“I’m a big doodler,” says Trial Attorney Liz Zwibel Chase. “In court, you hear the same arguments.” The time can drag on and on, even for seasoned attorneys, defense counselors, and judges. That’s how Liz started doodling. 

“I doodle critters,” she says proudly. Her passion for drawing has recently evolved, taking up landscapes. Best of all, it gives her a way to relax. “It’s a nice way to unwind for me,” she comments. “I like to sit with a piece of paper.” 

You can often find her at Michael’s, stocking up on her art supplies, including frames to frame her doodle creations. A woman of many talents, when she is out of town on a case, she takes her Sharpies and colors in her drawings. She puts them on the wall and gives them away for all to enjoy. 

“I also like to write fiction and paint,” she adds. “I have a whole area here with my paints in it.” She jokes, “If it’s not nailed down, I paint it and then I glitterize it. Everything is a potential canvas.” 

The options are endless. She takes her hobbies so seriously that she says, “If I weren’t a lawyer, I would just paint. It’s fun and mindless with no constraints and no rules. You can do whatever you want.” It is a stark contrast to law because there is no structure. “It’s free flow. There’s no right or wrong and no judgment. Practicing law is hard,” she says. Dealing with insurance companies that want to pay the minimum amount possible to families whose lives have been tragically altered, while delaying justice in many cases for years, is stressful. “A horrendous injury affects the entire family,” Liz points out. “It’s almost like a death.” She’s passionate about her cases. “If you weren’t, you couldn’t do this job.” That’s why painting and doodling are the perfect pastime for her. They are her happy place, a way to relax and set her mind at ease.

Art is where she can trade courtroom arguments for color, logic for imagination, and deadlines for doodles. Whether she’s adding a touch of sparkle to a canvas or bringing a Sharpie critter to life, she finds joy in the freedom of it all.  And for someone who spends her days fighting for others, that kind of creative escape is pure magic.