Jana E. Matthews

  • Director, W.H. Gates Public Service Law Program

Contact

Phone: (206) 543-9065
Email: janamatt@uw.edu

Jana E. Matthews (she/her/hers) is a graduate of Indiana University McKinney Law School of Law and admittee to the Indiana State Bar.  Throughout her legal career she has honed her skills in the public sector, non-profit and private practice. Ms. Matthews’ law career began with her time as a Staff Attorney with the Indiana Supreme Court and Program Coordinator of the Indiana Conference for Legal Education (Indiana CLEO) program. In this role she spent a significant amount of time assisting law students from admission and enrollment to graduation, bar review preparation and securing full time employment. 

After her time with the Supreme Court, she transitioned into leadership, compliance management, resource, and program development in the non-profit sector with programs that focused on enhancing, empowering and educating middle school Indianapolis’ youth in the areas of academic success and community service. Her time with the Stacey Toran Foundation and DREAM Alive, Inc. helped diversify her legal professional experience from a traditional setting to a non-traditional environment.

Upon leaving the non-profit sector, she hung up her shingle as a solo practitioner and focused her practice on many areas including criminal defense, family law, probate, nonprofit creation, governance and compliance, and business development.  Outside of her practice Ms. Matthews served as facilitator/instructor with Indiana Wesleyan University and maintained a consulting business.

Since 2019, Jana has focused on career coaching, programming, and supporting law students and alumni interested in learning more about legal careers that include pro bono service, public interest, government, and Judge Advocate General (JAG) legal careers develop professional development plans. She had helped others with their professional development at IU McKinney School of Law and most recently at Seattle University School of Law.  As an advocate of community engagement, Jana also commits her time to serving, for the second year, as co-chair of the National Association of Law Placement (NALP) Public Service Section, Treasurer of the Loren Miller Bar Association and Chair, of the Delta GEMS Mentoring program with the Seattle Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.

She is an encourager and connector by nature and looks forward to the opportunity to share her knowledge, wisdom and experiences with students and alumni to maximize their potential and career opportunities.