Unsung Heroes – Lifetime Achievement

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Lifetime Achievement

Margaret Burdette
Legal Assistant, Brennan, Steil & Basting, S.C. “It would be difficult to find anyone with a better work ethic, or professional standards with absolute respect and confidentiality. … She has always presented a professional appearance, and if a new staff member did not do likewise initially, she would observe the appearance of Ms. Burdette and act accordingly. … She has the utmost respect of clients.

She has preserved the confidentiality of client matters at all times,” writes George K. Steil Sr., President, Brennan, Steil & Basting, S.C.

Margaret Burdette has been with Brennan, Steil & Basting, S.C. for 42 years. She started one month after she graduated high school in 1966 and has never left.

“I like the people I work for and the people I work with.… It’s interesting work,” Burdette said.

After graduating high school she applied to do secretarial work at a number of places; the firm was the first to offer a job and she took it. Four decades later, she can’t imagine having done anything else.

“In hindsight, banking and insurance would have been really boring, I think,” Burdette said. Whereas, she found working at the firm to have been the most exciting office job she could have found and a great educational opportunity.

Throughout the years, she has worked with a number of attorneys, but the one constant has been George K. Steil, Sr., for whom she has worked since the early 1970s. For the past several years, she also has worked for Thomas S. Hornig.

Steil’s heavy involvement in state bar and state government activities added to the workload and resulted in her working many evenings and weekends. But Burdette indicated that was just part of the job.

She said she has no plans to retire at this point, noting that Steil is 82 years old. “So if he can come in every day, I can keep up with him,” Burdette said. She added that Hornig turned 60 in July and he told her that she cannot retire until he does.

“So I’m going to be here awhile,” Burdette said.