Jennifer Justice: More Than a Pretty Face

Name: Jennifer Justice 

Age: 30-something 

Job: Music-industry lawyer 

Location: New York City 

Notable Quote: "Music crosses all borders. It is the ultimate inspiration." 

The daughter of a single welfare mother, Jennifer Justice grew up in Washington state during the grunge craze. Today, she is the youngest partner at the entertainment law firm Carroll, Guido Groffman, representing clients like Jay-Z and Method Man. How did she get from there to here? Marie Claire talked with Justice about beating the odds.

Q: So what exactly do you do?

A: My job is to know everything about the musicians we represent and what they want in life. I go to all the shows, become friends with them. In this business, you have to be able to do the smart-lawyer thing, but also be the person who can hang with Velvet Revolver and have that je ne sais quoi. You can't be intimidated and you can't be starstruck — or, the other way around, you can't think that these singers are a bunch of idiots. You have to be able to move between worlds effortlessly, and my background has helped me do that.

Q: Meaning?

A: I grew up as one of three kids to a teenage mom. My mother was so young when she had me that now I have friends her age. I knew that I never wanted to be like that — dependent on men and welfare to get by. So I did well in school, went to college, then got a scholarship to Cornell Law School.

Q: It's a big leap from welfare to where you are now.

A: Actually, a lot of my clients come from the same background as I do. There's a lot of insecurity in growing up poor. My clients want guidance. And they know that I'm here to look after their business assets.

Q: What's the coolest thing about being a music lawyer?

A: I don't need two separate outfits for my job and my life — we're not the corporate suit types! But seriously, I love that, as a music lawyer, I stand for someone's ideas; I'm representing an art form. As a corporate lawyer, you often don't stand for anything.[image id='747a0968-8c7f-4b1b-a1f4-5bfc18ce9edf' mediaId='88b46afe-b221-4898-ba84-4728a2b94412' loc='C'][/image]

Q: What made you choose this career?

A: Grunge music was big when I was at the University of Washington and working in the prosecutor's office in Seattle. I would go listen to the bands, and I loved it! There were always female lawyers at the shows who were representing the bands, and I thought that would be such a great job.

Q: When you're not at shows, what are you doing?

A: I'm at listening parties or in studios hearing samples. In Hollywood, it's the agent who gets the actor the gig. In music, lawyers play that role. I have a bunch of "baby bands," as we call them — groups starting out that I shop around, trying to get them a record deal.

Q: What's it like being in business with Jay-Z?

A: I remember when we were working on The Black Album. It was a high-stress environment — there was a time crunch, and I was dealing with some difficult personalities. It was Friday night, and I was exhausted, unwinding at dinner with a friend. Suddenly, I get a text message from Jay-Z. I'm like, Now what? He says, "I'm getting calls from people saying you're a real hard-ass to work with." And I was like, Uh-oh, I'm in trouble. Then he goes, "Ha! Ha! That's why I like you!" Because at the end of the day, I'm the hard-ass he pays to look out for him.