Honestly, it’s so hard to find the words to recognize the passing of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
There are the cute anecdotes about how my wife shared a legal assistant with Justice Ginsburg’s late husband, Marty, or how I’m pretty sure I talked with her at a holiday party many many years ago. Or how I listened in awe at her receipt of the ABA Medal in 2010.
But such anecdotes seem trivial when compared with her legacy.
She should be remembered as being one of the most consequential jurists — and attorneys — of our lifetime. She was a role model. Not just for women, of course, but for all.
And so, among the many quotes that I’ve been reading from her over the weekend, there’s one that has been a guiding principle for me that I thought was worth emphasizing.
“I tell law students… if you are going to be a lawyer and just practice your profession, you have a skill—very much like a plumber. But if you want to be a true professional, you will do something outside yourself… something that makes life a little better for people less fortunate than you.”
Let us all resolve to do something more and honor her legacy.
May her memory forever be for a blessing. Rest in Peace.