With a legal career spanning over 25 years, Juanita Harris is a veteran corporate attorney currently serving as Assistant Vice President and Senior Legal Counsel to Human Resources at DIRECTV. Prior to joining the DIRECTV leadership team, Juanita served in various leadership roles in the AT&T, Inc. legal department, and started her legal career in the United States Department of Justice Antitrust Division Honors Attorney Program.

She was an accountant and auditor prior to becoming an attorney. As an avid influencer, thought leader and relationship builder, Juanita founded the Three Degrees of Separation (TDS) professional networking, career enhancement, and business development group for Black senior leaders in in-house counsel roles. She is an inclusion strategist and culture change catalyst with the ability to help people bridge differences and connect more meaningfully. Juanita is a FINRA arbitrator and holds a J.D. (cum laude) from Thurgood Marshall School of Law at Texas Southern University, and a BBA in Accounting (Finance minor) from University of North Texas.

She is engaged in various professional and civic organizations, including the Center for Women in the Law where she co-chaired the 2023 Biennial Hortense Ward Women of Achievement Awards luncheon, the National Bar Association, the American Bar Association where she has served as a Commissioner on the Commission on Racial and Ethnic Diversity in the Profession where she chaired the Model Diversity Survey committee, and is currently serving a third term as a Commissioner on the Commission on Women in the Profession where she has co-chaired the Margaret Brent Awards and the Parenthood Caregiver of Children study. Juanita and her husband, Jurel F.Smith, Jr., are the proud parents of a blended family of five adult children.