Brenda Alexis Priestly Jackson operates the B. A. Priestly Jackson Law Office on East Ashley Street. She is also a member of the Duval County School Board.
HOW LONG HAS SHE BEEN THERE?
In December, Jackson moved her business from the Morgan Building on Forsyth Street, where she had been for five years. “I like this location a little better. Actually, because of my board responsibilities, I wanted to downsize some of my overhead.”
WHAT TYPE OF LAW DOES SHE PRACTICE?
Criminal defense and family law, but she does handle some wills and guardianship cases.
WHY FOCUS ON THESE AREAS?
“I’m a former public defender and family law I just gravitate to.”
WHAT IS HER BUSINESS PHILOSOPHY?
“I try to have a client-centered approach to family law. It’s a stressful area of the law but I believe I have been successful in minimizing the burden for the client. The biggest measure to me of my services is how my clients feel a year out from the case or two years out. Most of my clients come to me by word-of-mouth.”
WHERE ELSE HAS SHE PRACTICED?
“I was an associate with attorney A. Wellington Barlow until 1997 when I opened my own office.”
WHY GO SOLO?
“It better suits my lifestyle and personal opinions. I found it more accommodating to me as a wife and a mother to establish my own schedule. I needed flexibility and greater autonomy. I’m not a rich lawyer, but I have a decent standard of living.”
DOES SHE THINK THE PROFESSION IS PRO-FAMILY NOW?
“I think they’re trying to become more family-friendly. Judges, particularly the ones in family law, are displaying more sensitivity to the needs of the litigants. Anything you do to make it more user-friendly helps people understand the judicial process.”
HAS SHE WORKED IN OTHER FIELDS?
“Out of college, I was a teacher in Duval County. I taught at Douglas Anderson, moved away, taught at a prison for a year and then started law school up north. I came back here and taught high school English at Stanton. I love the interaction with young people.”
WHAT MADE HER SWITCH CAREERS?
“All my life people have said that the way I run my mouth, I should be a lawyer. I’ve always have a preoccupation with injustice and unfairness. I believe you pick a vocation and God gives you an avocation. The policy-making aspect of what I do is my avocation. I moved from education to law because of my preoccupation.”
WHAT’S MOST CHALLENGING ABOUT THE LAW?
“The most challenging aspect is balancing the clients’ real-life needs with the demands of the judicial system. That, and trying to keep pace with the changes that may occur in the client’s status or lifestyle.”
HOW LONG HAS SHE BEEN ON THE SCHOOL BOARD?
“A year and two months. Next to Jimmie Johnson [board chair], I have the most schools [in her district] of any board member. We’re a cohesive board of six females and one male.”
WHAT IS HER GOAL FOR DUVAL SCHOOLS?
“To increase achievement by all of the students. My strongest focus is on the minority achievement gap. Education offers opportunity, hope and dreams. Without it, you find young people hopeless, unable to dream and left with little or no opportunities. I believe we have an obligation to provide an equitable public education system that is affordable to everyone.”
WHERE DID SHE GO TO SCHOOL?
Grambling State University in Louisiana is where she received a bachelor’s degree in English. She earned her law degree from the University of Florida.
HOMETOWN
Jacksonville.
FAMILY
DeAndrea, Jackson’s husband, is a school administrator. They have four children, Imani, Malik, Kalif and Kya, ranging in age from two to f14.
TO WHAT GROUPS DOES SHE BELONG?
Jackson is a member of the D.W. Perkins Bar Association, Delta Sigma Theta, Inc. and on the board of Jacksonville Area Legal Aid.
HOBBIES?
A seafood lover, Jackson enjoys Joe’s Crab Shack in Jacksonville Beach. Reading, sewing and spending “quiet, uninterrupted time” with her family are her other passions. She also likes jazz music and football games.
WHAT’S UNIQUE ABOUT JACKSONVILLE?
“What’s unique about Jacksonville is the level of diversity we have and the potential we have because of that. Jacksonville is the only place you can go where you can have suburbs, an urban city and rural area all in one consolidated government. That brings people from different backgrounds and different perspectives. If we respect and appreciate how others are different — which doesn’t mean you have to agree with them — it will make us so rich as a city.”
— by Monica Tsai