In honor of Women’s History Month, The Elder Law Center of Kirson & Fuller is proud to feature women that have impacted the nation through jurisprudence. 

Born March 15, 1933 in Brooklyn, New York, Ruth Bader Ginsburg was the second female ever to serve on the United States Supreme Court, Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s legal career is absolutely remarkable. She started at Harvard before transferring to Columbia Law School, where she graduated in a tie for first in her class. After law school, Ginsburg focused on academia, teaching civil procedure at Rutgers School of Law and Columbia Law School.

Outside the classroom, Ginsburg spent a substantial part of her legal career as an advocate for gender equality and women’s rights. She won numerous victories arguing before the Supreme Court, volunteering as a lawyer for the American Civil Liberties Union in the 1970’s. President Jimmy Carter appointed her to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in 1980, where she served until her appointment to the Supreme Court by President Bill Clinton in 1993. From then until the 2018 term, Ginsburg had not missed a day of oral arguments. Justice Ginsburg proved time and again that she was a force to be reckoned with, and those who doubted her capacity to effectively complete her judicial duties needed only to look at her record in oral arguments. She was among the most avid questioners on the bench. 

“Fight for the things you care about, but do it in a way that will lead others to join you.” – Ruth Bader Ginsburg

At the age of 87, Ginsburg passed away in her Washington DC home from complications of metastatic pancreatic cancer on September 18, 2020.

Sources:  National Law Review & Britannica