Andrew Janet grew up watching his parents give back to the Jewish community.
“Both my parents were always very involved in the Jewish community and did a lot of work for different charitable organizations here, and that’s something that is important to me,” said Janet.
Today, Janet attends services at Beth El Congregation every day, reciting the Mourners’ Kaddish to honor his father, who recently passed away. On Monday nights, he leads services, as is traditional for someone in a period of mourning.
“According to Jewish laws on death and mourning, it also honors the deceased for the mourner to serve as the prayer leader, so I’m revering my dad’s memory by leading mincha and maariv services,” he explained. “He faithfully said Kaddish for my mom along with me for 11 months when she passed away, and now my mourning process has been a way of showing my love and respect for him.”
Janet grew up in the Stevenson-Pikesville area, attending Beth El. For college, he attended the University of Pennsylvania. At Penn, he stayed involved in the university’s Hillel and participated in a Jewish Theater Club called Teatron. Then went to law school at New York University.
“I realized in law school that the system of English Common Law, which forms the basis for all judicial opinions, is fundamentally influenced by the Talmud. Jews have been arguing about the meaning, implications and limitations of Jewish law for thousands of years, and it’s essentially the same as the precedent-based judicial analysis that courts engage in today,” he said. “I’ve always been proud to be part of a religion that values critical thinking and analysis rather than blind adherence to dogma.”
Today, he is following in his father’s footsteps as a personal injury attorney at Janet, Janet & Suggs, LLC, a firm founded by his dad.
“The specific kind of work that I’m doing, personal injury work, that was what my dad did all my life, and it always seemed like something that he enjoyed doing and felt fulfilled by,” Janet said. “It’s really a way of helping people who really need the help. You’re representing people who have been injured.”
Janet is now the managing partner at the firm, and said he believes his work is rooted in Tikkun Olam.
“I’m working with a lot of people who’ve been hurt by the system that they trusted, and they really have suffered injustices,” he explained. “This is a way of making things right, trying to get defendants to make up for what happened to my clients, and, ultimately, repairing their world.”
He added that the financial compensation his clients receive is not just about money.
“It’s also about securing the stability in their lives to be able to help them deal with these serious injuries,” Janet said. “I always admired the work that he did, and he always told me that he thought I’d be good at it.”
Still a member of Beth El and currently living with his wife and three children in Pikesville, Janet is also involved in Beth El’s Men’s Club as vice president of membership.
“It’s a nice service to the synagogue to be able to provide fun and educational events for everyone, and to help foster this sense of community at the synagogue,” he said. “The Men’s Club organizes events that foster a sense of community in different ways, including by helping us learn more about the synagogue’s leadership and about health and safety issues, as well as by planning many purely social events. As the vice president of membership of the Men’s Club, I not only help maintain and grow that community, but also serve as an ambassador of Beth El and the congregation’s values.”
Throughout the passing of different family members, Janet said the Jewish community has always provided him a shoulder to lean on.
“The Jewish community is strong and supports each other…that’s something that I really feel has helped me when I’ve gone through tough times,” he said.
