Best Of The Portia Project II: Guest Mottos
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Show Notes
Get ready for our annual episode of The Portia Project Podcast compiling and highlighting the personal mottos of many of our guests - extraordinary women in the legal field - sharing the wisdom that shaped their careers. From judges to law professors, hear their guiding principles, life lessons, and how they’ve overcome challenges. Whether you’re aspiring to the bench, the bar, or beyond, this episode offers powerful insights to motivate and inspire your own journey. Tune in and discover what it takes to become a change agent in the world of law!
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Transcript
Welcome to The Portia Project, where we chronicle women's journeys to the bench, bar, and beyond, and seek to inspire the next generation of women lawyers and women law students. On this episode, we are featuring our annual compilation of guests' mottos. This was quite popular in its first year, so we're going to do it again. I hope that you enjoy them and find them inspiring now and into next year. Enjoy.
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Judge Judith Clark.
Judge Judith Clark
During the last couple of years, I had the opportunity to watch the Ted Lasso series. There is one particular episode of that series that resonated with me. The title of that episode was Be Curious, Not Judgmental. That struck a chord in me, and it has been something I've truly adopted. I deal with that when I'm talking to other individuals about their ideas for the court when I'm talking with other stakeholders about how they view problems and issues that we're dealing with, or when I am addressing individuals in the community and they ask questions.
I try so hard to approach how I respond and how I interact with them, trying very hard to be curious rather than being so quick to be judgmental. Often, it turns out that the position, the thought, or the idea is motivated from a very different place than what my first gut reaction was. That seems to be something I've adopted now, to be curious and not judgmental, in how I deal with issues.
Anne Marie Seibel.
Anne Marie Seibel
One thing that has stuck with me in a lot of different settings was something a dance teacher said when we were little. We were always told, "Smile, concentrate, and stay in character." As I've thought about it, and I've said it to my daughter when she performs, it applies in a lot of different areas of life. Even when I get up to give a speech with the section chair hat on, that's what I want to do, smile and keep myself calm, concentrate on what I'm trying to deliver, and stay in character, be sure I'm presenting the way that I want to present. I give credit to my old dance teacher for those words of wisdom to live by.
Shelli Brunswick.
Shelli Brunswick
Keep reaching for the stars.
Timiebi Aganaba.
Timi Aganaba
Learning first and helping others to learn. It's such a privilege to learn in public because you have to be humble. The beauty of learning in public, being humble, and being able to say where you're struggling is way easier than learning something hard on your own and feeling like a failure when you don't get it. When you tell people, "I'm learning this in public so you can see and be inspired to learn too," people support you, and you feel good about what you're doing, even through the struggles because you can talk it out. It's a selfish thing that I say learning first and then teaching others to learn. I love to learn, but I'm in a community.
Nicole Stott.
Nicole Stott
What I like to share with everybody is if we choose to behave like crewmates, not passengers, we have the power to create a future for all life on Earth that's as beautiful as it looks from space. I try to think about that every day.
If we choose to behave as crewmates, not passengers, we have the power to shape a future for all life on Earth.
Judge Rita Gruber.
Judge Rita Gruber
Treat others the way you want to be treated. The other thing is to do justice but show mercy.
Maria Moskver.
Maria Moskver
Do things with intention. Pretty simple. I often tell my team to care about what you're doing. I got a very nice award here in Orange County in the tech community, and that was part of my speech, authenticity, innovation, and care. Care is that intention.
Judge Cindy Thyer.
Judge Cindy Thyer
My husband and I have two boys. One is 23 and one is 18. We like to tell them, "What's worth doing is worth doing well." I think that's true no matter where you are. I have one in college and one in law school. Even for us, if you commit to a project, whether it's through work or as a volunteer when you say you're committing to do it, then it's worth doing that well.
What's worth doing is worth doing well.
Justice Judith Haller.
Justice Judith Haller (ret.)
I had a motto when I was practicing and when I was on the bench, and this is going to sound funny. I used to say, "Choose your fights carefully." During litigation, there was so much conflict that I would try to concentrate on the things that made a difference. The same thing applies, especially in the appellate court. By fights, I don't mean physical fights but intellectual ones. I had to be careful about where I needed to stand my ground or try to persuade. My motto now needs to be "Please be more patient." I need more patience. I like to get things done quickly and I need some patience in this life.
Monica Palko.
Monica Palko
My motto is "Bloom where you're planted." We moved around some when I was a kid, but not as much as many military brats. You won't necessarily be able to choose, for example, if you're an associate, exactly where they need you. The company you work for might struggle with regulatory compliance, but there you are. There's always something good to get from it. You can always thrive in any environment. I would say my motto is "Bloom where you're planted."
Guest Mottos: Bloom where you are planted. You can always thrive in any environment.
Rachel Barchie.
Rachel Barchie
The motto I say to my kids all the time is, "Teamwork makes the dream work." Partly, I say this to get them to stop squabbling and cooperate with each other. I think it also applies in the workplace or anywhere. Two heads are always better than one, and breaking down those silos allows you to see what other people can contribute.
Judge Anna Manasco.
Judge Anna Manasco
I don't have just one. I tend to have a lot of cheesy ones. I led with one earlier, "This is a solvable problem." I say that to my kids all the time. "Work hard, play hard." We cannot be our best working selves if we do not take time to rest, have recreation, and do things that make us whole people, not robots inside.
"Don't count yourself out." I alluded to that one earlier, but I tell people this all the time, and you have to be on guard against it because even seasoned professionals will count themselves out of the next role or the next thing they might be considering. I also say regularly, "You should not be surprised." Sometimes we are surprised by things that for whatever situation, person, or circumstance we're dealing with, are predictable. I tend to say, "You should not be surprised," as a reminder to myself that I know all the pieces of this, and in light of that, this outcome is not unexpected, even though it may not be what I was subjectively thinking you would hear at that moment. I have a lot of cheesy little mottos floating around.
Stacy Horth-Neubert.
Stacy Horth-Neubert
I have so many mottos. I have a million, but I'll give you my top ones. "Win the war, not the battle." That's probably the one I use most frequently in life and work. Focus on the war, not the battle. "Variety is the spice of life," which I already said before. That is definitely a motto. "Use all the tools in your tool chest." That's something I believe in deeply. "Don't sweat the small stuff." No one dies wishing they had slept more. I do wish I slept more, but I don't think I'm going to die thinking about that.
Focus on the war, not the battle.
Bailey Reichelt.
Bailey Reichelt
This one comes from a Dr. Seuss book. I think it's Horton the Elephant. "Mean what you say and say what you mean." I believe Horton said that. I was thinking about this the other day, and there is no better advice than to just be authentic, say exactly what you mean, and then follow through. I like that as a motto, "Say what you mean, and mean what you say."
Kelsie Rutherford.
Kelsie Rutherford
"Everything happens for a reason." That is definitely my motto. It's got me through so much. It's a security blanket because I know whenever things are going sideways or I'm in a very challenging situation and I feel down, I just think, “Everything happens for a reason.” I know that I'm going through this situation or I’m being faced with this challenge, and it's only going to make me stronger. It's only going to enable me to handle similar situations, or even more challenging ones in the future down the road. That's my motto that I go by.
Bonni Pomush.
Bonni Pomush
People forget what you said. They forget what you did. They don't forget how you made them feel. When I think back on each day and how I showed up in the day, that's how I'm evaluating myself. How did I show up? How did I make people feel? I think if that was shared by more folks, we would have a little more peace on earth.
Justice Patricia Benke, retired.
Justice Patricia Benke (ret.)
I guess my favorite words are patience and kindness. I think to be kind and not be cruel is so important, particularly for decision-makers. When you know you're going to point C, and that's where you're going, whether you get there by A or you get there by B, that's what you're going to do. Be kind in the process and pick the road that is going to be beneficial to everybody, you, the system, and the parties. I think that's it, kindness. Cruelty is one of the things that I wouldn't say it's a deplorable thing to me, but cruelty is something that I have, in my lifetime, had the least patience with.
You have a strong interest and faith in humanity, I think.
That's a wonderful summary. I don't think I could have said that any better. I think humanity is in everything that we do. That's our goal. That's our dedication, particularly for judges. The role in society of judges at whatever level is especially that. Whether it's a gentleman coming in because he doesn't know how to change his children's diapers, or it's because some mega-issue is hitting you. That's the motto.
Guest Mottos: Let it be, let it go, and let it flow.
Judge Lucy Koh.
Judge Lucy Koh
This is my motto that I aspire to. I'm not quite there yet in living it, but it's what I want to be my life motto in action, "Let it be, let it go, and let it flow." This has so many different parts to it. It has the acceptance part, the forgiveness part, the patience part, the endurance, the perseverance, the harmony, and the hope all wrapped into one.