Exonian Profiles
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The Honorable Edward M. Ginsburg ’51: Juggling
Justice
“I don’t believe in retirement. I think people transition,” says Judge Edward M. Ginsburg ’51. He has certainly lived this credo in the six months since his mandatory retirement from the Middlesex County Family and Probate Court in October 2002. Not only is he directing Senior Partners for Justice, an organization he founded the day after he stepped down from the bench, but he has also accepted one of the most daunting tasks of his career: putting together and leading the team which will oversee the review of contractors’ bills and records for Boston’s $14.6-billion Big Dig project. How will Ginsburg find the time and energy to juggle two seemingly full-time jobs? He credits his Exeter education. “One thing about Exeter,” he says, “was that we were always kept busy. From that I learned to organize my time, especially when I had to write a paper every night for Darcy Curwen!” Ginsburg first decided to use that time to start Senior Partners for Justice, an organization which will offer legal aid to some of the region’s poorest people, especially those who need help maneuvering through the civil justice system. Already close to 50 top lawyers, mostly retirees, have signed on as senior partners. “Sixty-five percent of the people in probate court appear without a lawyer because they can’t afford one,” Ginsburg says. “This means that many are representing themselves in court for divorces, custody battles and other family law matters. Often these clients don’t fully understand their own cases. For them it is like going into a foreign country.” He ought to know: Ginsburg served for 25 years as a family court judge in Middlesex County, where he was respected for his opinions as well as for his years spent teaching law both on and off the bench. Lawyers who volunteer to work for Senior Partners for Justice “realize that after earning a good living they can contribute in a different way to the legal profession,” says Ginsburg. “It is payback time. The idealism with which they entered law school is rekindled.” For those who have not practiced family law or in civil court, Ginsburg and a colleague offer retraining sessions. “For some it is a difficult thing to find the courage to come out of a comfortable cocoon, take a chance and do something different,” he explains. “But the rewards are great. They love it!” Now comes the time-management challenge. In January, the vice chairman of the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority, the agency which oversees the Big Dig project, called for a “look back” at all contracts to see whether the state is due any refunds. To conduct the review, he sought an independent person with no ties to either the authority or the contractors; someone who all parties felt would ensure a fair investigation. Ginsburg was tapped. “I accepted for several reasons,” he explains. “The Big Dig is part of American history. Sorting it out will be a challenge. There has never been a public works project of this size and complexity. The contractors are entitled to a hearing and the public is entitled to know that it got its ‘dollar’s worth.’ ” Ginsburg’s first inkling of the meaning of giving back came to him early in his Exeter career. “I read in the school’s catalogue that even full tuition didn’t cover the cost of an Exeter education. All students at the school were enjoying an education that was partly funded by those who came before them. I realized that I owed something to a larger whole. I have always tried to give something back.” —Julie Quinn |
