Janelle Brienzi

Ms. Brienzi’s life experiences have helped to shape her professional career as an attorney, with a focus on all types of what falls under the description of “family law.” Born in a small town just south of Buffalo, New York, her athletic skills took her to undergraduate school at Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina, where she was a Division I runner on the cross-country and track-and-field teams. Even with all the time-consuming responsibilities of being a college athlete, she was drawn to volunteer for Oasis, a non-profit organization whose mission was to help survivors of domestic and sexual violence in Watauga County, deep in the NC mountains. 

During law school, she worked as a crisis line coordinator for Interact of Wake County, again helping those who were victims of domestic violence. Her work with these agencies along her with own personal experiences finally led to her work as a family law attorney.

Ms. Brienzi’s legal career began after she graduated from North Carolina Central University School of Law in 2008. She spent eight years with Merritt, Webb, Wilson & Caruso, PLLC, in Durham, N.C., before launching her own firm, Brienzi Law Firm PLLC prior to merging with The Law Office of Chelly Pennington to become what is now Pennington Brienzi Law, PLLC in 2020.  While with Merritt Webb, she worked in all general areas of law, though she served as the firm’s family law attorney.

Janelle believes that her experience as a young undergraduate student and law student counseling people in trouble, victims of abuse and violence, gives her a perspective on her clients and on each individual case that is important to providing those clients with the best representation.  She truly believes that each case coming through her door — be it divorce, child custody, domestic violence or another issue — represents the most stressful and life changing time in a client’s life. Thus, she believes that narrowing her practice to family law means she can devote her full energy to each of those cases and each of those clients. It is in dealing with people, in talking to them, counseling them, comforting them, that she finds her most rewarding moments.

In her own family moments, Janelle paints, and enjoys time with her family, husband, her two daughters and son, and her two step-sons