On Friday, March 11^th, NALS of Pierce County held their 51^st Bosses Night at the Tacoma Yacht Club as our way of thanking the legal community of Pierce County for their support throughout the year.  We invite members from the bench, the bar, and everyone working in the legal field to attend.  One of the things that NALS of Pierce County asks for is nominations from the legal community for the Boss of the Year, Award of Excellence, Firm of the Year, and Outstanding Community Service.  This year Marsha Reidburn was the recipient of the Award of Excellence.  Here is the nomination I provided to NALS of Pierce County:

 I’ve worked with a lot of different people, but there’s one that I’ve worked with for the 15 months that takes the cake!    She’s been in the legal field since, I think,  the ‘80s doing all kinds of things from legal assistant to paralegal to court reporter.

Let me give you a little background:

 In the Fall of 2014 I was informed by my attorneys that they’d be leaving the high-rise firm that we were all currently working for and were starting their own firm with two of their partners.  I’d never worked with these two partners (shoot, one of them I don’t think I’d ever set eyes on since I worked on a different floor).  I’d met their assistant, but had never worked with her. 

Fast forward to January 2015 when we opened the doors to the new firm – me and my two attorneys and the other two partners and their assistant.  That first day, everything is new, down to the software programs and telephones.  Between the insanity of not knowing how to get the copier to work, setting up telephone systems, looking at the postage machine and thinking “oh s@@@,” and seeing all the paper we brought over to convert to our new paperless system – she did it all with a smile and the most refreshing sense of humor! 

One of my all-time favorite memories was the day she not only figured out how to PRINT a letter AND the envelope – then put postage on it!  There were high fives, singing and dancing!  There are so many more stories that I could tell, but I don’t have time to write that book and you don’t have time to read it.

I asked one of the partners what she’d say about her assistant in a nutshell:

She is the best legal assistant I’ve ever had – which means a lot, since she’s primarily been my only assistant since I began practicing law nearly 20 years ago.  Of course, she does all the things that good legal assistants do – from filing and keeping me organized to drafting and revising documents even when she can’t possibly read my handwriting or understand my rambling dictation to dealing with difficult clients and keeping them away from me!  And, she does it with a smile on her face. I truly value her for more than our working relationship; she truly is a friend.  I am pleased to nominate her for this award for which she so richly deserves.  

Now that we’re into our second year, there’s no one that I’d have rather had at my side getting this firm up and running.  It is with great pride that I nominate Marsha Reidburn for the Award of Excellence.  I honestly couldn’t imagine doing this without her!