Why Service: After working in the legal profession, I have become acutely aware that not all people have had the same experience in life as I have had with a loving, supportive family and the ability to excel in life.  Helping others who are experiencing difficulties in their life, especially those who do not have the support of family, emotionally or financially, is something I am grateful to able to provide with my skills as an attorney.

Advice: Judge John C. Judge was the first magistrate judge I practiced in front of while working on a limited license with the Latah County Prosecutor’s Office.  I told him one day toward the end of my 3L year that “I was beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel.”  He said, “it’s not a light, it’s a train and it will hit you.”  The practice of law is like a train.  It’s stressful, and I believe it should be because we have an enormous impact on the lives of clients and their children, which is also the same reason that the practice of law and helping others can be so rewarding.

Lisa S. Fabreguette is a Boise-based family law attorney, but having started her career in the Fifth District, still has a portion of her caseload in the Fifth District. She earned her J.D. from the University of Idaho College of Law, where she was active in leadership and the Inns of Court, and holds M.S. and B.A. degrees from Boise State University. Early in her legal career, she served as a legal extern with the Latah County Prosecutor’s Office and as a research assistant.

Before law school, Lisa taught in dual-immersion classrooms teaching Spanish Elementary School in Idaho and English Elementary School in Puebla, Mexico. She is engaged in community service, including board roles, bar exam grading, and legal aid and translation for courts and clinics. She enjoys travel, golf, and learning languages. Lisa is fluent in Spanish, speaks French at an intermediate level, and is now learning Italian.

Why Service: As lawyers, we are given a front‑row seat to people’s hardest moments and a voice in systems that profoundly affect their lives; that is an enormous privilege. I feel a corresponding obligation to use my time and skills to make those systems a little fairer, more accessible, and more humane.  Community service in its many manifestations gives back far more than it takes: it sharpens judgment, broadens perspective beyond a single practice area, and reminds me that the rule of law only works if enough people are willing to show up, do the unglamorous work, and keep the lights on for those who come after us.

Advice: I would encourage the young-me to find room for more kindness whether with opponents, potential clients, colleagues or family. It’s when you allow that to ebb that the errors you will regret arise.  I would also remind myself to pick up the phone early and often, ask the “dumb” questions, and let mentors shorten the learning curve instead of trying to muscle through alone.

Kurt Holzer is a plaintiffs’ trial attorney in Boise whose practice has focused on representing injured and wronged Idahoans since 1993. A 1992 graduate of the S.J. Quinney College of Law at the University of Utah, he was a William H. Leary Scholar and Executive Editor of the Utah Law Review, and he was admitted to the Idaho State Bar in 1993. After clerking on the Utah Court of Appeals, he tried cases at Holland & Hart before co‑founding a multi‑state litigation firm and then joining what is now Hepworth Holzer LLP, where his practice centers on serious injury, wrongful death, and insurance cases.

He has obtained multiple seven‑figure verdicts and settlements, served as President of both the Idaho Trial Lawyers Association and the Idaho State Bar, and has been recognized as Idaho Trial Lawyer of the Year, a Lawdragon 500 Leading Consumer Lawyer, and a multi‑year “Lawyer of the Year” by Best Lawyers in America. Outside the courtroom, he has spent decades in bar service, legislative work, legal education, and community leadership. He remains an active cyclist and race announcer for the Boise Twilight Criterium. He and his wife Ellie reside in Boise with the latest of a long string of rescued hounds.

Why Service: Serving the Idaho State Bar is meaningful to me because it creates space to support lawyer wellness, recovery, and honest conversations about the realities of practicing law. By sharing my own experience, strength, and hope, I can help reduce stigma, remind others they are not alone, and encourage healthier, more sustainable careers in a profession that too often normalizes burnout and isolation. This service allows me to give back in a deeply personal way—transforming challenges into purpose, fostering connection, and helping build a legal community where seeking help is viewed as a strength rather than a weakness.

Advice: I would tell my younger self that no case, client, or perception of success is worth sacrificing my health or integrity, and that asking for help is not a failure but a professional skill. I would remind myself that the law is demanding by nature, and without boundaries, connection, and self‑care, it can quietly take more than it gives. I’d encourage slowing down, finding mentors who model balance and honesty, and being willing to talk openly about struggle rather than carrying it alone. Most importantly, I would say that a meaningful, sustainable career comes not from perfection or endurance at all costs, but from humility, support, and choosing recovery, wellness, and purpose early rather than waiting until crisis forces the lesson.

Mack Mayo is a Shareholder at Paine Hamblen in Spokane, Washington, and is licensed to practice in both Idaho and Washington. He serves as Chair of the firm’s Housing Law Practice Group, representing housing providers, property management companies, developers, nonprofit and mission‑based organizations, and housing authorities on landlord‑tenant, fair housing, and regulatory compliance matters.

Mack has extensive experience managing large unlawful detainer portfolios, advising on HUD and affordable housing programs, and litigating complex housing disputes, including appellate matters before the Washington Supreme Court. He is actively involved with the Idaho State Bar and devotes substantial time to lawyer wellness and recovery efforts, including volunteering and speaking through the Idaho Lawyers Assistance Program. Mack earned his J.D., cum laude, from Charleston School of Law and his B.A., with distinction, from Southern Methodist University.

Why Service: Service has always been important to me. I like to make things better for others. Helping people who are coming up behind us is important to keep a strong Bar. Helping the less fortunate is important for our society. Both have been a priority for me.

As this award is focused on my contribution to our local Idaho Women Lawyers chapter, I will write about that first. Around 2014, Victoria Olds, Marcy Spilker, and, I believe, Jamie Shropshire, arranged for a speaker from WSU who focused on gender studies to come and speak to our local chapter of Idaho Women Lawyers. It has been a long time, and the impact on me was more important than the exact numbers, but we were told that men applied for positions when they had somewhere around 50 percent of the requested qualifications while women did not apply unless they had more than 90 percent of them. That made me think about the disparity in positions and incomes that we see throughout our country and the need to put ourselves out there if we are going to compete. A woman cannot be chosen for the position, if a woman does not apply. When Judge Olds took the bench and needed to step down from leading the local IWL chapter, I believed it was necessary to continue that group. Marcy Spilker and I ran it together until she retired and I kept it afloat until March of this year, when Kayla Hermann volunteered. I had Dr. Kmec, from WSU, come and talk with our local IWL chapter in 2024. The statistics of men vs.  women in positions of authority and prestige are still very lopsided nationwide. The gap has closed a little in the 10 years, and Idaho has closed the gap in the legal field more than a lot of states. Women are putting themselves out there more, and in many areas the right person for the job is chosen rather than the right man. Education on this issue is necessary and women providing a helping hand to the next women is also necessary, in my opinion. That is why keeping IWL alive locally has been important to me. 

Not just women are important in law. If we are going to have a strong Bar, we need to help all attorneys who are starting out, no matter the gender. When we were beginning our local careers, Sam Creason and I started a once a month or so group that invited all attorneys in Lewiston who had been practicing about 10 years or fewer to lunch so we could get to know each other, and help each other. We would go to different restaurants and sit next to someone we did not know well to learn more about them and their area of practice. We did that for a couple of years, and it provided contacts in all areas of law for those of us who attended.

I participate in the externship and mentor programs at the College of Law. Throughout my career, I have allowed students to complete their pro bono hours with me. I enjoy exposing law students to many different areas of law and helping them meet people. I find it rewarding to get to know them, what they want to do, and help them achieve their goals for the program. When I was a public defender, I was happy to help students get a limited license and watch their first forays into courtroom practice, or underclassmen to write strong motions and briefs. As a judge, it is fun when they get excited to see the different areas of law to which I can expose them. Mentors are so important to every area of law. They made a huge difference for me and I definitely credit Joanna McFarland, Karin Seubert, Kelley Porter, and Dave Risley for the success I had in maintaining my law firm. It is also important to me to help educate secondary students to what we do and the importance of an independent judicial branch. I try to expose them to our legal system around Law Day each year by bringing seniors into our courtrooms to watch public hearings and I go to classrooms to talk with middle school students about what I do. All of this is important to me.

Advice: I started my own law firm right out of law school. I was lucky to have mentors in every area of practice. I would tell myself that mentors are necessary if you are going to practice alone.

Paige Nolta was born in northern California, but was raised in north Idaho in a close-knit, hard-working, and supportive family. She earned her undergraduate degree in political science from Boise State University and her J.D. from the University of Idaho College of Law. Judge Nolta opened her own law firm, with assistance from friend and colleague Joanna McFarland, after being admitted to the bar in the fall of 2010. She had a general practice for two years that included everything that walked through the door, as well as conflict public defense at the Nez Perce Tribe and assisting with public defense in Nez Perce County.

In 2012, she obtained one of four public defense contracts for Nez Perce County. Judge Nolta focused on public defense, devoted to that cause for 11 years in Nez Perce County, with three of those years also in Lewis County, and she served on the Public Defense Commission as well. She worked in public defense until becoming the magistrate judge for Lewis County in 2023. Since becoming a judge, she taught a fall semester juvenile justice course for three years at the University of Idaho in tandem with Joanna McFarland and continues to work on outreach to middle and high school students to teach them about the justice system and the importance to society of an independent judiciary. She also enjoys working with current law students as a way to help those who will succeed her and her colleagues.

Why Service: Serving my community is important to me because this is my home. I grew up in Washington and Payette County and continue to live and practice in the same area today. In many smaller communities, the automatic response when people need professional services—including legal services—is often to travel to a larger city like Boise. For many families, that drive is time-consuming and burdensome. It is important to me that people in rural communities know they have access to legal services close to home. Practicing locally is one way I can help ensure that people in my little community don’t feel like they have to leave to find help they need.

Growing up, I had never met an attorney, and when I imagined what an attorney looked like, I pictured a man. I didn’t realize that becoming a lawyer was even a possibility for me. Practicing in the same community where I grew up is meaningful because it allows me to show others that a legal career is possible for them as well. I hope that my interactions with the people of my community helps demonstrate that our rural communities can offer the same opportunities and professional services as larger cities. If even one young person in a small town sees that and realizes they can build a career and serve their community without leaving it behind, then that work is worth it.

Advice: The advice I would give my younger self is to not compare myself to others, trust in my own abilities and the work I have put in to get here. Early in my career, I would sometimes feel intimidated preparing for cases against attorneys who had been practicing much longer than I had or who came from prestigious law schools. In those moments, it was easy to question whether I measured up.

Jessica obtained her J.D. from the University of Idaho College of Law and was admitted to the Idaho and Oregon State Bars in 2022. She grew up in Weiser, Idaho and now works at Intermountain Law, PC in Fruitland Idaho. Jessica practices family law and general civil litigation in both Idaho and Oregon. Keeping a work life balance is extremely important to her. Jessica’s time outside the office is spent with her husband and family and their pets.

Why Service: Serving my community has been important to me throughout my legal career because it has provided me with different perspectives and has fostered connections with colleagues, friends, and clients.  My service has let me see different perspectives and identified challenges to many in my community.  I have endeavored to take that and make my service meaningful and to improve my community through my work and personal service.

Advice: Build strong relationships with other bar members and practice honestly, ethically and with professionalism in all your dealings.  In the end winning every case or argument is less important than being a role model in advancing the rule of law.  Also, learn to know when you’ve said enough!  Make your point and sit down.  

Tammie received her Juris Doctorate degree from Creighton University School of Law.  She was admitted to the Idaho Bar in 1992.  Tammie began her legal career in the public service, spending the first few years with Idaho Legal Aid, and then transitioned to become a public defender in Bonneville County and other areas of the 7th Judicial District.  In 2003 her career took a different direction when she became Manager and Legal Counsel for Idaho Title and Trust.  In 2009 Tammie established her own law firm where she spent 7 years handling the legal needs of several clients liquidating a $1.2 billion-dollar real estate portfolio in a structured transaction with the FDIC and practiced transactional real estate and business work.

In 2018 Tammie returned to public service as the Trial Court Administrator for the 7th Judicial District, where she guided the district through the challenges of converting to the Odyssey case management system, COVID, and the judicial administrative needs of several high-profile cases that drew national attention.  Tammie “retired” as the Trial Court Administrator in October 2025.  However, as she puts it, she has failed at retirement and now works part time of counsel with Wright Law Offices in Idaho Falls handling transactional law matters.  She is enjoying a slower pace though and likes travel and spend time with her first grandchild, and very soon another grandchild as well.   Tammie is particularly grateful to the love and support of her husband Mike, who she met at Creighton University and to her family.  She is also humbled and honored to receive this award from the Idaho State Bar.