Photo by Poppy Mills / State of North Dakota
Chief Justice Lisa K. Fair McEvers:
Building on the Court’ s strong foundation
Chief Justice Lisa K. Fair McEvers is the first woman to hold the Court ' s highest position in North Dakota.
Photo provided by North Dakota State Courts
By Kylie Blanchard, Clearwater Communications
When Chief Justice Lisa K. Fair McEvers began her career in law, she knew she wanted to become a judge.“ While practicing law, I enjoyed being in the courtroom and also found researching and applying the law more interesting than some other parts of the practice, so I focused my efforts on gaining the skills necessary to become a judge.”
Fair McEvers was appointed a district judge in 2010, followed by appointment to the North Dakota Supreme Court in 2013, where she has served as a justice until her election to Chief Justice in December.
Chief Justice Lisa K. Fair McEvers
Her duties as North Dakota’ s Chief Justice began on Jan. 1, when she stepped into the role as the first woman to hold the position in the state.“ It is an amazing honor and privilege to have the opportunity to serve in this capacity regardless of my gender,” says Fair McEvers.“ The overwhelming support I received from my colleagues on the bench and from family, friends, and the bar has been humbling.”
A JOURNEY TO THE BENCH
Fair McEvers graduated from the University of North Dakota( UND) with a B. B. A. in information management in 1993. Before attending law school, she worked for the Hon. James H. O’ Keefe.“ This opportunity exposed me to different judges, justices, and lawyers and the role each played in the judicial system,” says Fair McEvers.“ It sparked the idea that the law might be a good fit for me.”
She attended the UND School of Law, and was awarded a juris doctor, with distinction, in 1997.“ After law school, I was a law clerk for William A. Neumann at the North Dakota Supreme Court from 1997 to 1998. I worked in private practice from 1998 to 2001, and I worked as a Cass County assistant state’ s attorney from 2001 to 2005,” Fair McEvers notes.
In July 2005, she was appointed by Gov. John Hoeven to serve as North Dakota Commissioner of Labor, a position she held until September 2010 when she was appointed a North Dakota district court judge in the state’ s East Central Judicial District. She was then elected to the position in 2012 and served until December 31, 2013.“ I was appointed( by Gov. Jack Dalrymple) to the North Dakota Supreme Court in the fall of 2013; began serving January 1, 2014; was elected to an unexpired two-year term in 2016; and re-elected to a 10-year term in 2018,” says Fair McEvers.
Fair McEvers notes a variety of experiences prepared her for a
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