The AWLA honors attorney Lynda Shely, October 2015.
A legal leader was honored earlier this month at a great event hosted by the Arizona Women Lawyers Association.
Lynda Shely is well known and widely respected as an attorney, ethics expert, and educator. Among other roles, she has served as the State Bar of Arizona’s Ethics Counsel—and has written numerous times for Arizona Attorney Magazine. As such, she was an ideal choice for the AWLA’s 2015 Ruth V. McGregor Award—the first that the award has been given.
On the evening of October 8, an over-capacity crowd jammed the parlor, dining rooms and hallways of the University Club in midtown Phoenix. They were all there to signal their appreciation of Shely and their agreement with the selection committee’s choice.
In accepting the award, Shely opened her brief remarks by saying, “I’m proud to be a lawyer.”
“I wish the public could see how hard lawyers work,” she continued. She has ample evidence of that, she said, among it the many ethics questions emailed to her in the wee hours of the morning.
As someone who is sought out for her ethics advice, Shely said she knows that when she hears from a fellow attorney, that person is probably not having a great day.
She reminded the audience that they should strive to treat others with kindness, “even those who may be the most obnoxious people.” After all, Shely said, we have no way of knowing what challenges they are facing in their work and personal lives.
Congratulations to Lynda Shely, a worthy recipient in so many ways.
Lynda Shely and her husband Robert, University Club, Phoenix.
AZ Attorney 
Leave a comment