In light of Diane Minnich’s upcoming retirement, the Bar staff gathered quotes, memories, notes, photos, and well-wishes from colleagues who know and have worked with Diane throughout her career. The invitation was sent to current and former Idaho State Bar and Idaho Law Foundation leadership, with the encouragement to share with anyone else.

While we are unable to publish everything we received, we have collected some highlights included in the following pages. All responses will be provided to Diane prior to her retirement. If you would like to send a note to be included with the other responses, please email Associate Director, Maureen Braley at mryanbraley@isb.idaho.gov.

“I have known and worked with Diane in one capacity or another during her entire tenure with the Bar. Only an extraordinary person could have done so much to advance the interests of the legal profession, and the judiciary, while dealing adeptly with strong personalities and any number of outside political forces. Diane was always there to ably assist with projects dear to me—facilitating and contributing to the work of the Pro Bono Commission since its inception in 2008, coordinating activities to enhance cooperation between the bench and Bar and, most recently, doing a marvelous job of focusing the Bar’s attention on challenges facing the judiciary in the legislative halls.” – Justice Jim Jones

“When I was a child and a young teenager, Robert Smylie was the Governor of Idaho. I couldn’t remember a time when he wasn’t Governor. When he finally left office after serving for 12 years, I was shocked—I literally didn’t know that anyone else could be the Governor of Idaho! Thinking of Diane Minnich ceasing to be the Executive Director of the Idaho State Bar is a lot like that. It is nearly impossible to imagine the Idaho State Bar without Diane at the helm. It is likely that more than half of the current members of the Bar can’t even recall when she was not the Executive Director. Diane, THANK YOU for 34 years of service to the Idaho State Bar. You have made the lawyers of this state (especially the women!) proud, and we appreciate you.” – Hon. Karen Lansing

“I have known Diane since I was a young lawyer clerking for the Honorable Chas F. McDevitt. I distinctly remember waiting for the Bar results when Diane came walking down the hall to provide the Chief Justice with the Bar pass/fail results for his review. After waiting for what seemed like an hour, she emerged from his chambers. My co-clerk (who was also eagerly waiting for the Bar results), and I tried to discern the outcome by watching Diane’s demeanor. When she didn’t look at us, we were crushed—thinking that we had both failed. Then when she was halfway down the hall, she flipped around to catch us watching her leave. She didn’t give anything away, but it startled us both. We then ran to check the roster and were relieved to see that we had passed! In her nearly four decades of service to the Bar, Diane has successfully seen the Bar through most every challenge that a Bar could face. Our Bar is growing and thriving because of her leadership and organization.” – Mary V. York

“In my 21+ years on the Idaho Supreme Court we had numerous contacts and projects with the Bar Commission, all of which were arranged by Diane. During all my years on the Court and with the Idaho Law Foundation, Diane was the connection between the Bar and the Court, and was responsible for the excellent relationship between them. When I think of the Idaho State Bar, I think of Diane. She has been the face of the Bar for much of my professional career. Bar Commissioners come and go. But it’s hard to think of the Bar Commission as anything but Diane. What a mark she has left on the Bar and lawyers in all those 40 years.” – Justice Robert E. Bakes (Ret.)

“One of my favorite memories of Diane is when she and her husband opened their house for the Young Lawyers Section to hold an annual event. The event was lagging in both volunteer support and attendance. We did not have the money to rent space to hold it. So, she opened her house and agreed to allow us to have it there. She has been so supportive of young lawyers and just really went above and beyond to make sure we could continue the event. I don’t know that many other leaders would open their house to the entire Bar the way that she did!” – Justice Colleen Zahn

“It is hard to describe impact that Diane has had on the Idaho State Bar because, for some of us, she is the Bar.  She has been the ‘face’ of the Idaho State Bar longer than most attorneys have been practicing in Idaho.  Diane is a true leader, oral history keeper, and innovator in leading the Bar and a never-ending rotation of new lawyers from around the state on the Board of Commissioners. She does so with grace, insight, and a view of Bar’s history and tradition of collegiality—all the while moving us forward. Diane has led the Bar through many transitions and tremendous growth. She is universally respected and admired by her peers, and all those who have had the privilege of working with her.  She leaves big shoes to fill. In 2002-2005, while I served on the Board of Commissioners, Diane and I spent many hours together traveling around the state for the annual Roadshow, as well as traveling to Bar events out of state. At the time, we each had young children and often shared stories of our children and our efforts to find a balance between work and family life. I really appreciated her friendship then, and now.  Diane has a way of making people feel heard and seen—she is truly an amazing person who will be missed.” – Judge Deborah Grasham

“No other person has had more impact on Idaho’s legal community than Diane Minnich. She ‘guided’ the Bar and the Foundation during her tenure as Executive Director. She has impacted justices, judges, and lawyers with thoughtfulness and a firm helping hand in serving the legal community. I can’t speak for other Bar Commissioners that have served as President, but I can tell you when Diane and I would prepare for the meetings of the Commissioners it would be no-nonsense and quickly getting to the issues with a discussion about how to approach issues that the Bar faced.” – Craig Meadows

“Diane has epitomized the concept of a servant-leader, exhibiting competence, humility, and professionalism in her service to the Bar and Foundation. When Diane was our CLE Director in the early 1980s (prior to becoming Executive Director), she rescued a CLE program scheduled to be delivered at a hotel in Eastern Idaho. The morning of the program, the handout materials had not arrived by shipment from Boise. Diane was onsite. She did not panic. She quickly collected materials (hard-copy originals in those pre-Internet days), from the speakers, invited everyone to have an extra cup of coffee, ran to a commercial copy center, and returned with boxes of materials in time for the program to begin. No sweat. Crisis management in action, with a smile—illustrating one of the traits of a future Executive Director.” – Don Burnett