“I like putting deals together, forging relationships with other companies, and helping to make companies stronger and operate better.”
This is what Alina loves about practicing law. Working primarily in life sciences as a transactional lawyer, she has spent the bulk of her career in the tech, telecom, pharma, and health care trenches. Alina is also drawn to the corporate compliance side of businesses, having thrived in chief compliance and related roles for a variety of companies. She’s also no stranger to serving as general counsel.
The Miami-based attorney also is principal of Jarjour | Legal, her own consulting practice. Here, she provides legal counsel and corporate compliance consulting within the life sciences and ICT industries. Since joining the Axiom team in 2015, Alina has completed multiple engagements where she continues to help iron out deals for a number of large companies.
What initially drew her to Axiom was its flexibility when it comes to picking and choosing engagements. “It was attractive to know that I could be an Axiom employee and not have to take on a particular assignment if I chose not to,” says Alina. “With Axiom assignments, I could predict the timeline with a level of certainty, and then balance my other clients and family life.”
When she isn’t firming up corporate deals and helping companies meet their goals, Alina is spending time with her teenage daughter, or exploring her passions outside of law. This includes going on weekend meditation retreats and teaching what it means to live mindfully. She has studied with many meditation teachers and is certified in Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR).
“I believe that if we began learning meditation at an early age, we’d have more focus on self-care and focus better on our reactions and attitudes,” she says. “We’d team-build and collaborate differently, which ties into creativity. There’s a way to learn how to access creativity through different mindfulness tools.”
Standing up for the underdog, from debate team to law school
Alina knew from a very early age that she wanted to go into law.
“By the time I was in eighth grade, I’d established a pretty nerdy public policy existence,” she jokes. “I would watch Good Morning America before school and was totally into news, politics, and the government. Coupled with that, I was always excited about helping the underdog.”
Alina says she wasn’t shy when it came to speaking up for other kids and stating her position on issues and events. It isn’t all that surprising that she found her way onto the debate circuit, winning awards for her ability to present logical arguments and ultimately persuade others. “The debating confidence boost empowered me, and the natural next thing for me was law school,” she says.
For Alina, her undergraduate experience was merely a means to an end — something she had to complete in order to get to law school. She chose to study one of her other passions during this time: English literature. She completed her degree with lightning speed, finishing it up in just three years. From there, she headed to the University of Pennsylvania Law School. “I recognized early on that law was the right fit for me,” says Alina. “It was challenging and super interesting.”
Three decades of experience, and a passion for continued learning
Jarjour went on to make a name for herself as a legal professional over the next three decades. She has served in general counsel and corporate compliance roles for multiple companies within the tech, telecom, and life sciences industries.
Alina has never been one to shy away from a challenge, especially within the business world. Working at Axiom has enabled her to continue to assist corporate general counsel and compliance departments. As an Axiom attorney, she excels in helping companies manage complex issues, including everything from commercial, ethics, and regulatory considerations, to legal operations optimization. This includes working on complex licensing deals, multiparty collaborations, and completing risk assessments.
Alina values continuing legal, ethics, and public policy education opportunities, and often presents on those topics as well. She has earned a Health Care Compliance Certification. To fortify the business side of what she does, she also completed a mini-MBA program at Boston University.
“I’m also in the middle currently of the Public Leadership Credential program at Harvard Kennedy School, which centers around public policy and involves the completion of six classes, plus a capstone,” Alina adds.
A harmony of legal and personal life at Axiom
The ability to take on specific assignments that interested her is what initially drew Alina to Axiom. She enjoys the work and the fact that she gets to flex her legal muscles in a way that meshes well with her other professional obligations and her personal life.
“Being able to get home and have dinner with my daughter and do other activities I enjoy has been very important to me,” she says. “With Axiom, they’re not just placing you and then saying goodbye. You’re part of the Axiom business, and you’re supported by the Axiom team throughout. I’ve never worked with an organization like that.”
Alina is also passionate about her life outside of work. As a first-generation American, she was brought up by Cuban parents and didn’t speak English until she started kindergarten.
“I love living in Miami; it really is a melting pot,” she says. “I’m someone who really embraces my cultural heritage.”
This is something that directly colors her professional life at Axiom, as she practices law in both English and Spanish. And her daily meditation practice carries over into both her personal and professional life, helping to clear her mind and cultivate her creativity.
Looking towards a collaborative future for the legal industry
While none of us can say for certain where the future of law is headed, Alina is confident that managing privacy will continue to play an integral role — data, how and where it’s stored, what’s being kept private, and how it’s being used. “It’s an area that’s still not regulated to a degree where we have real clarity,” she says. “European countries are ahead of us in that regard.”
As far as the legal industry itself goes, Alina hopes it will evolve in a way in which attorneys are seen and valued more as collaborators within companies. “We are not viewed generally as revenue-producers. Yet, we’re very much asset-builders,” she says. “What I want to see happen is more along the lines of showcasing lawyers in this light.”
The most obvious example of this, she adds, is the lawyer who helps put business deals together. However, compliance is equally important. It has the power to save a company by identifying a problem before it bubbles up and causes stock prices to go down. The collaborative model Alina favors is more evident within the corporate compliance area, where the business folks — and indeed all stakeholders within the company — work continuously with compliance to stay current on legal and ethics issues, assess risk and fill gaps, and work together to make improvements across the enterprise. “The people doing the compliance work are primarily lawyers, along with accountants and other compliance professionals,” says Alina.
For Alina, Axiom has been a place to grow professionally and personally. She’s built strong new connections with clients and colleagues alike, which is no small feat when you work remotely. To work with lawyers like Alina, or to join our team, get in touch with us at Axiom.