Women in the Law 2026 – Carolyn Jahnke, Athena Legal Solutions

Burned out with corporate law, Carolyn Jahnke found a calling helping women seeking business counsel.

She founded Verona-based Athena Legal Solutions in 2019, building a team to offer legal services to individuals on a variety of legal matters, business clients and nonprofits. Jahnke said it’s a different kind of law firm — one centered on proactive partnership rather than reactive legal work.

The firm focuses on helping founders build strong legal foundations early and evolve those foundations as their businesses grow. That approach allows clients to make decisions with greater clarity, operate with confidence, and build businesses that are sustainable over time.

Jahnke is proud to have built an all-women firm that demonstrates what is possible when high-level legal work and sustainable careers are designed to coexist. The approach, she said, allows clients to make decisions with greater clarity, operate with confidence and build businesses that are sustainable over time.

Her community work is focused on leadership, governance and mentoring, including her current role as vice chair of the Badgerland Council and as a Girl Scout leader.