Summary
- This month, we focus on the life of longtime ABA leader Lynn M. Allingham, posthumous recipient of GPSolo’s 2024–2025 Making a Difference Through Community Service Award.
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Defining Moments, Insights into the Lawyer’s Soul: Lynn M. Allingham
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This month, I devote my Defining Moments column to my good friend and longtime ABA leader Lynn M. Allingham. Kathleen Hopkins and I nominated her last year for the GPSolo Division’s Making a Difference Through Community Service Award, and she received it posthumously. This award honors an attorney, living or deceased, who made a significant lifetime contribution to the local community through community service. I was grateful to have the chance to present the award at the 2025 ABA Midyear Meeting on January 30 in Phoenix, Arizona, and I am presenting here the remarks I made that day.
I’m grateful to have the chance to honor Lynn and that the Awards Committee so wholeheartedly agreed with me that she was a “one-in-a-million kind of girl.”
Lynn was born on December 7, 1955, and she died on October 30, 2024, after a short but brave battle with stomach cancer. She was diagnosed in May of last year. She cherished every moment spent with family and friends. She got to witness her son’s wedding in Hilo, she embarked on trips to Kona and Europe, and she also created unforgettable memories with friends in Alaska.
I got to call her in the afternoons and just talk. She never complained, never showed fear or self-pity—it was almost as if things were just as normal as they could be. I didn’t want to express my fear or scare her, so I just played along, knowing it was serious. I just never thought it would be so quick.
I know many of us in the ABA are still in shock over this unfortunate situation, and it is hard to come to terms with it. All we can do is celebrate her life today and just know each moment is precious. Let’s not waste them.
A little about her background:
She grew up in Seattle, Washington. She got her law degree in 1981. She first became a U.S. Attorney, and then in 1993, she launched her own private practice.
She met her husband, Greg Galik, in 1985, and they eloped to Hawaii in 1986. They had two sons, Geoffrey and Jon-Paul. Lynn was a busy lawyer but still found time to be super mom—doing boys summer soccer, Boy Scouts, ski racing, and Montessori education. Many of you may remember back in 2006 when Lynn and Greg cofounded the Alaska Brands Group and got into the local bottled water industry. It was a tremendous feat, and we all got a tour of the water plant when we went there for our GPSolo meeting.
Lynn became active in the ABA in 1984, and after serving in the Young Lawyers Division, she became an active member of GPSolo. She served on the Book Publications Board for many years. She also served on the WIN (Women’s Initiative Network) Committee for the past ten years since its formation and was always there to help. She served on the ABA House of Delegates for many years and served a term on the ABA Board of Governors.
Always coming to meetings from Alaska, she took many red-eye flights, sometimes getting in just in time to drop off her bags and head straight to a meeting. She was always there with a smile, and many of us remember she would tell you the truth—whether you wanted to hear it or not. Whatever she was passionate about, she didn’t hold back. And I’m telling you she was passionate about shopping and getting a good deal. We often snuck over to the Chicago Nordstrom’s and spent our late nights as roomies ooh-ing and ah-ing over the many “deals” we got there. She justified the spending by saying there were no stores in Alaska, but I didn’t have that same excuse.
In addition to her work with the ABA, Lynn also served as a member and on the Board of Directors for the World Affairs Council, then on the board as legal counsel and advisor to World Trade Center Alaska. She served for more than 20 years for the Anchorage Bar Association in numerous committee and leadership roles.
Lynn was a longtime member of Anchorage East Rotary Club, where she is a past board member. She chaired the Youth Services and Vocational Services Committees. She served as a board member and secretary of the Anchorage East Rotary Service Fund, Inc. She offered business counsel for entrepreneurs with the Anchorage Chamber of Commerce.
She lobbied for just laws in the areas of human rights and worked hard to get funding for Alaska Legal Services.
Beautiful both inside and out, with an infectious smile and compassionate heart, Lynn was loved and admired by many. She mentored and supported young women aspiring to enter the legal field.
Her tireless energy devoted to her friends and causes and her commitment to the integrity of the legal profession are unmatched. Her contributions will inspire future generations of attorneys and business leaders.
Greg is so sorry he could not attend the luncheon. You can see photos and make comments on the Ever Loved website. Any gifts should be given to the Alaska Legal Services Corporation.
Greg sent me this message to share with you:
Greetings to everyone. On behalf of myself and my sons, Geoff and Jon-Paul, we want to express our heartfelt gratitude to GPSolo for this incredible honor recognizing Lynn for her community service. She gave her heart and soul to our state, our community, and to the ABA, driven by a deep belief in her mission to serve, help, and change lives.
As I’m sure all of you can relate, Lynn was passionate about making sure things were right in this world, ensuring that everyone had a fair and open opportunity to succeed. I know that if she were here today, she would not accept this award for herself but rather as a reminder of the work that still lies ahead.
Thank you all for keeping her memory and her contributions alive.
In closing, I will share another more personal text from him:
I have been hauled in (if that’s the best way to put it) to grief counseling by friends, and I can say that it’s been very helpful. My “PsychDude,” as I call him, has been working on all the self-talk that keeps me stuck in the past. Trying to switch my gears to present-centered, positive actions and using memories to smile and remember all my sweet time with my dear Lynn. My philosophy out of all this is that we have three gifts in this life: (1) the gift of Time, (2) the gift of Love, and (3) the gift of Memories. Each one is precious, and we’ve got to make the best of the present and the time to love all we can, and those memories will sustain us.
Thank you.
Defining Moments: Insights Into the Lawyer’s Soul
By Melanie Bragg
ISBN: 9781641054195
Product Code: 1620777
2019, 241 pages, paperback and e-book
$29.95; member price $23.95
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