'Our pen is our sword'

by Devon Skeens, Chelsea Dermody and A.J. Besik

It’s easy to lose sight of what’s really important in law school. Discussions of class rank, employment projections and GPA make it easy to forget why one wanted to be a lawyer in the first place.

But there is no better reminder of why we sign up for three years of law school’s demands than touring buildings where history is made, meeting those making it and standing in the presence of one of the ultimate arbiters of law in the nation.

We got that chance in December, when we visited Washington D.C. As part of that trip, we had a private, one-hour meeting with U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy.

In his welcoming, grandfather-like demeanor, Justice Kennedy told us a story.

He explained that after Johnson v. Texas, when the Supreme Court protected the right to burn a flag, there was a huge uproar from the public.

People couldn’t understand, perhaps because they had not bothered to read any of the opinions in the case, why protecting the right to burn a flag is important to the freedom that the flag stands for.

Justice Kennedy joked that it seemed like President Bush took the week off to tour flag factories. And not long after that, a man approached Justice Kennedy in a restaurant and said his father, a World War II veteran, had told him he should be ashamed to be a lawyer. In response, the man decided to give his father a copy of Justice Kennedy’s concurrence in the case. When the father handed the concurrence back to his son, he had a new view of the case.  “Son,” he said, “you should be proud to be a lawyer.”

Authors, historians and politicians claim that the pen is mightier than the sword. Justice Kennedy explained to us that our pen is our sword. What we write has the power to change minds — and even to change the law.

Without knowing any student’s political affiliation, or even our names, Justice Kennedy reminded us that being a lawyer isn’t about the money you make, the power you have or the section of the plane you sit in.

Being a lawyer, at its most fundamental core, is about using intellect, reason, imagination and language to create the world that you want to see — to make a positive difference for people.

We were treated to a lot of amazing things in Washington, but what we will always remember is the pride we felt leaving our meeting with Justice Kennedy.

We get to be lawyers someday. And we wouldn’t have it any other way.

Devon Skeens, Chelsea Dermody and A.J. Besik are members of Brandeis' Class of 2018.

To read more about their trip to Washington, click here: https://louisville.edu/law/news/brandeis-school-of-law-students-reflect-on-trip-to-supreme-court-meeting-with-justice-kennedy