On May 29, 2009, Susan Jordan, the first woman lawyer to join the People’s Law Office, was tragically killed in an airplane crash in Utah. Susan was an inspiration to all of us and a brillant criminal defense lawyer who pioneered the battered women’s defense.

 TRIBUTE TO SUSAN JORDAN

Susan was a leader and a shining example to all of us at the Peoples Law Office. While her time in Chicago was relatively short, she had a major impact on Movement lawyering, both in Chicago, and nationally. As a student at Northwestern Law School, she was an integral part of the founding of the Northwestern Legal Clinic, which at that time defended indigent clients. As a student leader, she convinced a timid student body to march and shut the school down in the wake of the May 1970 Cambodia invasion. She went on to become the first woman lawyer at the People’s Law Office, and lived with many of us in our collective. She was the first of us to defend a prisoner, successfully representing a Stateville inmate accused of assaulting a prison guard, and her leadership was instrumental in our growing commitment to prisoner work. She was a staunch defender of women accused of crime, particularly those who were the victims of domestic violence, and she pioneered the battered woman defense for domestic violence victims, a huge and lasting contribution to women in this country and around the world She fought long and hard in the National Lawyers Guild for equal treatment for non-lawyers. She was an inspiration to many young women lawyers, law students, and legal workers. She was brilliant, uncompromising, tough as nails, yet compassionate and caring to a fault. She called us on our shortcomings and made us laugh with her wry humor and the smile that accompanied it. She was our partner, our mentor, our comrade, and our friend. She was what we all aspire to be, and her memory will live on in our work. We love you Susan.

The People’s Law Office

Flint Taylor

Jeff Haas

Dennis Cunningham

Susan Waysdorf

Liza Lawrence

Patricia Handlin

Mara Siegel

Don Stang

Michael Deutsch

Jan Susler

October 2009