The Public Official Award: Judge Lisa Page

Judge Lisa Page, a native of Festus, took office in 2007 as Jefferson County’s first female circuit judge. She was recently named as one of three finalists to fill a vacancy on the Missouri Court of Appeals Eastern District.

What are some of your proudest career accomplishments?  Graduating from law school in the first place! I have been very fortunate in my career to have wise mentors. They contributed greatly to my proudest accomplishment of being Jefferson County’s first female circuit judge. While I was presiding judge, the circuit adopted the use of iPad technology, which is now commonplace across the state, in both the courts and the juvenile office. As family court administrative judge, I am proud to supervise a very creative and innovative Juvenile Office. A recent example of their innovation is the development of a peer based anti-cyber bullying school based model, intended be replicated in interested schools across the state.  In Jefferson County, we are always working to improve the system of justice and I am proud to be part of and to contribute to this process.

What inspired you to get involved in the justice system? I was inspired by a trip to the Jefferson County courthouse in high school where Judge Tim Patterson allowed me to shadow a day in his work world and then very patiently showed me the Southwest key system. I was so impressed and knew I wanted to learn more so law school became my career goal at an early age.

What has been your favorite part of the job? I truly love the law and how it works in the everyday lives of people. When they come to court in any capacity, I am aware that their interaction with the court is the most important issue in their lives and they deserve to have their judge respect that and act accordingly. Meeting that challenge, every single day, is at the top of my list of favorites.
I also love all the different people I meet and get to work with through the other members of my bench and the various committees and projects I serve on around the state. As an example, I am currently on a team of judges who are teaching a Domestic Violence Summit to Missouri judges on May 13. All of us have been to training across the country to acquire the most updated information and interventions to deal with this crucial issue. Now we are working hard to get it into a format that other judges can learn and take back into their communities.

What is something that would surprise people about you? People often seem surprised about the ages of our three children:  Maggie is 26, Joe is 23 and then Annalisa is 12.  Eddie and I are darn proud of all three!

What is the best advice you’ve ever given or received? I was once told that “kindness matters,” I try to live that advice and I certainly have given it to others as I firmly believe a great deal of good comes from that attitude.

When you were growing up, what did you want to be? At first I really wanted to be a librarian when I grew up. Then I had that fateful trip to the courthouse to observe Judge Patterson in action and I knew the law was the direction I was meant to follow.