Zabrina Jenkins spent nearly two decades at Starbucks building a legal career that took her all the way to Executive Vice President and General Counsel, where she led a 375-person global team and advised the CEO and Board of Directors on the company's most critical decisions. She earned her law degree cum laude from Syracuse University and has served on a publicly traded corporate board, proving that there is no single mold for what a powerful legal career can look like. Today Zabrina mentors women in the legal profession and is passionate about opening doors for the next generation of diverse leaders.
Their story
“The best doesn't come easy. That's why there's nothing else like it.” Starbuck Legal Counsel
20 min
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Key quotes
“The best doesn't come easy. That's why there's nothing else like it.”
Zabrina Jenkins, quoting her father
“I went back to the law school, petitioned for readmission, and I made the decision personally to start all over again. I clearly did not hit the mark the way that I needed to, to lay that strong foundation to be a lawyer.”
Zabrina Jenkins, Executive Advisor, Starbucks
“The opportunity to work in house at a Fortune 500 company under the leadership of someone who looks like me was extremely attractive.”
Zabrina Jenkins, Executive Advisor, Starbucks
“I know that there have been issues that I've had to deal with and navigate in my career as a woman of color.”
Zabrina Jenkins, Executive Advisor, Starbucks
“Be open to different opportunities and to different experiences because they are all things that you can add to your toolkit as you are on this journey.”
Zabrina Jenkins, Executive Advisor, Starbucks
Career highlights
Raise your hand for opportunities outside your comfort zone — that's where the real growth happens.
Zabrina says the best experiences in her career came when she stretched herself and took on things that weren't squarely in her comfort zone, which she credits for building her professional toolkit.
A setback is not the end — advocate for yourself and find a way back.
After being academically dismissed from law school after her first year, Zabrina went back to the dean, turned her dismissal into a leave of absence, earned a master's degree, petitioned for readmission, and started her 1L year all over again — ultimately graduating cum laude.
Mentorship can change your entire trajectory — invest in those relationships early.
A mentor Zabrina had known since high school was the one who called her about the Starbucks opportunity. He had guided her through law school selection and firm choices, and that one phone call launched her entire in-house career.
In-house law means you're part of the business, not just advising from the outside — that's a very different and rewarding experience.
Zabrina explains that as an in-house lawyer at Starbucks, she and her teams were embedded in real business decisions — from global supply chain logistics to real estate strategy — making her role feel more like a strategic business partner than a traditional attorney.
Representation matters — seeing someone who looks like you in a senior role can be the push you need to say yes.
Zabrina specifically named that the General Counsel at Starbucks at the time was an African American woman, and that visibility was a major factor in her decision to take the job.
Your compensation as a lawyer can go well beyond your salary — understand the full picture, including stock and equity.
Zabrina openly shares that her six-figure compensation included stock options that grew from $6 a share to over $109 a share, illustrating how corporate legal careers can build significant long-term wealth.