WBASNY Virtual Convention 2021 Journal

I was honored to have met Justice Ginsburg numerous times in a variety of circumstances, initially when I was admitted to the U.S. Supreme Court in 1990, but subsequently at many bar and charity events. This is just one personal memory, but which was shared with numerous WBASNY members. In 2012, Justice Ginsburg came to Cooperstown to give a lecture on how the law, the legal profession, and its principles are portrayed in operas. She joined members of our Association for an intimate lunch where we could chat with her, and later we attended an opera with her. It was clear from the outset of her lecture that Justice Ginsburg is not just a fan, but an expert on operas. She regaled the audience with a myriad of circumstances in operas where, as she exclaimed: “lawyers and judges do not fare well.” For example, in Porgy and Bess, a lawyer says he will charge $1.00 to secure a divorce, but when he finds out the couple was never married, he raises his fee to $1.50! She also covered a few other operas with legal themes, such as Aida (slavery and choices between love and duty to country and king), The Crucible (Salem witch trials), Lost in the Stars (apartheid), Tosca (political prisoners, war, capital punishment), Carmen (murder), A View from the Bridge (poverty, immigration law, murder), and Fidelio (wife disguises herself as a guard to rescue her husband from prison), among many others. It was a fascinating morning. Lawyers across the country will remember Justice Ginsburg’s unbridled commitment to equality, her integrity, her legal acumen, her brilliant advocacy and writing, and her graciousness and wit. But what has stayed with those of us who attended that day was her quiet grace, her generosity, and especially her PASSION - for opera, for the law, for her family, for the equality of all persons, and for our country. She once remarked that listening to “music is the one time when my head isn’t filled with briefs and opinions. All that is put on a shelf, and I just enjoy.” I hope that when we remember this unique and extraordinary woman, we are also reminded to find our passion and joy and take every opportunity to pass that on.

Elizabeth A. Bryson (New York Chapter)

Justice Ginsburg & Chief Judge Judith S. Kaye with fellow WBASNY members at a private luncheon during the Glimmerglass Festival at the Otesaga Inn in Cooperstown, NY. Photo contributed by Elizabeth Bryson & Theodore Peterson