Counsel, Jackson Kelly PLLC
Photo by Rick Lee.
By Katlin Swisher
Logan, WV, native Taunja Willis Miller has had a career of firsts, which has helped pave the way for other female lawyers to be successful in the Mountain State. A law career wasn’t always on her radar, but finding this path has allowed her to leave her mark on both her profession and West Virginia.
Before college, Willis Miller dreamed of working for the United Nations. When she enrolled at West Virginia University (WVU) as an undergraduate, she pursued a degree in French with plans to put it to good use with foreign service. She later switched to political science, realizing she did not want to stray too far or too long from West Virginia.
“WVU helped a shy girl from Logan grow into a relatively confident young woman who was the president of the senior honorary and a varsity cheerleader,” she says. “More importantly, I became committed to staying in West Virginia and making it a better place for all to live.”
Willis Miller earned her law degree from WVU College of Law in 1977, receiving Order of the Coif and Patrick Duffy Koontz honors. Her class was the first class to attend all three years in the new law school facility, marking an exciting start to a long career of firsts. There were also plenty of challenges and benefits to studying at WVU College of Law, all of which contributed to the success story that is Willis Miller’s career.
“The most challenging aspects about law school were the Socratic method of teaching and having only one examination per semester,” she recalls. “The most enjoyable parts were being surrounded by bright people, honing analytical skills and writing. My law school class was the first class with a significant number of women in it, which was an interesting dynamic.”
After graduation, Willis Miller joined Jackson Kelly’s Charleston office, where her practice was primarily focused on the area of public finance. Public projects she worked on included the establishment of West Virginia’s first water and sewer bond bank and the creation of WVU Hospitals, the predecessor to today’s West Virginia United Health System, known as WVUMedicine.
As a young female attorney, Willis Miller encountered misconceptions about her abilities that were based on her gender and age.
“Early on, a Charleston city official complimented one of my mentors on how smart he was to bring an assistant, referring to me, to city council to take notes when I was the one who had prepared the ordinance and other documents being presented,” she says. “Even in law school, one firm I interviewed with asked whether I would be able to lift the property books in the courthouse. I think I addressed these challenges just by continuing to do good work, which is what most people want.”
She continued to counter those misconceptions with her hard work and diligence, becoming the first female partner at Jackson Kelly in 1984.
Led by her deep love for and commitment to the state of West Virginia and its people, Willis Miller withdrew from Jackson Kelly in 1989 to become the state’s first secretary of the Department of Health and Human Resources (DHHR) and a member of Governor Gaston Caperton’s cabinet.
“It was an incredibly difficult job,” she recalls. “The state was experiencing a financial crisis, and much of my job involved canceling programs and finding ways to either cut the budget or obtain more funds. It was and is one of the largest departments in state government. It was also very rewarding. We made substantial progress, particularly relating to health care programs that still exist.”
According to Willis Miller, her time spent as the DHHR secretary helps her keep the practice of law in perspective today. “Deciding whether a security interest is validly perfected may be challenging intellectually, and a wrong decision could prove costly. But that decision is very different from one directly affecting people’s quality of life—whether they will get health care, child care or even food,” she says.
After three years of public service, Willis Miller returned to Jackson Kelly in 1992 to resume her practice. She served as the managing member of the firm’s Bridgeport, Martinsburg, Morgantown and Wheeling offices and was instrumental in the development and growth of the firm’s presence in the northern part of the state.
Over the course of her career, Willis Miller has developed a broad-based business practice in which she represents hospitals and health care providers, 501(c)(3) organizations and higher education institutions in financial and business transactions, including tax-exempt financings.
“I knew I wanted to do business law, and Jackson Kelly asked if I would be willing to do bond work,” she says. “They do not teach bond work in law school, so I said, ‘Tell me what a bond is, and I’ll be glad to do it.’ It turned out to be the perfect fit, particularly for someone who wanted to drop out of law school to become a social worker. Bond work is public finance, doing the legal work for governmental entities and nonprofits to borrow money for water and sewer systems, college housing facilities, hospitals and other public or charitable projects. So, if I had known what bond work was, I would have chosen it without even being asked.”
Willis Miller was one of the first lawyers in the state to focus on public-private partnerships to provide educational and other facilities. She has assisted in the transition of several health care facilities from public to private status and has been involved in many hospital financings throughout West Virginia. She also regularly represents government entities in economic development initiatives. In addition, Willis Miller engages in commercial transactions, including bank financings, the purchase and sale of assets and low-income housing tax credits.
Today, Willis Miller is a resident in Jackson Kelly’s Morgantown office. In this position, she leads a team of younger lawyers who work on financial and other business transactions for government and nonprofit organizations.
“Much of what I am doing now is mentoring others,” she says. “It is a process of transition. You start with the younger lawyer assisting you on a transaction you lead. Over time, you start assisting the younger lawyer with transactions that he or she leads. The investment is worthwhile because it benefits not just the younger lawyer but also the firm and the clients you have worked with for years.”
Willis Miller has always given back to her community, regardless of where she was practicing law. While in Charleston, she served as the board chair of both Daymark, Inc. and the Schoenbaum Family Enrichment Center, Inc. and as a board member of the United Way of Central West Virginia, West Virginia Health Right and the YWCA. She has also been a member of the Center for Rural Health Development’s loan committee since its inception and received a Leadership in Rural Health Award from the center in 2011.
Since moving to Morgantown, she has served as a member of Governor Earl Ray Tomblin’s Early Childhood Planning Task Force. She recently completed terms as the board chair of the Monongalia County Child Advocacy Center and the secretary of Arts Monongahela. In addition, she is always willing to assist nonprofit entities with organizational matters—she regularly consults with or drafts bylaws for organizations such as the free health clinic and the homeless initiative.
In addition to these boards and community causes, Willis Miller cherishes her appointment to and current service on WVU’s board of governors.
“Serving on the WVU board of governors combines almost everything I care about into one opportunity,” she says. “A land grant institution, WVU’s mission embraces things I care deeply about—education, health care and prosperity. I have always worked to improve the lives of children. Educating young adults, many of whom are first-generation college students, is vital to that improvement. Improving the lives of children means improving the lives of their families who need stable incomes, safe places to live and opportunities to succeed. WVU’s focus on economic development through West Virginia Forward and other activities can help bring those opportunities.”
The goal Willis Miller set as an undergraduate at WVU to stay close to West Virginia and help its people have better lives here is even more deep-rooted today and continues to drive her to succeed and give back to the state.
“I am a life-long West Virginian and truly have never had any desire to be anywhere else,” she says. “I have always garnered strength from the hills and from my heritage. I have had a wonderful professional and personal life here, and I want to help others have the same.”
