Feature Stories Campus Events All Stories

Event Cancelled: Lawyer, Author and Activist Linda Hirshman to speak at W&L Law

Note: This event has been cancelled.

On Nov. 16, lawyer, cultural historian and pundit Linda Hirshman will speak at Washington and Lee University School of Law. Hirshman will discuss her latest book, “Sisters in Law,” which details the lives of Sandra Day O’Connor and Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the first two-women to serve as U.S. Supreme Court Justices.

Hirshman’s talk is scheduled for Nov. 16 at 4:00 p.m. in the Millhiser Moot Court Room, Sydney Lewis Hall on the campus of Washington and Lee University. The event is free and open to the public. A reception and book signing will follow Hirshman’s presentation.

“Sisters in Law:  How Sandra Day O’Connor and Ruth Bader Ginsburg Went to the Supreme Court and Changed the World” tells the story of the intertwined lives of O’Connor and Ginsburg. Hirshman’s dual biography includes revealing stories of how these trailblazers fought for their own recognition in a male-dominated profession.

Hirshman also examines how these two justices have shaped the legal framework of modern feminism, including employment discrimination, abortion, affirmative action, sexual harassment, and many other issues crucial to women’s lives.

Hirshman is no stranger to W&L Law. In 1995, she served as the school’s Frances Lewis Scholar-in-Residence. More recently, she spent time researching “Sisters in Law” in the archives of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Lewis Powell, which are housed at W&L Law.

Hirshman received her J.D. from the University of Chicago Law School and her Ph.D. in philosophy from the University of Illinois at Chicago, and has taught philosophy and women’s studies at Brandeis University. Her writing has appeared in the New York Times, the Washington Post, SlateNewsweek, the Daily Beast, and POLITICO. She is also author of “Victory: The Triumphant Gay Revolution” and many other books.

Hirshman’s visit is sponsored by the Frances Lewis Law Center, the Women Law Students Organization, and the Office of the Dean.