 And thank you for the honor of inviting me to appear here to commemorate the significant accomplishments and well-deserved retirement of the honorable Nettie C. Vogel as a justice of the Superior Court. I begin by cautioning you that my comments this evening are no match for Nettie Vogel's extraordinary career and the impact that she has had on the court, the bar, and women she has unsubstitiously mentioned. It has been quite a ride. In 1993, before many of you and probably all of the Monales here this evening were even born, the Rhode Island Constitution was amended. Legislation was enacted, creating an independent judicial nominating committee commission, the manner in which judicial vacancies were filled was transformed. There were four vacancies on the Superior Court for the first set of vacancies. 19 names were submitted to then-governor Sunlin. He submitted four names to the Senate for confirmation. Nettie Vogel was the only woman on them. She was sworn in on September 24, 1994 in his served court and the people of Rhode Island for 28 years, more than the lifetime of the same prior referred to one else. My remarks this evening concerning Justice Vogel's remarkable career are respectfully directed to the law students and the young women lawyers among us. Because one cannot discuss the career of Justice Vogel without reference to her commitment to women, especially young women lawyers. Some of you may not realize it, but there was a time not so long ago when women were strangers to the legal profession and were looked down upon by some and with obvious hostility by others, particularly in the courtroom, which of course is where Nettie Vogel headed straight away from law school graduation. Many of us believe that it is important to acknowledge the struggles experienced by those who blaze the trails and wrote down the barriers of gender bias, not to commemorate, but because we recognize that there still are real challenges and struggles ahead for today and tomorrow's women lawyers at some level. Gender bias, women who wish to practice corporate law. Transactional law are excluded or have difficult ways. The barriers ahead for women facing bias based upon sexual preferences or nonconforming gender discrimination are real. Nobody knew that better than Nettie Vogel on the Superior Court. There were women who blazed trails into male-dominated territory. Nettie Vogel was in the forefront of positive change because she led by example. In 1975, her law school graduating class consisted of only 10% women. We just heard it's 57% today. Welcome aboard. Acutely aware of the sparse female population of law students throughout the country who were women, Nettie was active in social causes that promoted women and has remained so to this day. At the start of our careers, many women, including me, came to public service. Hiring opportunities were more abundant, and public service was a surefire way to get into the courtroom, not Nettie Vogel. She joined a well-respected civil litigation law firm as its first and only female associate, Thunny Lafazia, and knives. And she made certain she wasn't fed to the grunt work of her male colleagues who tried and didn't get away with it. And what I consider to be a courageous move in the mid-1970s to lead me, she brought the issue to a senior partner and to his credit, he assigned her her arm caseload. That was emblematic of Nettie Vogel's drive and perseverance and her refusal to take a backseat. She was off and running. Now the world of insurance defense is a tough arena. Nettie Vogel deftly deflected the insulting, misogynist behavior of the men that she encountered. There are many women here, neither she nor I nor many of us, who can even count the number of times that we will refer to as honey or sweetheart of deer, or worse, by opposing counsel and sometimes judges. Just as Vogel's response was, save those terms of endearment for someone with whom you are intimate. How I wish I was there. This petite, fashionable, dignified, spitfire of a lawyer gracefully burned verse rights. Making sure this behavior was not repeated one lawyer at a time. Ice State Civil Litigation was where Nettie Vogel cut her teeth. She was the first woman to have back-to-back jury trials in Superior Court and the very first lawyer to try a case before a jury in maternity clothes, which she quite obviously needed at the time. Long before her appointment to the bench, Justice Vogel was a familiar figure in the hallways of the Leach Judicial Complex. She was respected by her male colleagues and revered by the women at the bar. She headed the first civil litigation law firm to represent insurance carriers, represented by women, which in itself is a monumental achievement. To appreciate the complexity of these cases, stand your ground, be willing to go toe-toe in front of a jury, know full well what's at stake was Nettie Vogel. However, as remarkable as these achievements were, Justice Vogel was widowed at a young age with a child. Raising her daughter in some ways was her greatest achievement. Georgia Vogel Rosen, who is here today, served as my law clerk and as my close friend. Nettie's insight, values, and integrity are well known and they are reflected in the shining face of her daughter, who was also a single mother, who was gifted Justice Vogel with a beautiful granddaughter, a third generation of strong women with the brightest of futures. And we all know that if Nettie has anything to say about it, that child will worship Tom Brady, the Boston Red Sox, and the Olympatriots. It is my belief that Boussaint's greatest legacy as governor was the cadre of sterling judicial appointments that he made. Frank Darigan, Alton Wiley, Judy Savage, Nettie Vogel, Mike Silverstein, Ed Clifton, and Steven Fortune Autumn. From this galaxy of judicial giants, Nettie Vogel was the last shining star to retire. Of course, just like her first job at Gunning, LaFazia, when she was appointed to this, when she was first appointed, she was assigned to the civil side of the court house. She indicated to presiding Justice Rogers and decided to try her hand at criminal matters. And again, she was off. She had a two year stint in the Kent County Day with criminal calendar, which was not an easy assignment. Without qualification, she became a great criminal trial judge. She knew the law and she knew the score. If you appeared in her courtroom, you were treated fairly and with dignity, but she was in charge. If she had an opinion about an issue, it was based upon experience and probably had a statute or a reported case to back it up. It was never about her. In her appreciation for the role of the jury in our criminal justice system was evident to those of us on the appellate court. The accolades surrounding her service in the Superior Court are many. That she was consistently well prepared for the task at hand and that she had high expectations from everyone, but especially herself. She had a masterful understanding of the rules of evidence and everybody in here ought to remember that when you take the bar or if you want to go to court. She had a deep appreciation for the impact of evidentiary error on the fairness of the proceeding. Her wounds were careful, thoughtful, and based on good application of the law. She was not result oriented. Her reputation for fairness is noteworthy and in fact, it is humbling for this jurist. The women judges that she mentioned as lawyers have spoken about how she demanded excellence from them for no other reason than she wanted them to be the best that she knew they could become. After each trial, she generously took the time to go through the high points and low points to help refine their skills. Over the years, I have frequently said that Florence Murray, Rhode Island's first woman judge broke down many barriers and before she marched through, she turned around and beckoned the rest of us to follow. When Nettie Bogle got through a particular barrier, she took a post and she pushed and she conjured many young women lawyers toward their destinies, many of whom are with us this evening. Justice Bogle's contributions towards the advancement of women in the law was recognized by the Rhode Island Bar Association and the Lord of the Florence K. Murray Award. She also received a Neil J. Houston Award in recognition of her service in contribution towards justice and the public interest. Ladies and gentlemen, these accolades are emblematic as well of her service to Roger Williams University School of Law where she devotedly served on the board of directors for nine years. She was an adjunct professor of law at the school and regularly appeared at a panelist on programs for law students. It is feared to say that Nettie Bogle was front and center throughout the meteoric rise of Roger Williams Law School to the fine institution it is today. For that, we can all be grateful. She was an exciting participant in the Law School's project known as The First Women and this inspiring woman in robes event became an annual event, an annual gathering due to her encouragement. Finally, when prompted for advice during an interview in the Rhode Island Bar Journal for The First Women, she offered the following. Work hard, have a good mentor, be curious, be honorable. Remember you are representing the rights of someone else and it's not about you. This is a profession, not a job. Assert yourself against any perceived discrimination or harassment, treat everyone with respect and above all, have integrity. Justice Bogle, you will be missed but you will not be forgotten. I ask everyone to stand and honor Justice Bogle as she comes up to the stage this evening. You can be seated and I'd ask Professor Yolanski to come to the stage as well. So at the risk of mansplaining is a real pleasure and honor to be here tonight to say a few things about Judge Bogle on this occasion. Recognizing that as a spokesperson to the Law School, my predecessor or successor as Dean could easily be standing here because Judge has done so much for this Law School for so long and I just wanna share a few of those highlights. As Justice Bogle mentioned, Judge Bogle served for almost a decade on the Law School's board of directors and I know as law students, when you hear about board service, you like check out and that's what I always thought until I had to interact with the board and what stood out to me about Judge Bogle's service was that she was a stalwart champion for gender, racial and ethnic diversity in all aspects of the Law School's work, nothing changes if people don't speak up and as all of you know who know her and as those of you who don't know learn, she speaks up. I'm proud to be able to tell her tonight, this is a woman who went to the Law School at a time when 10% of the student body was female. The female faculty at our Law School this semester are teaching every section of one out of criminal law, contracts, civil procedure and legal practice. Only men they encounter are those who teach choice. Second, she has been completely instrumental to the success of this event. It has grown as Dean Brown suggested from very humble beginnings in 2000 into what it is today in no small measure because of her engagement with it and for those of you who are wondering whether the women in robes legend is true, I can tell you it is because I was at the table the year Judge Bogle arranged a summer internship for every student at her table before the end of the evening. It was truly inspiring. So it was at the women in robes event in 2017 that she reminded us of the stalled initiative at the Law School to honor the first women admitted to the Rowan Bar and with the help of so many, many of whom are in this room, in March of 2019 the Law School hosted a celebration of those 176 women, many of whom are also in this room and formally installed a plaque in their honor on the Law School atrium, a location that ensures that virtually every student enters the Law School building seated every day. The work that led to that first women celebration led to the discovery of the story of Dorothy Crockett, the first African American woman admitted to the Rowan Bar and to the dedication of the Law School classroom in her honor as well as an annual women in law leadership lecture. Judge Bogle was instrumental in those initiatives as well. And finally on a personal note, in addition to giving me words of encouragement and support when I needed it, which was not infrequently, I will always admire the judge for telling the cleanest dirty joke I have ever heard told in public. And with that, I have some gifts for you. So this obelisk says, in recognition of your career as a trailblazer, the Honorable Nettie C. Vogel, thank you for your dedication to the legal profession, Women in Roads, November 2022. And from Governor McKee, and from Governor McKee, I extend my congratulations to Nettie C. Vogel, Associate Justice for the Supreme Court in appreciation for the outstanding leadership and contributions you have afforded Roger Williams University School of Law students as a leading member of the Rhode Island Judiciary. So I don't break it? I do get you. Okay. I'm gonna tell you, I am so overwhelmed by those remarks. And I'm not kidding. I'm absolutely overwhelmed. Justice Goldberg, Indian Alsthe, I am so overwhelmed by the remarks that for the first time I think in my life after I learned how to speak, I am speechless. I must tell you that I mentioned to Judge Goldberg when I came up here that she now has earned the role of giving my mule a J. I was an absolutely amazing Justice Goldberg. Thank you so much for those words. I just so flattered. I have the greatest respect for Judge Goldberg and I admire her as a trial judge. I cannot tell you how much I appreciated having my rulings reviewed by someone with her background and expertise. And it's true. And my admiration for Judge Goldberg was never diminished by the fact that she's my daughter's favorite judge. And I'm not. I'm not. Dean Yomelski, thank you for your friendship, for your support, your wonderful words tonight. I know of no one who better exemplifies the commitment, the dedication of the administration and faculty of this fine school than you. And I will tell you that for about 30 years now I have had the privilege of observing the evolution of this school from a mere concept to the fine institution it is today, a vibrant school with academic excellence, creative and a school that gives its students real world experiences through community involvement. Whether it is clerkships with the court, whether it's internships or clinics or evenings such as this where you sit with members of the judiciary, members of the bar and you learn from them, you're mentored by them and you get to know them and they give you advice. I know of no school. This school is unparalleled in its relationship with a state, bar and bench. So it's a wonderful opportunity for you. I want to mention Emily Sack and Chelsea Horn because over the years along with Dean Yomelski I have worked with them to make this particular annual evening such a success and it has been such a pleasure to do so. I'm so glad to have had that opportunity. To Emma, where did Emma go? Oh, you're back seated. Emma, dinner scene and your wonderful committee. Thank you so much for the hard work that you spent making this evening possible. I want to thank the law school and the Women's Law Society first of all for hosting this event annually. But what I really want to thank you for tonight is for this incredible honor. Something that I will cherish for the rest of my life. This is an incredible evening for me. I am also so pleased to see so many of my colleagues and members of the bar here tonight spending time with the law students, giving them advice and so forth, getting to know them and yes, find them some internships. I would ask, so tell me about yourself, what are your interests? Well, what are your plans for this summer? And sometimes you find out that somebody is interested in the family quarter, whatever and you kind of work with them, give them some ideas of who they might contact so that they could get an internship whether it was during the school year or the summer. But in any event, I am so glad to see so many of my colleagues and my friends from the bar here. And if at all, if at all to some extent you're here to honor me, I've got to tell you I'm deeply, deeply flattered and I very much appreciate your presence. Like all of you, I look forward to later this evening hearing from the two newest members of the Rhode Island Supreme Court, judges Erin Lynch Prada and Melissa Long. These are two incredibly impressive and talented women and I'm really proud to say that they are friends of mine. You know, as I look out, I see not only my colleagues and my friends from the bar, but I do see some people who I have the privilege of mentoring or to some extent. I mean, I see Judge Keough. Now I know Judge Goldberg would say she's Goldberg trained, but I think I also had something to do with the mentoring. And one of my very first law clerks is here, the clerk of the Supreme Court, Deb Saunders, who was Deb Knapp, when she clerked with me for two years in 1996 and 1997 in Newport County. And it was such, it was so much fun. I really enjoyed that so much. You know, about, I guess, over 21 years ago, I was assigned to handle the civil calendar in Kent County. And Carol Farnoli, who was sent Deb to me in Newport, sent me a young man to be my clerk. Carol Farnoli was then the head of the law clerk department and served in that capacity for many years. She said, we're building on Team Junior. I was used to having women, I'll be honest with you, but I thought I'd give the fellow a try. You know, as Humphrey Bogart, said at the end of Casa Blanca, now I realize a lot of you don't know what they're talking about. That was the beginning of a beautiful friendship and that friendship has only grown over the years. And, you know, I'm so happy also that Gil is here tonight. And if I could just share just one little story. Back then, we were talking about a couple of decades ago, I was also an adjunct professor here teaching advanced evidence. And on the first class of every term in the middle of the class, Gil would come in and walk right up to the desk and steal my handbag and he'd leave. And the students were like, whoa, what just happened? And then I would ask them to describe those things. And it was a wonderful experience and an experiment in eyewitness identification because their descriptions were all over the line. And I just want to say, Gil, my handbag is right over there. Mr. Georgie, don't take it. I'm thrilled to have my daughter, Georgie Boga-Rosen here this evening. That's mean so much to me. Georgie is my friend. She's my confidant. And the more mature of the two of us. I must say that I feel very, very fortunate to have her as my daughter. Not only because she has given me the joy of my life, my granddaughter, but for other reasons as well. On an evening such as this, on evenings of similar joy, I reminded of my father. And if you just allow me to finish by mentioning him, my father, George Bogle, I named Georgie after him, came to this country as a youngster, one of 10 children. And he held three jobs down to work his way through law school. He was my first mentor. And although he died when I was 19, his influence remains with me today. And I can't help but think how incredibly proud he would have been to be here tonight because I am so very proud. And I thank all of you for honoring me this evening. And I really look forward to the rest of the evening. Thank you.