diversity in the workplace.
Who do you want to thank?
Again, there are too many to name but I must start with my parents who raised me to be the confident, driven woman I am today. There’s no way I could recognize all they have done for me, but I’m so very thankful for their unyielding support and love. I don’t take them for granted and thank God every day for them. I also want to thank my husband for his support – he moved all the way up here from Atlanta to Minnesota for my career opportunity and I just think that’s so awesome! I’d also like to thank my Godmother, who is one of those minority women, working mom attorneys I mentioned above that paved the way for me. She’s been an awesome mentor and one that gives me solid, candid advice about my legal career. Lastly, I’d like to thank Cargill’s law department for taking a chance on me just shy of two years ago. Transitioning from an Atlanta law firm to Cargill’s in-house legal department was a great move for me and I’m very thankful for the opportunity.