Janelle Smith

Janelle Smith

5.0
Rating: 10.0

Licensed for 14 years

Business Lawyer at Berkeley, CA
Practice Areas: Business, Employment & Labor, Litigation

1808 Sixth Street, Berkeley, CA

About Janelle

Biography

Practice Areas

3

Practice Areas

Fees and Rates

We have not found any cost information for this lawyer


Looking for an attorney? Avvo can help.

search module image

Search our directory

Quickly connect with top attorneys through our legal directory to get help with your legal issue.

chat module image

Avvo's live chat agents can help coordinate a consultation with a local attorney.

Chat with a live agent who can match you with the right attorney for your legal needs.

Chat with

Licenses

Licensed in California for 14 years

State: California

Acquired: 2011

Active

No misconduct found

Location

Buffett-Kennedy & Smith LLP

1808 Sixth Street, Berkeley, CA, 94710

Ad

Transform legal challenges into solutions.

Connect now to review your situation.

The Avvo Rating explained

display-bg

The Avvo Rating explained

Janelle Smith's Reviews

Avvo Review Score

5.0 /5.0

1 Client Review

5 star (1)
4 star (0)
3 star (0)
2 star (0)
1 star (0)

Posted by Michael | August 6, 2012

Start-Up Company utilizes J. Smith's legal services

Janelle's services were the key to our company's success. Her knowledge base and professionalism kept us from making any errors and in correctly and before the deadline filing a U.S. patent application for a non-provisional patent claim. The results of her work have proved spot on and we can confide...ntly without question recommend her services.

See All Client Reviews

Janelle Smith's Lawyer Endorsements

Endorse Janelle
Mahsa Gholami headshot
Mahsa Gholami

Litigation lawyer | Feb 20

Relationship: Fellow lawyer in community

"I endorse this lawyer."

Calvin B. Chang headshot
Calvin Chang

Employment and labor lawyer | Jul 15

Relationship: Fellow lawyer in community

"I endorse this lawyer."

Donald Douglas Bend headshot
Donald Bend

Litigation lawyer | Jan 15

Relationship: Fellow lawyer in community

"Janelle has that rare combination of not only being exceptionally smart, but also enjoyable to work with. That is why we refer clients to her and her team without hesitation. We know they will go above and beyond to help their case and will be a valuable member of their committee of trusted advisers."

Charles Tucker Cottingham headshot
Charles Cottingham

Litigation lawyer | Jan 15

Relationship: Fellow lawyer in community

"Janelle is an amazing person and an amazing attorney. She advocates rigorously for her clients and I never hesitate to refer any of my clients with business litigation needs into the capable hands of Janelle. I trust her 100%."

David J Starkweather headshot
David Starkweather

Business lawyer | Oct 15

Relationship: Fellow lawyer in community

"Janelle is a determined litigator. Janelle also has an uncanny business sense, always seeming to find just the right path for businesses to take regardless of whether it's a question about entity selection or concerns about employee issues."

Scott Randall Dallas headshot
Scott Dallas

Litigation lawyer | Sep 23

Relationship: Fellow lawyer in community

"Janelle Smith is a sharp, professional and highly-motivated attorney. She genuinely cares about her clients, and I've observed firsthand her tireless devotion to achieving the best possible results for them. I feel privileged to count her among my colleagues and strongly endorse her work."

Felipe Raimondo Parker headshot
Felipe Parker

Business lawyer | Jul 12

Relationship: Worked together on matter

"I had the pleasure of working with Janelle on several matters in 2012. I was immediately impressed by her diligence, smarts, and excellent manner with clients. I have since succeeded in convincing Janelle to join my practice. It was one of the savviest moves I have ever made."

Robert Monroe Wells headshot
Robert Wells

Business lawyer | Jul 01

Relationship: Fellow lawyer in community

"I highly respect Janelle as a fellow practitioner and as someone you would want to get to know. She is very approachable, compassionate and a strong advocate. Janelle is someone who cares about her clients and will go the extra mile to make sure the job is done right on all the matters she works on."

Brook Gwendolyn Meakins headshot
Brook Meakins

Business lawyer | Mar 21

Relationship: Fellow lawyer in community

"I love sending clients to Janelle! She is knowledgeable, calm, and always very professional. The clients I have sent her way seem happy after working with her. I wouldn't hesitate to work with Janelle, and am lucky to have her a colleague."

Michael H. L. Dundas headshot
Michael Dundas

Unknown lawyer | Nov 28

Relationship: Fellow lawyer in community

"As collegues, Ms. Smith and I have had the opportunity to discuss innumerable aspects of professional life. These interactions have given me a clear understanding of Ms. Smith’s character, intelligence, and work ethic, and a substantial sense of her knowledge of law in particular. I have the utmost trust and respect for Ms. Smith’s competence and integrity. Her moral character is unimpeachable."

Ryan Patrick Greco headshot
Ryan Greco

Employment and labor lawyer | Aug 16

Relationship: Fellow lawyer in community

"Janelle is an incredibly thoughtful and thorough attorney and I would recommend her to anyone seeking legal counsel in the areas of employment law or entity formation. In my experience, Janelle has always been honest and direct with both her clients and opposing counsel while providing first rate advocacy for her clients."

Lorraine Teraldico Peeters headshot
Lorraine Peeters

Employment and labor lawyer | Jun 07

Relationship: Fellow lawyer in community

"Janelle is bright, motivated, and passionate. She will take care with your matter and is willing to work hard."

Marisa J.C. Nelson headshot
Marisa Nelson

Unknown lawyer | May 22

Relationship: Fellow lawyer in community

"Janelle is an intelligent, motivated attorney whom I highly respect both as a person and as a professional. You can count on Janelle to do a good job on any case she takes on."

View All Endorsements
Calvin B. Chang headshot
Calvin Chang

Employment and labor lawyer

Charles Tucker Cottingham headshot
Charles Cottingham

Business lawyer

Donald Douglas Bend headshot
Donald Bend

Business lawyer

David J Starkweather headshot
David Starkweather

Bankruptcy and debt lawyer

Scott Randall Dallas headshot
Scott Dallas

Business lawyer

Marisa J.C. Nelson headshot
Marisa Nelson

Estate planning lawyer

Elizabeth Leigh Hurwitz headshot
Elizabeth Hurwitz

Unknown lawyer

Jennifer Rae Lovko headshot
Jennifer Lovko

Litigation lawyer

Robert Monroe Wells headshot
Robert Wells

Landlord or tenant lawyer

Rory Cosby Quintana headshot
Rory Quintana

Employment and labor lawyer

Corrine Clementine May Bielejeski headshot
Corrine Bielejeski

Bankruptcy and debt lawyer

Brook Gwendolyn Meakins headshot
Brook Meakins

General practice lawyer

Felipe Raimondo Parker headshot
Felipe Parker

Litigation lawyer

Ryan Patrick Greco headshot
Ryan Greco

Business lawyer

Anthony J Sperber headshot
Anthony Sperber

Employment and labor lawyer

Experience

Rating:  10.0 (Superb)

Honors

2015

Rising Star, Super Lawyers

2008

Legal Research and Writing, CALI Award

Work Experience

2015 - Present

Partner, Buffett-Kennedy & Smith LLP

2012 - 2015

Attorney, Stall Parker LLP

2011 - 2012

Attorney, The Law Office of Janelle J. Smith

2010 - 2013

Volunteer Attorney, The Sustainable Economies Law Center

2010 - 2011

Judicial Extern, United States District Court (N.D. Cal)

2010 - 2011

Law Review Comments Editor, University Of San Francisco School Of Law

2008 - 2010

Law Clerk, Law Office of Anthony J. Sperber

Associations

2015 - Present

California Lawyers for the Arts

Member

2012 - Present

Alameda County Bar Association

Attorney Member

2012 - Present

California Employment Lawyers Association

Attorney Member

2012 - Present

San Francisco Trial Lawyers Association

Attorney Member

2012 - Present

California Chamber of Commerce

Member

2011 - Present

California Bar Association

Attorney Member

2011 - Present

Los Angeles County Bar Association

Attorney Member

2011 - Present

State Bar of California

Attorney Member

2011 - Present

American Bar Association

Attorney Member

2010 - Present

Bar Association of San Francisco

Attorney Member

2010 - Present

Bay Area Lawyers for Individual Freedom

Attorney Member

Sample of Legal Cases

Contract dispute

Settled

Sexual Orientation Discrimination

Settled in client's favor

Joint Employer Wages

All parties satisfied

See More Legal Cases

Education

2011

University of San Francisco School of Law

JD - Juris Doctor

2007

University of California - Berkeley

BA - Bachelor of Arts

Speaking Engagements

2014

Alchemy Collective Cafe Resilient Communities Legal Cafe

2012

Community Economic Development Practice / Green‐Collar Communities Clinic (GC3) Business Developement Advice Clinic

Publications

Languages

English

Activity

Avvo Rating

Our Rating is calculated using information the lawyer has included on their profile in addition to the information we collect from state bar associations and other organizations that license legal professionals. Attorneys who claim their profiles and provide Avvo with more information tend to have a higher rating than those who do not.

What determines Avvo Rating?
  • Experience & background Years licensed, work experience, education
  • Legal community recognition Peer endorsements, associations, awards
  • Legal thought leadership Publications, speaking engagements
  • Discipline Disciplinary information may not be comprehensive, or updated. We recommend that you always check a lawyer's disciplinary status with their respective state bar association before hiring them.
Avvo Rating Levels
10.0 - 9.0 Superb8.9 - 8.0 Excellent7.9 - 7.0 Very Good6.9 - 6.0 Good5.9 - 5.0 Average4.9 - 4.0 Concern3.9 - 3.0 Caution2.9 - 2.0 Strong Caution1.9 - 1.0 Extreme Caution