I have come to believe that in order to thrive, a child must have at least one adult in her life who shows her unconditional love, respect, and confi… - Sonia Sotomayor

In such cases, one can feel powerless and wonder why the others were not persuaded by what one took to be so salient in the case. There is, on the other hand, a singularly satisfying feeling that one gets when one has arrived at a particularly penetrating analysis and is able to convince both of one's colleagues of its merit.

I’d always believed people can change; very few are carved in stone or beyond redemption. All my life I’ve looked around me and asked: What can I learn here? What qualities in this friend, this mentor, even this rival, are worth emulating? What in me needs to change?

What holds a jury’s attention, essentially, is the quality of one’s own attention.