I have always felt a special kinship with Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, an affinity that grew even stronger when, in my current role as Dean of Hofstra Law, I was honored to spend a little time with her and experience personally her warmth, sincerity, humility and intellect. I share in the loss of this incredible human being, a true beacon for women’s rights and the very embodiment of the phrase “grace under pressure.” She was a guiding light, a living legal legend, inspiration to so many (especially women lawyers) and will be an icon of inspiration in the American legal system forever.

But far more important to me than any personal or political convictions she held was her commitment to the rule of law, her judicious adherence to principle over passion and her reluctance to turn the U.S. Supreme Court into an uber legislature where both the right and left turn when they don’t get their way with the democratic branches of government, the executive and legislative branches.