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Legal Secretary of the Year

By: WISCONSIN LAW JOURNAL STAFF//November 15, 2009//

Legal Secretary of the Year

By: WISCONSIN LAW JOURNAL STAFF//November 15, 2009//

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Legal Secretaries – Award Winner

Arlette E. Johnson
Legal Secretary, Michael Best & Friedrich LLP

For Arlette Johnson, it is not enough to do her own job well. She also wants to help other people do their jobs well. To that end, she has tried to help the new secretaries who have come to Michael Best & Friedrich during her three decades there.

Johnson recalls that when she first started, buddies were assigned to walk the new legal secretaries through everything. Although there is no longer a formal buddy system, she is still happy to answer the questions of her younger colleagues.

“People need to take the time,” Johnson says. “It’s not just that I’m here to do my job and you do your job.”

The nomination notes that in addition to working with other secretaries, she also has mentored many young associates throughout the years. She is willing to help out whenever needed.

“Although Arlette is always willing to take on tasks individually,” Phyllis Evans-Carr writes, “she is also the epitome of a team player. She will take on additional work when the office is busy and help is needed.”

Johnson enjoys bringing a social spark to the firm as well, organizing social activities or helping out with community outreach projects. One of those is an annual holiday bakeoff, which raises money for the Hunger Task Force.

“Arlette Johnson — a true treasure — arrived at Michael Best & Friedrich 30 years ago. She has worked with a variety of attorneys … over the years. While she may have been ‘less than enthusiastic’ about some of her assignments, she nevertheless accepted those responsibilities, made them work, and is accounted by most (including her two current charges) as the ‘best secretary’ they have ever worked with. Arlette has mentored more young associates and secretaries than anyone in the firm,” writes Phyllis Evans-Carr, Human Resources/Office Manager, Michael Best & Friedrich LLP.

Legal Secretaries – Honorees

Mary Lee Dooley
Legal Secretary,
Foley & Lardner LLP

“Mary Lee has always exceeded expectations and gone far above and beyond what any attorney would wish for in an assistant. She is extremely reliable, diligent, hardworking, loyal and dependable. … Mary Lee inspires trust and confidence and enhances client relationships. … In 20 years of practice, we have never known anyone who works as hard and cares as much as Mary Lee,” write Jennifer Rathburn, Shelly Hart and Renate Gray,
Foley & Lardner LLP.

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Sheri Hare
Legal Secretary,
Foley & Lardner LLP

“Sheri’s skills are the perfect complement to my own. She is selfless with her time, her energy, her enthusiasm, and her great humor. She is dedicated to our firm, our firm’s clients, all of the attorneys and legal secretaries in our department, and — as shown by her many years of service to the Greater Milwaukee Association of Legal Professionals (GMALP) — her profession,” write Benjamin D. Levin, Attorney, Foley & Lardner LLP.

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Laurie Lee Herzog
Legal Assistant,
Leib & Katt LLC

“Laurie gets very high marks from me and my paralegal. We call her the ‘unsnarl the snarls’ legal assistant. If schedules need to change and calendar dates need to move and materials need to be coordinated, she is terrifically helpful and cheerful and calm. Her boss, Kevin Christensen, is lucky — she is incredibly resourceful,” Kathleen Grant, Co-defendant’s counsel on a difficult case, Schneider Grant SC.

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Joni K. Jakubowski
Legal Secretary,
The Schroeder Group SC, Attorneys at Law

“Joni is a seasoned legal assistant with 20 years of experience in litigation, personal injury, corporate and employment law. Since 2006, Joni has proven to be an invaluable resource to members of the firm, including new associates within the litigation area, because of her level of experience. Joni acts like a mentor to the firm’s young associates. … Firm clients have even come to rely on Joni’s extensive knowledge,” write Sandy McGee, Chief Operating Officer, The Schroeder Group SC, Attorneys at Law.

Brian Kemper
Legal Assistant,
Legal Aid Society of Milwaukee Inc.

“Brian has worked as a legal assistant at the Legal Aid Society since 1995. Last year he personally took it upon himself to reorganize our statistical reporting system which is necessary for grant reporting purposes. We now have a model system, easily accessible, for describing our case outcomes and client demographic data. Brian’s gift has made a big difference in the office’s capabilities,” writes Thomas G. Cannon,
Legal Aid Society of Milwaukee Inc.

Tracy Lavine
Legal Secretary,
Simpson & Deardorff SC

“Tracy has been a legal assistant for Simpson & Deardorff since 2004. She learned the ropes assisting Arthur Simpson through many trials and high-profile cases. We were fortunate Mr. Simpson had the foresight to allow Tracy to move on to work with attorney Michelle Johnson and me, which proved invaluable. Her knowledge and expertise has helped both of us perform at our best, writes Christine Rice, Attorney, Simpson & Deardorff SC.

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Christine Maynard
Legal Assistant,
Foley & Lardner LLP

“Christine took me ‘under her wing’ when I arrived at my law firm in 1983, and because of her concern, work ethic, diligence and friendship, I have succeeded in my legal career beyond what I could ever have expected,” writes Patrick M. Zabrowski, Attorney, Foley & Lardner LLP.

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Michelle Nommensen
Legal Secretary/Paralegal,
Gingras Cates & Luebke SC

“Michelle is one of the most organized and efficient legal secretaries/paralegals I have ever had the pleasure of working with. She always has our case calendars, pleadings, and correspondence files up to date; she anticipates needs; she’s always willing to take the time to train and work with other staff … and she takes her work seriously, does it well, and always finishes what she’s working on — even if it means putting in extra hours after work or on her days off,” write John Cates & Susan Kurien, Gingras Cates & Luebke SC.

Marge Treazise
Legal Secretary,
Quarles & Brady LLP

“Marge has been my assistant since I began practicing law. She has never let me down. Her knowledge and skill as a legal secretary is widely recognized throughout the firm. This is perhaps best demonstrated by the fact that other attorneys ask me if I can have Marge assist with matters that neither I nor she are involved with, just to tap into her expertise,” writes Andy Beilfuss, Attorney, Quarles & Brady LLP.

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Phoua Yang
PAI Case Manager/Legal Secretary/Interpreter,
Wisconsin Judicare Inc.

“Ms. Phoua Yang has worked for Wisconsin Judicare for over seven years, starting as a secretary and moving into an incredible amount of responsibility with our organization. Ms. Yang is bilingual and serves as an essential link between our organization and the entire Hmong community. Ms. Yang constantly goes above and beyond to be available for the low-income Hmong population that we serve, as well as all our clients,” write Beth Ann Richlen, Kimberly Haas and Marka Henkelman, Wisconsin Judicare Inc.

In Memoriam – Sarah Cockrell
Legal Secretary, Owen R. Williams Law Office

Sarah Cockrell

When Sarah Cockrell came to work at the Owen R. Williams Law Office in Amery six years ago, she had prior secretarial experience, but not in a law firm. What she brought, according to Office Manager Joyce Monson, was a great personality and a dedication to her work.

“She was fun and feisty,” Monson says. “She was hardworking and dedicated. She got along with everyone here. Everyone admired her spirit.”

That devotion was particularly evident while she battled cancer throughout her time with the firm. Monson recalls that Cockrell worked even when she was not feeling well. Although she had surgery every year, she only took off the minimal time before returning to work.

Monson acknowledges that there were some challenges working around Cockrell’s illness, but the staff drew inspiration from her and was willing to help out.

“We are a close group, like a family,” Monson says. “People were willing to pitch in because she never took more than the needed time.”

Cockrell handled the criminal and traffic files for Williams’ practice, which includes personal injury, bankruptcy and family law. The 70-year-old attorney often has to make appearances in more than one county on a given day and Cockrell did a great job of scheduling.

“She was very good about judging what it took for him to get from Point A to Point B and whether it was realistic or not,” Monson recalls.

The 46-year-old mother of two remained optimistic about her chances until the end and even completed a correspondence course in paralegal studies shortly before she died last April.

“I don’t think she ever thought the cancer would get the best of her,” Monson says.

In Memoriam – Kathleen M. Lang
Legal Secretary, Ruder Ware LLSC

For 13 years, Kathleen Lang provided essential support for Ruder Ware attorney Dean R. Dietrich, as he traveled around the state working with clients and fulfilling multiple leadership roles for the State Bar. He viewed her more as a partner than a member of support staff in meeting the needs of clients or other legal professionals.

Lang started out as a clerk at Ruder Ware for six months before working with Dietrich. He says they went through a mutual training process where each taught the other what they felt was important to handling the work effectively.

“After a couple of years, she really knew what I was trying to accomplish and was instrumental in helping me communicate with my clients and get the information out to my clients,” Dietrich says.

Since he travels extensively, Dietrich says he trusted her to get documents out to clients. In addition to meeting clients’ needs, she was responsible for handling incoming calls from lawyers around the state seeking ethical advice from Dietrich, who has served as chair of the State Bar Committee on Professional Ethics.

She recognized the importance of getting them in contact quickly. He says he also could rely on her to track down and provide relevant articles he’d identified that would address some of their questions.

Though only 37 years old, she died in the office, June 4, of a massive heart failure.

“It’s been a significant loss for the firm, her family and for me,” Dietrich says. “But it was a wonderful experience to work with her.”

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