PBN Leaders & Achievers 2023
Jean A. Harrington
Duffy & Sweeney Ltd.
Partner and chair of the corporate department
JEAN A. HARRINGTON comes from a family of lawyers and had worked in their offices as a child. She kept up the practice in college and went on to law school to follow the family tradition.
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Harrington is proud of her ability to find creative solutions and work on all sides of a transaction. She applies such traits at Providence-based law firm Duffy & Sweeney Ltd., where she has been a partner and the chair of the corporate department for the last 24 years.
“My experience allowed me to just hit the ground running,” Harrington said.
Harrington majored in child psychology and thought she would go into family law. Instead, she drifted toward business law, which was less emotionally taxing.
“I realized that my emotional level – I had a lot of empathy – I couldn’t do that kind of [family] law,” Harrington said. “It would just eat me up from the inside because I wouldn’t be able to take all these people home with me.”
Harrington specialized in business and acquisitions, and enjoys the challenge of the puzzle. When company mergers are reported in the news, it doesn’t sound very fun, she said. But Harrington says there are all kinds of pieces involved in mergers.
“[There are] all kinds of maneuvering and moving of the pieces around to get to the final picture, and everybody is going toward that final picture,” she said. “It’s very collaborative, strategic, and I enjoy that a lot.”
As chair of the law firm’s corporate department, Harrington said she seeks out development and growth opportunities for her co-workers. Harrington also said she often mentors people who are interested in enrolling in law school.
Attending law school is going to be challenging, said Harrington, who treated going to classes like a job.
“You need to have perseverance, and you have to realize that it’s a commitment,” she said. “People are going to sit on the other side of a desk or a table and expect me to guide them. It’s a great career, and it’ll take you as long as you want to stay in it.”
