The choice for this week’s Unsung Hero may be unusual.
Beatrice Franklin is an attorney. She represented Russell Oost-Lievense — pro bono — in last week’s marathon hearing to appeal the non-renewal of his contract.
The Board of Education denied his appeal.
But the long day was filled with drama. Over 14 hours, her cross-examinations, objections and statements could have been taken from a TV courtroom show.
Yet this wasn’t scripted. It was real life. The dozens of students packed into Town Hall got a real-life lesson in the law.
Beatrice Franklin
Several students — transfixed by her poise and passion — wanted to know more. They googled her, and learned she graduated from Harvard University (magna cum laude) and Columbia Law School.
They saw she was named a Rising Star by National Law Journal, and was on Lawdragon’s Next Generation of Leading Lawyers list.
They learned she clerked for Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
In a day that was mostly about men — 2 coaches; the Board of Education “mediator”; the superintendent of schools, Staples principal and athletic director, and their lawyer — Franklin stood out.
During a break in the proceedings, she walked into the lobby.
A group of girls watched, awe-struck. In their eyes, the attorney was a rock star.
“I think I want to be a lawyer,” one said.
If her work inspired only one girl — or boy — to want a career dedicated to justice, and the rule of law, then Beatrice Franklin won the day.
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