Lady Justice

Women, the Law, and the Battle to Save America

By: Dahlia Lithwick

Narrated by: Dahlia Lithwick

Length: 10 hrs and 49 mins

Publisher's summary

Winner of the LA Times Book Prize in Current Interest

An instant New York Times Bestseller!

“Stirring…Lithwick’s approach, interweaving interviews with legal commentary, allows her subjects to shine...Inspiring.”—New York Times Book Review

“In Dahlia Lithwick’s urgent, engaging Lady Justice, Dobbs serves as a devastating bookend to a story that begins in hope.”—Boston Globe

Dahlia Lithwick, one of the nation’s foremost legal commentators, tells the gripping and heroic story of the women lawyers who fought the racism, sexism, and xenophobia of Donald Trump’s presidency—and won

After the sudden shock of Donald Trump’s victory over Hillary Clinton in 2016, many Americans felt lost and uncertain. It was clear he and his administration were going to pursue a series of retrograde, devastating policies. What could be done?

Immediately, women lawyers all around the country, independently of each other, sprang into action, and they had a common goal: they weren’t going to stand by in the face of injustice, while Trump, Mitch McConnell, and the Republican party did everything in their power to remake the judiciary in their own conservative image. Over the next four years, the women worked tirelessly to hold the line against the most chaotic and malign presidency in living memory. There was Sally Yates, the acting attorney general of the United States, who refused to sign off on the Muslim travel ban. And Becca Heller, the founder of a refugee assistance program who brought the fight over the travel ban to the airports. And Roberta Kaplan, the famed commercial litigator, who sued the neo-Nazis in Charlottesville. And, of course, Stacey Abrams, whose efforts to protect the voting rights of millions of Georgians may well have been what won the Senate for the Democrats in 2020.

These are just a handful of the stories Lithwick dramatizes in thrilling detail to tell a brand-new and deeply inspiring account of the Trump years. With unparalleled access to her subjects, she has written a luminous book, not about the villains of the Trump years, but about the heroes. And as the country confronts the news that the Supreme Court, which includes three Trump-appointed justices, will soon overturn Roe v. Wade, Lithwick shines a light on not only the major consequences of such a decision, but issues a clarion call to all who might, like the women in this book, feel the urgency to join the fight. A celebration of the tireless efforts, legal ingenuity, and indefatigable spirit of the women whose work all too often went unrecognized at the time, Lady Justice is destined to be treasured and passed from hand to hand for generations to come, not just among lawyers and law students, but among all optimistic and hopeful Americans.

©2022 Dahlia Lithwick (P)2022 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

One of The New Yorker’s Best Books of 2022

“Stirring . . . Lithwick’s approach, interweaving interviews with legal commentary, allows her subjects to shine. She unabashedly casts them as heroines with the tenacity and courage to resist governmental pressure at crucial moments, but at the same time she rejects a simplistic, naïve narrative of social progress . . . Inspiring.”—The New York Times Book Review

“Lady Justice isn’t just an important historical document but a necessary guide right now . . . Lithwick’s book insists that there’s simply no time for the sense of helplessness currently felt by so many pro-choicers, feminists and those who don’t believe that a fetus should have more rights than a woman. In other words, Lady Justice is right on time . . . Lithwick writes that 'we have a long way to go, the road will be bumpy, and the destination still feels less than clear.' She’s right. But lucky for us, she’s drawn an excellent map.”—Jill Filipovic, Washington Post

“In Dahlia Lithwick’s urgent, engaging Lady Justice, Dobbs serves as a devastating bookend to a story that begins in hope.”—Boston Globe

Outstanding

Lithwick has managed to make me incredibly mad at many politicians, but also amazingly proud of and confident in women who take up the law. I couldn’t stop listening.

Little Pink Book

I love how Dalia shares the origin story for this being a little pink book about the law. This book packs a punch as it navigate through both history and the law. This book is for everyone. Loved it!

Every Woman Needs This

So glad I listened to this! So much I didn’t know and so much I needed to hear.

Pay Attention America

This heartfelt work is the template for the “battle to save America. It should be required reading for every person in the country. In summary, register, vote! Get involved. Stay involved.

Dahlia Lithwick and her book are brilliant!

I want every aspiring lawyer to read this and see the many different paths you can take to make a difference. Honestly, there should be a supplemental chapter about Dahlia Lithwick, who has such clear eyes writing about the law and the Supreme Court.

Stephen Stern

Her words and real stories of heroes is like water in a very dry desert

Required listening

This book is really an eye opener to sometimes unpleasant background workings of the law, a system which also sometimes renders justice. Thanks so much to the hardworking ( often younger) female attorneys who push for a fair hearing for women. Regardless of your political background I recommend this.

Outstanding!

Amazing synthesis of powerful women changing rules to fight for democracy. Congrats to Dalia for being this together

Important Stories

Some wanted to make me slit my throats at how awful our nation is to certain classes of people. But in the end I am inspired and hopeful

Stark Reminder

Vote because your rights depend on it! Vote in all elections - Women will be force of change…