How do you judge the quality of an advocate?
Clients Served? Motions Filed? Cases Won?
The hours of labor logged? Or tasks completed?
Maybe the number of messes undone?

I would posit that it is the one who does more with less
for those that never had someone on their side.
For those with nothing – a little goes a long way,
Getting out from under a woe begins to turn the tide.

The greatest alone can only turn over so many stones.
But a magnificent one brings others to table,
A collaboration of varied skills and perspectives,
Showing that what one cannot do, a group is able.

One lawyer’s swan song is a feat that some dream of as a career.
She turns a bag of hair into a safety net of solutions.
Allows those that have been disregarded and forgotten,
To get a fresh start with a multitude of resolutions.

If you haven’t got a CLU of what she can do
There is a decade of success resonating from the VA
Where clients, colleagues, and partners bask
In her success we all hope to emulate someday.

This ode is not a farewell or goodbye.
Her hard work and lessons shared
Will long be remembered by her peers–
A legacy of fellowship and care.