Ruth Bader Ginsburg

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg ’56-58, whose lifelong fight for equal rights helped pave the way for women to take on high-profile roles in business, government, the military, and the Supreme Court, died on Sept. 18. She was 87.

The Harvard Law School Library offers a treasure-trove for legal historians. If one wanted to peruse, for example, a copy of the first printed collection of English statutes from the 15th century, there it would be. Yet, as three recent acquisitions demonstrate, the library also presents the lighter side of the law, with items that reveal the humor and personalities behind the cases and legal decisions that make history.

Although arguments in the U.S. Supreme Court are not video-recorded, you can watch many of its justices questioning oralists and presiding over cases—within the State of Ames. Visit Harvard Law School’s archive of video recordings of the final rounds of the Ames Moot Court Competition.

On April 20, Harvard Law School will host the third and final major event in its year-long program celebrating 200 years of HLS. HLS in the Community will convene alumni, faculty, students, and staff to explore the extraordinary reach and impact of Harvard lawyers.

Merrick Garland ’77—President Obama’s pick for the Supreme Court—has been very much involved in the life of Harvard Law School since receiving his degree from HLS nearly four decades ago. Dean Martha Minow described as “an outstanding, meticulous, and thoughtful judge with a superb career of public service.”

“Scalia/Ginsburg,” a comic opera by Derrick Wang, had its world premiere this summer in Virginia. Among those in the audience for the premiere was Justice Ginsburg herself.

U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg received the Radcliffe Medal on Friday, May 29. Since the 1970s, Ginsburg has constantly sought to break down traditional male/female stereotypes “that held women back from doing what their talents would allow them to do.”

On Dec. 15, 2014, 34 Harvard Law alumni, from the Classes of 1971 to 2010, gathered at the U.S. Supreme Court to join the bar for the highest court in the nation.

The 2013 Ames Moot Court competition was held at Harvard Law School on Oct. 23. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg '56-'58 presided at the Ames final round. She was joined by Judge Merrick B. Garland '77 of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit and Judge Ilana Diamond Rovner of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit.

Legal scholar and tireless defender of equal rights Ruth Bader Ginsburg reflected on her career during a discussion with Harvard Law School Dean Martha Minow on Monday Feb. 4 before a packed room in Wasserstein Hall.

In Christian Legal Society v. Martinez, the Supreme Court ruled 5-to-4 last June that a public law school did not violate the First Amendment by withdrawing recognition from a Christian student group that excluded gay students. On Sept. 8, the Harvard Federalist Society sponsored a discussion of Martinez and its implications for religious freedom.

Since the first alumnae of 1953, more than 5,000 women have claimed their place at HLS. Hundreds came back to the School in November to applaud Attorney General Janet Reno '63 as she accepted the Celebration 45 Award, and to connect with the other remarkable women of Harvard Law.