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When Jeannie Suk Gersen began her clerkship for former Supreme Court Associate Justice David H. Souter ’61, she was struck by her boss’s work ethic.

“I think all of us as clerks felt like we were working hard — but he was working harder than anyone,” she said. “He would arrive in the morning, he would leave after dark, he would be there on weekends.”

“It often felt like, what does he really need the clerks for?” Suk Gersen added.

Souter’s strong work ethic characterized his professional life — from his undergraduate studies at Harvard, his legal education at Oxford and Harvard Law School, to his 41 years of public service as a prosecutor, judge, and Supreme Court Justice. The former Justice died at age 85 at his New Hampshire home earlier this month, leaving behind his commitment to strict constitutionalism and civility on the bench.

“Justice Souter brought wide and deep learning, common sense, and decency to the work of the Supreme Court,” Martha Minow, the former dean of HLS who frequently worked with Souter, wrote. “He was committed to bringing civility and reason to every interaction. That is one reason his clerks and colleagues adored him.”

The former justice grew up in Melrose, Massachusetts before attending Harvard College, where he earned an A.B. in philosophy and graduated magna cum laude as a resident of Lowell House. His senior thesis, analyzing the jurisprudence of Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr., Class of 1861 — a former Supreme Court justice who argued that verdicts should be made regardless of political beliefs — foreshadowed Souter’s legally conservative philosophy.

Following graduation, Souter received a Rhodes Scholarship and spent two years studying jurisprudence at Magdalen College at Oxford University.

According to fellow Supreme Court Justice Stephen G. Breyer, Souter was a well-known figure on Oxford’s campus. Breyer recounted at an HLS event that his colleague was known to sit on top of a tower on campus, armed with a riding whip in hand while shouting “Tally-ho the fox!”

After his time in Great Britain, Souter returned to his alma mater, graduating from Harvard Law School in 1966. He then began his legal career in New Hampshire working as an associate at Orr and Reno.

But Souter only spent a brief time in private practice — turning to a career in public service after two years as an associate. He served as an assistant attorney general and deputy attorney general for New Hampshire before his promotion to state attorney general in 1976.

Two years later, Souter was appointed to the Superior Court of New Hampshire. Soon after, he was named an associate justice of the state’s Supreme Court in 1983. He was nominated to the Supreme Court in 1990.

Minow praised Souter’s tenure on the bench, writing that the late justice brought both “common sense” and “decency” to the Supreme Court.

“Although his position on some high-profile matters disappointed extreme conservatives, he was himself deeply conservative in the historic sense: respecting tradition and established institutions, seeking to moderate the pace of change,” Minow wrote.

Despite being nominated by George H.W. Bush, Souter faced criticism from Republicans for his refusal to overturn past liberal-leaning decisions. Notably, he voted to uphold the constitutional right to abortion in Planned Parenthood v. Casey, reinforcing the precedent set forth in Roe v. Wade.

Souter’s principled approach was praised by former colleagues, including Stephen Breyer, a former Supreme Court Justice who now serves as a professor at the Law School.

“He thought mostly not of himself but of the people the Constitution will serve,” Breyer wrote in a Supreme Court press release.

Rebecca L. Tushnet ’95, an HLS professor who clerked for Souter, described him as “the model of a Justice, thoughtful and kind,” in a statement to The Crimson.

Suk Gersen, who clerked for Souter before Tushnet, said that Souter was a creature of habit — and always found time to talk with his clerks.

“He would come in, and then a little while later in mid-morning, he would come and get his coffee,” she said. “When he came, we knew that was the opportunity for us to really talk with him.”

Suk Gersen added that during those morning chats, “he would just regale us with incredible stories,” from his teenage years to early legal career in New Hampshire.

“He just had these incredible memories in extremely rich detail about people, observations about characters that he had encountered over the years, and stories down to specific sentences and quips,” she said.

During his tenure — and since his retirement from the bench — Souter maintained a close relationship with his alma mater. He judged the prestigious Ames Moot Court Competition six times, as well as delivering the College’s commencement address in 2010.

Minow, who praised Souter’s lasting impact on HLS, wrote that Harvard and the nation will mourn his loss.

“He was one-of-a-kind,” she wrote. “His nation was lucky he devoted his time and talents to serving its principles.”

Correction: May 20, 2025

A previous version of this article misspelled the surname of former Harvard Law School dean Martha L. Minow on one reference.

—Staff writer Caroline G. Hennigan can be reached at caroline.hennigan@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X @cghennigan.

—Staff writer Bradford D. Kimball can be reached at bradford.kimball@thecrimson.com.