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Thank you very much for this award.  It means a great deal to me to be recognized by my peers. I was truly surprised when I received the call from Mark informing me that I was this years recipient.

I want to say a few words about Bob Habush and the former recipients of this award.  Bob Habush, for whom this award is named, has contributed much to the practice of personal injury law.

We are all aware of Bobs tremendous successes in the courtroom and his dedication to this organization.  When I was a young lawyer, just starting out, I read transcripts of his closing arguments.  I read them not because I thought I could ever deliver a closing argument like he can.  I read them because his words inspired me.

One contribution of Bob Habush, which many of you may not be sensitive to, is the degree in which the Habush firm has hired women trial lawyers women who actually try cases.  This recently struck me at our last Womens Caucus meeting in the Dells.  I was sitting in the back of the room while various women were making presentations.  As I was watching the group of women in front of me, I was suddenly struck by the number of women who were from the Habush firms around our state.  These women were extremely involved in the presentations.  They were engaged in the process.  They shared their experiences in the litigation process and the courtroom.  Several of these women were also raising multiple children.

To me, Bob Habush doesnt just talk about notions of justice and equality.  He lives them.

The lawyers who have received this award before me are also lawyers who walk their talk.  They are among the most talented and dedicated of trial lawyers in our state:  Mike End, John Peterson, Ric Domnitz, Jim Weis, Keith Clifford, Bill Gleisner, Lynn Laufenberg, Don Prachthauser and Dan Rottier.  They each have their unique talents.  Their dedication to our organization and to the preservation of the civil justice system is unwavering.

I am most proud and humble to now be the tenth member of this group.

No one who has experienced any degree of success has achieved it alone without the help of others.  I am fortunate enough to have started my career with two lawyers who gave a middle-aged, single parent, former schoolteacher a chance to be a trial lawyer.  I remain grateful to them.

I am blessed with dedicated staff that makes it enjoyable to come to work every day.

I am blessed with a family who has been willing to accept and support the schedule of a trial lawyer.

I am blessed with unwavering counsel that my husband, Benn, provides me.

I am also blessed that I have the opportunity to represent common, ordinary people, like myself.  They provide an example of how to negotiate lifes tremendous challenges with grace and dignity.

I believe that our work for our injured clients uplifts them.  Our work gives them access to the civil justice system.  When successful, our works allows them to live as productive a life as possible.

As Martin Luther King Jr. said, All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance and should be undertaken with painstaking excellence.

The lawyers in this organization are an inspiration to me to continue to strive to meet this goal.

For that inspiration and for this award, again I thank you.