The American Judicature Society honored Abrahamson with its first ever Dwight D. Opperman Award for Judicial Excellence because her opinions made clear that the bench, bar, and community could entrust her with the most complex cases of the most far-reaching import. During marathon research and writing sessions, Abrahamson taught her craft to scores of law clerks and judicial assistants. Explore their firsthand accounts of what it was like to work in her chambers.
Matt Woleske (2015-16)
As so many others have said, the Chief (and though she had been recently removed from that position by constitutional amendment, that was always what I called her) worked incredibly hard. So much so that I remember realizing at one point that she and I had surely spent more hours together that year than she’d spent with Seymour, even including time they were asleep. Most of our time together was spent in the law clerk’s office, her office having long ago been given over to the tremendous volume of papers, books, trinkets, and awards she’d accumulated over the years. She sat at […]
Sue Fieber (Judicial Assistant, 1992-1999)
As you all know, Justice Abrahamson had a new crop of interns from the UW law school every semester. Each one of them had the opportunity to work on an opinion with her. But she made clear to them that the finished product would be hers and hers alone. One guy just couldn’t get that straight. Over lunch one day, he asked whether he could tell his friends that he had had a hand in a particular opinion. She said absolutely not. But he wouldn’t let it go. He said, “In my heart, can I know that I worked on […]
Douglas Endreson (1980-1981)
One Sunday, I came back after an early dinner and got right to work, expecting Justice Abrahamson to come in shortly after I did. Time got away from me, Justice Abrahamson did not come in, and around 11 p.m. I went up the back stairs to the State Law Library to get a couple books. Opened the door, and there was Justice Abrahamson, with a full cart of reporters, and a table full of more, going through cases. Outworking her, just for an evening, was not in the cards.
Megan Sanders (2014-15)
While I was clerking for the Chief, the state constitution was amended to enable the justices to elect their chief. They day after the election, there was a vote, and the Chief was no longer the Chief (though naturally we still called her “Chief” and even answered the phones that way). She did not show even a hint of sadness or frustration in response to this unprecedented event. Instead she filed a lawsuit and said to whoever called her cell, “They gave me lemons and I’m making lemonade.” Her reaction that day was a good summation of her personality — […]
Matt Woleske (2015-16)
As so many others have said, the Chief (and though she had been recently removed from that position by constitutional amendment, that was always what I called her) worked incredibly hard. So much so that I remember realizing at one point that she and I had surely spent more hours together that year than she’d spent with Seymour, even including time they were asleep. Most of our time together was spent in the law clerk’s office, her office having long ago been given over to the tremendous volume of papers, books, trinkets, and awards she’d accumulated over the years. She sat at […]
Sue Fieber (Judicial Assistant, 1992-1999)
As you all know, Justice Abrahamson had a new crop of interns from the UW law school every semester. Each one of them had the opportunity to work on an opinion with her. But she made clear to them that the finished product would be hers and hers alone. One guy just couldn’t get that straight. Over lunch one day, he asked whether he could tell his friends that he had had a hand in a particular opinion. She said absolutely not. But he wouldn’t let it go. He said, “In my heart, can I know that I worked on […]
Douglas Endreson (1980-1981)
One Sunday, I came back after an early dinner and got right to work, expecting Justice Abrahamson to come in shortly after I did. Time got away from me, Justice Abrahamson did not come in, and around 11 p.m. I went up the back stairs to the State Law Library to get a couple books. Opened the door, and there was Justice Abrahamson, with a full cart of reporters, and a table full of more, going through cases. Outworking her, just for an evening, was not in the cards.
Megan Sanders (2014-15)
While I was clerking for the Chief, the state constitution was amended to enable the justices to elect their chief. They day after the election, there was a vote, and the Chief was no longer the Chief (though naturally we still called her “Chief” and even answered the phones that way). She did not show even a hint of sadness or frustration in response to this unprecedented event. Instead she filed a lawsuit and said to whoever called her cell, “They gave me lemons and I’m making lemonade.” Her reaction that day was a good summation of her personality — […]
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