Northern Nevada Business Weekly: Tell us about your firm.
Janet L. Chubb: Armstrong Teasdale LLP is a regional law firm with seven offices in the United States and a Shanghi office. We have expertise in every area of the law except admiralty. We have over 250 lawyers and our goal is to produce quality work at affordable rates.
NNBW: What role do you play in the company?
Chubb: I primarily represent creditors in bankruptcy cases. However, if anybody is owed money, I will help recover it.
NNBW: How did you get into this profession?
Chubb: It was law school or med school, so . . .
NNBW: What are some of the skills and abilities necessary for someone to succeed in this job?
Chubb: First, credibility is everything. If you have a bad reputation as a lawyer, you will not be successful. People have to believe you. You have to stand behind what you say you will do. You have to work hard and put out a quality product. In my particular line of work, you have to know how to make deals.
NNBW: If you could have had any other profession what would it have been? Why wasn't it your first choice?
Chubb: Well, med school seemed like a good thing up until organic chemistry, analytic geometry, calculus, quantitative analysis and philosophy, taken at the same time. All of those things made law school a more viable option.
NNBW: What are some of the important trends you see in your industry?
Chubb: I'm personally concerned about lawyers pricing ourselves out of the market. It has become so expensive to litigate that many individuals just can't afford lawyers.
NNBW:What do you like to do when you're not working?
Chubb: Race my NASA A4 Audi, travel, read, work out, visit kids and grandkids. Lots of things to do when time allows.
NNBW: Have any advice for someone who wants to enter your profession?
Chubb: Given how much it costs to get through law school now, it isn't looking like a great investment. In fact, it is extremely difficult to get a job out of law school and often the debt is overwhelming. I love my job and I love my work, but I don't know if I would recommend that anybody enter that career now.
NNBW: Would you rather be younger, thinner, richer or smarter? Why?
Chubb: Doesn't everybody want to be smarter, richer and thinner? I'm not so sure about younger, as I'm pretty happy with my age. I think we should each have one thing that we like so much about ourselves that we wouldn't trade it for any of these other things. Find what that is. It gives great solace when you think maybe there is something you would rather be or have.
NNBW: What's the best advice anyone ever gave you?
Chubb: The father of one of my law school classmates once told me that the most important thing about the practice was to get the work in the door. It always gets done.
NNBW: What are five things you can't live without?
Chubb: Work, kids, grandkids, good health, a naturally optimistic attitude. Oh, and my indispensable associate, Louis M. Bubala III, Esq.
NNBW: If you could have one superpower, what would it be and why would you want it?
Chubb: Major endorphins. It seems that endorphins make you happy for no real reason and more energetic.
NNBW: What does the content of your refrigerator say about you?
Chubb: That I rarely eat at home and never cook. My kids won't consume anything from my refrigerator without checking the expiration date.
The basics:
Name: Janet L. Chubb, partner - Armstrong Teasdale LLP
How long have you been in this job? Since November 2010
How long in the profession? I moved basically from Los Angeles to Winnemucca and became the city attorney there in 1974. Prior to that time, I was with the attorney general in California.
Education: Undergraduate, Loma Linda University at La Sierra; Law Degree, Loyola University School of Law - Los Angeles
Best book you've read? "Mission" by Patrick Tilley. About how to live your life well.
What's on your iPod? I don't have an iPod, but I have 1,000 songs on my iPhone. Things from every genre.
The best movie ever? "Bull Durham"
Spouse, kids or pets? Four kids, three of whom have started their own businesses in Reno. Four grandchildren. No pets, no plants. Plenty of freedom.
