U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer spoke remotely to ABA President Judy Perry Martinez during the General Assembly of the 2020 ABA Annual Meeting.  The following is an excerpt from that conversation:

“Martinez closed her conversation with Breyer by asking the justice to share a few pieces of advice with the ABA’s youngest members as well as with its more senior attorneys.



Breyer encouraged law students to learn about the government and said he wished civics was restored as a required course. To those who are graduating, he said he couldn’t tell them how to live their lives, but he hoped a few things for them.



“I can hope you’ll find someone to love,” he said. “I can hope you’ll have a job that is rewarding, and I can hope you will participate. Participate in public life. And there are a million ways to participate.

“You can join a local library association. You can try to be a school board member. You can vote. You can learn about the issues going on. You can talk to others.”



To the senior members, Breyer said, like he tells himself, “you just keep going.”