By A.J. Kaufman, Managing Editor
As president and chief operating officer for Baker Donelson, Jennifer Keller is a leader in the Tri-Cities and beyond. The firm is among the largest in the South and Mid-Atlantic with nearly 30 offices in a dozen states and Washington, D.C. Before her current role, Keller served clients as an employment litigator. Closer to home, she was recognized by the Business Journal of Tri-Cities as a 40 Under Forty recipient in 2004 and is a member of the Johnson City Chamber’s Hall of Fame.
Business Journal: Why did you choose law and Baker Donelson as your career path? Was being chief operating officer an original goal of yours?
Jennifer Keller: I was a Business major and English minor in college, and merging those two passions seemed to point me to the law. I also spent time as a runner, law clerk and paralegal for a firm in Knoxville while in college and law school, and that confirmed my interest and direction.
I was and still am a huge fan of Howard Baker and his brand of respectful, creative-solutions politics. So, early in my law journey, I decided I wanted to work for “Howard Baker’s law firm” and pursued that with vigor. It was a firm known for excellence and high achievement. I would beg to take deliveries to the Baker office and would hang out there longer than needed in hopes of meeting people and learning more. I passionately pursued the grades in law school that would get me a look at the firm and was very blessed to land there. I really do feel like it was the path God intended for me, and I’m very grateful.
Being COO was certainly not an original goal; that job didn’t even exist in the firm at the time, and I would never have ventured to aim for that at the early stages. I have attempted to do every job and role I’ve held in the firm to the best of my ability and to standards I hope would make Howard Baker proud. That has served me well, and I’ve been able to serve in a variety of exciting roles over my career.
BJ: What were your priorities once you began in your current position, and what accomplishments are worth noting since then?
JK: When I began in the COO role over 11 years ago, my priorities were to help the firm continue to focus on excellence and client service through the practice groups and departments that I manage; to continue the positive growth trajectory of the firm, both in terms of geographic growth and headcount, but also in revenue and profitability; and to do those things while maintaining the culture core that has been so fundamental to the Firm since its inception.
Through that time, I’ve worked with two very stellar CEOs. Some of the accomplishments worth noting are growth into 12 states, with numerous new offices and practitioners; adoption of and adherence to a client-focused, growth-oriented long-term strategic plan; financial results that equal or exceed the industry’s impressive averages in an increasingly competitive atmosphere; and record employee engagement scores that continue to reflect a genuine passion for the firm and the work it does for our clients.
BJ: What advice do you give women, or anyone, considering starting their careers in your field or in leadership — either here or elsewhere? Have there been specific challenges and lessons learned?
JK: My consistent advice to anyone considering a demanding, competitive career is to remain authentically you. It is exhausting to try to be anyone else; if you can’t be yourself, you will find yourself defeated, frustrated and unfulfilled. While I know it isn’t popular advice, I also encourage young lawyers to focus first on becoming the best practitioner they can be before they turn focus to climbing the ladder or achieving a new title or higher salary. This requires long hours, dedicated study, learning from mistakes and listening to mentors. If you do the hard work consistently, the other pieces will more easily fall into place. My final advice is to know your strengths and weaknesses. Collaborate with those whose strengths and weaknesses complement yours, and don’t be afraid to ask for help or say you don’t know something. No one in this world is good at everything, and we all need others to do our best work.
Sure, there have been lots of challenges along the way. My job is to lead lawyers, and as you can imagine, they are not an easy group to lead. Everyone is taught to argue, to feel passionately and to be skeptical. A few quick lessons learned: Trust is earned and priceless; treat it as such. There will be problems you can’t solve and that’s OK. Give grace to yourself and to others. Remember self-care; you can’t lead when you haven’t slept, moved or eaten well. Listen well, especially if you are the decision-maker; while your decisions can’t please everyone, you can make sure people feel respected and heard. Admit when you are wrong. And finally, treat people as people. They have lives outside of work, feelings and real challenges that you may never know.
BJ: While surely no day is typical, what does a usual week or month involve in terms of work and travel?
JK: A typical week for me is between 50 and 60 hours of work. I absolutely love my job, which is essential given its demands. Because we have well over 20 offices across 12 states, I am usually traveling somewhere every week for at least one or two days at a time. Building culture is incredibly important to us, so part of my travel is to be in all of our offices to interface with our folks and hear what is going right and what we can improve upon. I spend the majority of my time in meetings of various types with our practice group leaders, department chairs, our marketing and business development and IT teams (that I am responsible for) or individual attorneys with issues that need to be addressed. I’m a Microsoft Teams superuser for sure.
BJ: What else should we know about you or your job?
JK: At its core, my job is to manage the lawyers in our firm through our practice group and departmental structure. I also manage our firm’s marketing and business development and IT functions. That’s my “day job,” and it has literally been a dream come true. But I am proudest of my 35-year marriage to my newly retired husband, Jeff, and my sweet daughter, Peyton, who works in ministry. I love Tennessee football, Disney, travel and reading. I’m learning golf and pickleball, and I want to learn to play the drums and to return to my love for dance.
