At 80 years old with nearly 25 years experience as a Supreme Court Justice, Sandra Day O’Connor spoke vibrantly Monday evening at U. Kansas. She talked with a group of law students, faculty, and practicing lawyers at the Dole Institute of Politics. O’Connor made the crowd laugh with a few jokes, but also told her story of perseverance and determination, rich with advice for aspiring lawyers.
“It’s hard to be a good advocate,” O’Connor said. “You want to make your arguments flow like a conversation would flow.”
Retired Supreme Court Justice O’Connor gave the second annual Shook, Hardy, & Bacon Center for Excellence in Advocacy Lecture Monday night. The lecture took the form of a fireside chat with Judge Deanell Reece Tacha of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit.
The Shook, Hardy, & Bacon Center for Excellence in Advocacy was established two years ago as a partnership between the University of Kansas School of Law and the law firm of Shook, Hardy & Bacon to promote the study of advocacy for aspiring trial lawyers. The center is intended to create opportunities for practicing lawyers, judges, and law students to come together to discuss issues that are important in the practice of law, Gail Agrawal, Dean of the KU School of Law said.
Agrawal served as O’Connor’s law clerk during the 1984-1985 term and said the retired justice’s visit is especially important to her.
“A visit of a Supreme Court justice is always a very special event at a law school, and this is particularly special to me,” Agrawal said. “It is very nice for me to be able to host her here in Kansas and also to introduce her to our students, and so many of my friends in the KU Law community.”
O’Connor spoke about a variety of topics, including her day-to-day life as a Supreme Court Justice, the importance of cooperation among the nine Supreme Court justices, and her first trip to Washington, D.C. to speak with then-President Ronald Reagan when she was a candidate for the next Supreme Court nominee.
“He was a delightful man in every way,” she said. “That is one of the most interesting days I’ve ever had.”
O’Connor grew up on a ranch in rural Arizona. She received her bachelor’s degree in economics and her law degree both from Stanford University. She was working on the Arizona Court of Appeals when President Reagan extended a Supreme Court nomination to her.
“I did not seek that job,” O’Connor said. “I didn’t know if I could do it well enough.”
But with encouraging words from her husband, the late John O’Connor, she accepted the president’s nomination and became the first female U.S. Supreme Court Justice.
“It is interesting that she was seemingly to isolated from Washington,” Robert Bombard, a law student from Boulder, Co., said. “Her first visit was her trip to meet President Reagan, and it is so interesting to me that someone nominated to the highest court, until then, had never set foot in the nation’s capitol.”
O’Connor also shared with the crowd how she landed her first job out of law school, and gave advice about pursuing job opportunities.
“These are tough times,” she said. “It’s hard to get jobs.”
When O’Connor graduated from Stanford Law School in 1952, law firms did not hire women. She had two degrees from Stanford and still, she claimed, no law firm in California would give her an interview. She sought out the San Mateo county attorney and volunteered to work for free until a job became available. About four months later she had her own office and a paycheck.
“That is what I tell young people today,” O’Connor said. “You may have to be a little creative in getting that first job, but it’s OK, make something of it and enjoy it.”
O’Connor also spoke about the retirement of Supreme Court Justice John Stevens to come at the end of the summer and her hopes for cooperation among members of congress.
“We’re at a time when there’s so much controversy in the congress,” O’Connor said. “I hope that we don’t end up at odds with the selection of a new member of the court.”
Above all, O’Connor emphasized to young lawyers the importance of an independent and impartial court to the country.
“Under our system of governance as we know it we have had one safe place and that safe place has been the courtroom, where it is possible for any citizen to have a fair and independent decision made by qualified decision makers,” O’Connor said. “We can’t let that go.”