University of Michigan Law Professor remembers Ruth Bader Ginsburg

ANN ARBOR, Mich. - As tributes to the late Supreme Court Justice, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, continue to pour in across the country, her impact is also felt right here in Metro Detroit. 

"It really has been for me these last few days like losing a member of my family," said University of Michigan Law Professor, Sam Bagenstos. 

Bagenstos clerked for Ginsburg as a young lawyer in 1997. He remembers Ginsburg as an incredibly hard working, caring boss who treated him like family. 

"When I married another one of her former clerks, she thought that was the greatest thing ever," Bagenstos said. "She always treated our children as if they were adjunct grandchildren, grand clerks she called them."

Ginsburg even sent his kids RBG Grand Clerk T-shirts. 

But the memories don't stop there, Bagenstos also recalls arguing several cases before the United States Supreme Court after working for the justice. 

"When she would walk on to the bench, she would be beaming and that always made me feel good," he said. "Then, of course as soon as the argument started, she launched in with these incredibly incisive questions, cutting right to the point."

Now as we mourn a champion of women's rights, voting rights and Civil Rights, Bagenstos will never forget his time with Ginsburg, because he got to see her hard work and tireless dedication up close. 

"This is someone who went to work every day, worked 20 hour days, trying to make the world a better place," he said. "She said to use what talents and skills you have to improve the world for other people."

Bandenstos believes Ginsburg's legacy will continue for years. He said other activists will look back on her work to help them create future change.