The Light of Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson

The loss of the Hon. Ruth Bader-Ginsberg was tremendous, and it was felt by women throughout the legal profession and United States equally. She was an inspiration to us all, serving diligently on the U.S. Supreme Court for 27 years. If you are familiar with her path to get there, you know it was not easy.

With her passing came great loss, but this year we witnessed history when the U.S. Senate voted 53-47 to elevate Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the highest court in the land. As the first Black woman to serve on the Supreme Court, Justice Brown Jackson is validation for women lawyers that we have come a long way in the practice.

While the addition of Justice Brown Jackson will not change the ideological makeup of the Court, her ascension does in one sense transform it. For the first time in its 165-year history, there will be four women on the court.

However, a glimpse into her confirmation hearings was evidence that work toward gender and race equity in the legal profession is not over. Millions of people across the country watched carefully as the character, experience and qualifications of Justice Brown Jackson were picked apart despite her possessing the credentials of someone who is more than qualified to serve on the Court: Harvard Law School graduate, three federal clerkships, vice chair of the United States Sentencing Commission, and federal judgeships at the district and circuit court levels.

For many of us who watched her confirmation hearings. there was a feeling of familiarity. A feeling of having been there before in a room full of people who do not look like you, trying their best to find a way to diminish you.

For women attorneys, no matter what level of practice they are at, Justice Brown Jackson serves as an inspiration. Her poise and grace during the hearings was a reminder to many women in the law that we are qualified and should take up space. She was calm, confident and controlled as she carefully thought out her responses to questions meant to invalidate her. Her light shined brightly despite all efforts to extinguish it.

The overall lesson learned from Justice Brown Jackson is to remain persistent. Even when faced with adversity and doubt, we must keep going because we belong in the law. We know there is no shortage of barriers facing women in the legal profession and there are still glass ceilings to be broken. We must not get discouraged when we experience situations meant to break us down.

Keeping up the fight may look like speaking up for women attorneys in your office during a partner meeting or representing women clients pro bono. Whatever it looks like, may we not forget those who paved the way for us and who continue to be the firsts in this profession.