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Members of the Gonzaga community accomplish great things every day, and on Jan. 11, Gonzaga School of Law alumna and former trustee Barbara Madsen was sworn in as the Chief Justice of the Washington Supreme Court.
Madsen is the third woman ever elected to a seat on the bench of the state’s Supreme Court and the second woman to be sworn in as the Chief Justice.
“I think my legacy will be about educating women in the law to prepare leaders for the future, leaders for the future, among women law students,” Madsen said.
Madsen received her Juris Doctorate in 1977 and those who knew her then knew that she was capable of achieving truly remarkable things.
“It doesn’t surprise me that she’s made it this far,” Office Manager for Clinical Law Bonnie White said. “Her work ethic and the way she dealt with clients from the casework we gave her really showed how special she was.”
Social justice has been important to Madsen throughout her life, according to her former classmate and current associate professor Alan McNeil.
“It’s guided her whole career,” McNeil said. “She’s been in public service ever since she graduated. I don’t think the state could have chosen a better candidate.”
Madsen participated in the Gonzaga Center for Law and Justice, which is a University Legal Assistance clinical program designed to help out members of the community who cannot afford to hire an attorney. She also volunteered for Spokane Legal Service.
“Certainly the reason I chose the path that I did stemmed from my Catholic education,” Madsen said. “That encompasses the responsibility lawyers uniquely have to use their legal license to give back to the community on a broader scale. Gonzaga was very important to teach me the responsibilities I have as a lawyer and now as a judge.”
Justice Madsen was the first recipient of the Myra Bradwell Award, which “annually honors an alumna of Gonzaga University School of Law who has made great strides on behalf of women,” according to the law school’s Web site. Madsen was recognized for her work as the chair of the Washington State Gender and Justice Commission, among other things.
McNeil noticed her compassion and drive to help others back when they attended the law school together.
“She’s accomplished all these great things through hard work, ability and concern for everyone she meets,” he said. “I don’t know anyone that doesn’t like her. There’s not many people you can say that about, especially in the legal profession.”
Justice Madsen stays as connected as possible to the law school. She works on the Board of Advisers and contributes as a judge in the annual Moot Court Competition, as a member of the Law School’s Board of Advisers, as a presenter to student groups and as a mentor to individual students
“I am planning on doing as much as I can [for the law school],” Madsen said. “But as the chief justice, I won’t have as much free time as I’ve become accustomed to.”
Acting Dean of the School of Law George Critchlow also attended law school with Madsen and has the utmost confidence in her ability to be a great chief justice.
“As a law student, Chief Justice Madsen was the kind of person you wanted in your study group and as a friend. She was smart, disciplined, helpful, and caring,” Critchlow said. “As Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, she will emphasize access to justice for all people, diversity in the profession and on the bench, and the rule of law.”
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