Jack Harrison

The thing Jack Harrison loves most about being a lawyer for children—that he is constantly learning from his clients and their families—is also central to his advice for new lawyers. While law school and the legal profession can sometimes send the message to budding lawyers that they should have all the answers, Jack encourages them instead to listen and learn from children and their families. He knows from experience that they have much to teach us about who they are, their life experiences, and their priorities.

Jack is a juvenile defender for the East Baton Rouge Office of the Public Defender. He has been with the agency for 14 years but will soon move to a role as full-time clinical professor at Louisiana State University (LSU) Law School’s Juvenile Defense Clinic, where he has served as adjunct professor since 2009. As if a full-time public defender practice and clinical teaching was not enough to keep him busy, Jack also serves as the current editor of the Louisiana Children’s Code Handbook.

Jack received his Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Georgia in 1985 and then earned a Master of Fine Arts in 1989 from the Ohio State University. While studying, he recorded music and toured in the United States and Europe, eventually settling in Germany in 1995. In 2001, he enrolled at the LSU Law Center, as a “non-traditional” student (which, according to him, meant “older than” and “rather unlike” a lot of other LSU students).    

While Jack loved writing songs, recording music, and playing the guitar (and still does!), he realized his passion was to help others who are in vulnerable positions in society. After working as a staff attorney for Louisiana’s Third Circuit Court of Appeals after law school, he saw an ad appear for a juvenile defense attorney position at the East Baton Rouge Office of the Public Defender and he jumped at the chance.

As he got into the role, he realized it was exactly the type of career he had hoped for and more. He found working with young people and parents and grandparents to be incredibly fulfilling. What he loves most about his work is the emotional connection with youth and their families, even though as a law student he received lots of advice about the importance of keeping “emotionally distant” from clients. The longer Jack has practiced, the more that advice, while well meaning, has seemed counterproductive. For him, the relationship and emotional connection with his clients is what keeps his passion for the work burning and makes him a zealous, client-centered advocate.

One of Jack’s proudest moments as a lawyer was an excellent example of client-centered advocacy. Jack’s client was at risk of transfer into adult court. Although Jack thought his case and upcoming hearing would have benefited from more preparation time, his client’s priority was to get out so that he would be able to walk the stage in his high school graduation. Knowing his client had understood the risks of going forward, they forged ahead, and he was out and on stage to graduate. Listening to his client and what was important for him and elevating that over his “lawyer need” was a great lesson for Jack. 

He feels strongly that communicating to clients that they have value and allowing them to take some of the power back in the relationship and within the system is an important part of a strong attorney-client relationship with any client, but particularly with youth. Jack also appreciates that many of his clients may have good reason to be skeptical of him as “another part of the system,” as a public defender, or as White person working in a justice system rife with discrimination against Black and Brown youth and inequities at every stage of the process. Acknowledging that these perspectives are real and justified, working to demonstrate his commitment via action, and using his access within the system to achieve good results are all steps Jack strives to take for his clients.

He has been an especially passionate advocate for his transgender clients, who have faced discrimination and mistreatment as they interact with courts, detention, probation, and all too often, from family and society. Jack’s insistence that all players in the system respect his clients’ names and pronouns, that his clients have access to personal care items consistent with their identity, and that they are protected from further harm, has helped move the entire system to a more respectful and equitable place. Shifting system culture and hearts and minds in a conservative part of the country is an ongoing challenge, but Jack has seen a gradual shift for the better in policy, practice, and attitude that is encouraging. While he acknowledges that there is much more to be done, he is especially pleased to see a new generation of lawyers and judges who are strong advocates for LGBTQ youth pushing the system to do better.  

Although sad to leave the public defender office soon, Jack is looking forward to fulltime teaching. He has really seen how valuable the clinic has been in elevating the representation for juveniles in East Baton Rouge Parish. Jack hopes to continue the great work of prior clinical professors and instill the same passion for advocating for children that he has found from the optimism and hope of his child clients and their families. 

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