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about Esther Rothstein

December 1998

In Memoriam: Esther R. Rothstein '49

I met Esther Rothstein on my first interview trip before I was appointed Dean of Chicago-Kent. I was so taken with her commitment to the future of the law school and her gentle but probing insights about the school that we had a second private meeting before I left town. On that first trip and in every single contact since then, I felt that any of us would do well to think of Esther as a role model.

She was not afraid to be a pioneer, as in blazing trails for women lawyers at Chicago-Kent and in the profession. She built institutions to meet needs that never have been served before, in the Women's Bar Association of Illinois. She was recognized as a leader in traditional institutions that had existed before her, serving as President of the Chicago Bar Association.

She was a practicing lawyer who cared about policy and the public interest. She cared about people, and she knew that she had the capacity to make a difference in other people's lives, and she never stopped making that difference to the end of her life.

We will miss her acutely. We can best remember her by celebrating her contributions to the Bar, to Chicago, and to America. We can best remember her by imitating her, by making contributions of our own.

 
Henry H. Perritt, Jr.