Inspirational Woman Award

Inspirational Woman Award

2023 Inspirational Woman of the Year: Mary Terese "Terry" Fawell (posthumously)

Terry was a long-time pillar of the DuPage County legal community and an inspiration to the young female attorneys who followed in her footsteps. Terry was a kind and gracious person. She was a friend, a colleague, an avid dog lover, and an exceptional parent and wife. We were all fortunate to have Terry in our lives. She made us laugh; made us think; and made us better.

Inspired by her favorite professor at Michigan State University, Terry started law school at Washington University in St. Louis. She graduated from DePaul University College of Law in 1975. After being admitted to the bar on October 15, 1975, Terry embarked on a near fifty-year career as an attorney when women were just barely becoming a part of the legal profession.

Terry started her career as a DuPage County Public Defender. She went into private practice full-time in 1980. In 1984, she founded Fawell & Fawell with her husband, Bruce Fawell, a former judge. Terry’s love of the law was passed to her son, Alex, who practiced with Terry starting in 2015.

Terry’s contribution to women in the legal profession cannot be understated. Terry was unwavering in her practice and advocacy for her clients regardless of circumstance. She was a “glass ceiling-breaker,” yet she never considered herself as one – she simply continued to work hard in a career that she loved, fighting for her clients. Unwaveringly practical, Terry just saw the practice of law as it was at that time, and, with the same sensibility, she watched it grow and change over her forty-seven-year career.

Terry passed away on November 3, 2022 at the age of 72. While Terry will be greatly missed, her memory and contribution to the legal community will continue through the many attorneys who had the privilege of knowing her, and the opportunity to practice with her. There is no one more deserving of this year’s Inspirational Woman Award.

Past Winners

  • Judge Helen C Kinney (Year Unknown)
  • Tom Leahy (Year Unknown)
  • Irene Bahr – 1999
  • Professor Dawn Clark Netsch – 2001
  • Justice Ann Jorgensen – 2003
  • Haydee Olinger – 2004
  • Irene Bahr – 2006
  • Judge Bonnie Wheaton – 2007
  • Jane Radostits – 2008
  • Susan Alvarado – 2009
  • Brenda Carroll – 2010
  • Brigid Duffield – 2011
  • Michelle Moore – 2012
  • Judge Dorothy French – 2013
  • Margaret O’Connell – 2014
  • Lynn M. Mirabella – 2015
  • Judge Linda Davenport - 2016
  • Kimberly Davis - 2017
  • Rebecca Laho - 2018
  • Deborah A. Carder - 2019
  • Judge Ann Celine O. Walsh - 2020
  • Wendy M. Musielak - 2021
  • Lisa M. Giese - 2022
  • Terry Fawell (posthumously) - 2023