Kathryn A. Sticklen, #119 of Utah’s First 100 Women Lawyers

Kathryn A. Sticklen, #119 of Utah’s First 100 Women Lawyers Sticklen was born and raised in Salt Lake City, received her law degree from the University of Utah in 1976, and was admitted to practice in Utah and Idaho. Sticklen then moved to Boise, where she engaged in general civil practice, on her own and with large and small firms. She then served as a Deputy Attorney General for the State of Idaho, assigned to the Idaho State Insurance Fund handling worker’s compensation claims. In November 1998 Sticklen was elected District Judge of the Fourth Judicial District of the State of Idaho (the highest level trial court in the state) with chambers in Boise. She served in both Ada and Boise Counties. Sticklen was the second judge to preside over the Ada County drug court, the first such court implemented in Idaho; and was the president of the Idaho District Judges Association. She continued to serve on several court and bar committees. She retired from active service at the end of 2009, and now works as a retired judge handling administrative and administrative appeals, as well as some trial work. She is a member emeritus of American Inns of Court and of the Advocate Editorial Advisory Board, which oversees the publication of the Idaho State Bar monthly magazine.

On Her Greatest Contribution As A Woman Lawyer: “… I would say my greatest contribution was leading by example, since I was one of the earliest. I was also only the second woman to be elected judge in the first instance in a contested election. I would highly recommend that other women lawyers seek judicial positions. Here in Idaho, we have very few woman judges: none on the Idaho Supreme Court, one on the Court of Appeals, five on the district bench statewide, and a few more woman magistrates. I assume the situation in Utah isn’t much better.”

On Her Favorite Memory As A Lawyer: “Off the top of my head I would say my favorite memory (or memories) that are printable would be the drug court graduations, when those who successfully completed the program had their felony drug charges dismissed. One of the graduates was the first person in his family to graduate from anything!”

Advice To Newly Admitted Women Lawyers: “As far as advice, I think I’d stick with what I said before. Quoting one of our former Idaho supreme court justices (a woman), no man (or woman) on a deathbed ever said ‘Gee, I wish I’d spent more time at the office.’”