The fact that Maria Lazar calls herself “kind of boring” is a clue about who she is — and it’s definitely not boring.

The 2008 president of the Milwaukee County Bar Association is a Midwesterner to her core. She’s whip-smart. She has a strong work ethic. And she’s devoted to her husband and two children. Yet, she’s modest about her skills and accomplishments.

“Maria’s so smart, and she’s pretty unassuming about it, but it shows,” says Mark Pollack, a colleague at Galanis, Pollack, Jacobs and Johnson S.C. in Milwaukee. “She’s also got an infinite capacity for work. And while some people would sell their soul for her career, Maria would never do that. Her family is very important to her.”

The Wisconsin-bred Lazar used her smarts to get accepted to the Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, D.C., but came home to Wisconsin after graduating in 1989 to be near her aging parents and in-laws. As she built a successful work and family life over the years, she began to realize the wisdom of that decision.

“I like Wisconsin and the Midwest feel, and it’s a great place to raise children,” says Lazar. “It was the right choice to be back here.”

Today, Lazar is a shareholder at Galanis, Pollack, Jacobs and Johnson S.C., where she specializes in civil and bankruptcy litigation.

“I like litigating,” Lazar says simply.

She must, because she spent part of the maternity leave after the birth of her first child preparing for an argument before the Wisconsin Supreme Court. “The argument was set for a date when I was on maternity leave, and I didn’t realize you could ask for an extension,” explains Lazar. “I argued the case, and in retrospect it was great. That was the only case I was working on during my maternity leave, and I spent all my time with my son and my case.”

The outcome? “I won hands down,” says Lazar, “and I forged new law in the Wisconsin Supreme Court.”

Lazar is so committed to practicing law that if she won millions in the lottery, after frolicking for a year, she’d get back to real life by resuming her legal practice.

“I’d stay a lawyer and keep litigating,” she says. “But I might try my hand at writing as well. I’d love to write fiction, mostly mystery. I see myself in the lines of murder writers like Ngaio Marsh and Martha Grimes. I’d also like to work with my kids to write children’s books. I started that a few years back, but I’m buried now, so it’s hard to spend time doing it.”

Even people who know Lazar well might also be surprised to learn that writing isn’t her only non-legal creative outlet. “Before I had children, I was involved in local theater,” she says. “I did that at law school, too, and when the MBA did Judges’ Night, I was involved in the group that would do the musicals. Eventually I’ll go back and join the church choir again.”

One thing keeping Lazar busy today is her current role as president of the MBA as the organization celebrates 150 years of service to the Milwaukee legal profession. In that capacity, Lazar is focusing on expanding the organization’s reach.

We want to be more inclusive with attorneys and to go beyond law firm attorneys,” she says. “We’re reaching out to in-house attorneys, Milwaukee district attorneys, and the U.S. attorney’s office. Right now they’re not as big a part of our bar, but we’re working to bring in their points of view because they have a completely different perspective than attorneys working at law firms.”

Lazar is also participating in the MBA’s efforts to launch the Milwaukee Justice Center.

“The goal is to help create the center to assist people who can’t find their way through the legal system,” she explains. “It’s not just for people who can’t afford the legal system.

Sometimes people need to be pointed in the right direction. Every sign you see says staff can’t give you legal advice, so people often wonder, ‘Am I even filling out the right form?’

It’s a way to make a difference.”

As she has done for 20 years, Lazar wants to go on making a difference by quietly and successfully practicing law.

“I don’t foresee myself ever opening my own firm because I don’t want to run an office,” says Lazar. “I want to keep litigating.”