What motivated you to become a trial lawyer? I wanted to be the first female President of the United States, a goal I have long-since surrendered. As a fourth grader, I thought that I had to be an attorney to be President, so that was going to be my career path. And, knowing nothing about attorneys except for what I saw on Matlock, I thought every attorney was a trial lawyer. My first book report in the sixth grade was on John Grisham’s The Client. I became obsessed with Grisham, Perry Mason, and Law & Order. I joined the mock trial team in the tenth grade and fell in love with trying to convince 12 strangers to side with my client. Eventually I did learn that one is not required to be an attorney to be the President (although it helps), and not every attorney has to be a trial lawyer. But it was too late – in college I decided that I had no desire to be a politician and that I would only ever want to be a trial lawyer.

While my motivations to become a trial lawyer were largely based on entertaining fiction, my motivations to stay a trial lawyer are very real and based on the clients I help every day in and out of the courtroom.

When did you become a member of MAJ? Why did you decide to join? Becoming a MAJ member was required as a first-year associate under Bob Milia and Brian Gijsbers at Powers Chapman. The trial lawyers I worked for knew that MAJ was invaluable for its Listserver and educational conferences. They sent me to every available seminar, which were always directly relevant to the work we were doing every day.

Why do you feel it is important for trial lawyers to be a part of MAJ? Like most things, trial lawyers are stronger in numbers. You cannot go wrong when you have over a thousand attorneys sharing information in support of the common good. It’s a wonderful legal community filled with lawyers in all specialties who are very generous with their time and legal knowledge. Being a trial lawyer is hard without support. MAJ acts as a solid foundation of support from the best legal minds in the business.

I’m very grateful to be a part of an organization that contains so many selfless individuals, all working toward the betterment of society.

You have made a strong commitment to the Justice PAC. Why do you feel supporting the PAC is important? Supporting the PAC is one of the most important aspects of MAJ. Insurance companies, big business, and other organizations are spending millions of dollars in an attempt to take away individual rights and freedoms, including trial by jury, and most people don’t even know it. A strong PAC gets you a seat at the table when legislative decisions are being made. A strong PAC not only educates the citizenry, but it educates the judiciary, the legislature, and the executive branch consistent with our policy goals.

What is distinctive about your practice? And your firm? This year, Goodman Acker, P.C. is celebrating 30 years of providing its trusted legal services all across the state. I’m very proud to be a part of this practice for the last seven years where all of the attorneys are strong trial lawyers, dedicated to achieving the best outcome for the client. We have a wonderful learning environment among the attorneys that promotes effective trial advocacy.

What is your most memorable case? When I started with Goodman Acker, I inherited a premises case that had already been in litigation for nearly two years. The case stemmed from a construction company removing a portion of a city sidewalk, but never closing the sidewalk or warning of the missing slabs of concrete. My client was riding his bike home from a friend’s house at night when he did not see the missing sidewalk and fell into the hole created by the construction company, causing significant injuries. Multiple companies were named as defendants due to subcontracting and indemnity issues, in addition to the city being a defendant. Multiple motions went back and forth. The case was dismissed in the trial court based on the open and obvious doctrine, so I had to appeal. We ended up in the Supreme Court, where I participated in oral arguments for the first time.

Ultimately, I was successful on appeal and my client received his day in court seven years after his case was filed. The jury found the hole in the sidewalk was not open and obvious and awarded my client over six figures in damages. It was memorable for a lot of reasons, but especially because it reminds me that sometimes the wheels of justice turn very slowly.

What was your most satisfying case? Recently, I settled an auto case that had been turned down by several other firms because the police report listed my client at fault. After meeting with the client and hearing his version of what happened, I believed what he was saying and decided to pursue the case despite the uphill battle of having two witnesses against my one and the placement of the vehicles after the crash. After filing litigation and taking depositions, the insurance company settled for the full policy limits. It was very satisfying to know sometimes you just have to trust your gut and take the case, despite the odds against you, in order to see justice prevail.

What are you interested in outside the practice of law? Outside of work, I enjoy circling the globe and tasting new cultures. Mountains, lakes, waterfalls, festivals, concerts – I want to see and do it all!