<p>Laura K. Ray is Emerita Professor of Law at Widener Law Delaware.&nbsp; She received an A.B. from Bryn Mawr College in 1967, an M.Phil. in English from Yale University in 1969, a Ph.D. in English from Yale University in 1971, and a J.D. from Yale Law School in 1981.<br /><br />Following her law school graduation, Professor Ray clerked for Associate Justice Ellen Peter of the Connecticut Supreme Court from 1981-82.&nbsp; After practicing for three years with the New London, Connecticut firm of Waller, Smith, &amp; Palmer, she returned to the Court to serve as Executive Assistant to then Chief Justice Peters from 1985-88.<br /><br />Professor Ray joined the Widener law faculty in 1988, serving as Visiting Assistant Professor from 1988-89, Assistant Professor of Law from 1989-91, Associate Professor of Law from 1991-97, and Professor of Law since 1997.&nbsp; Her courses include Constitutional Law, First Amendment, Civil Procedure, Legislation, and a seminar on the Supreme Court.&nbsp; Her scholarship currently focuses on the Supreme Court, its Justices, and judicial language. &nbsp;<br /><br />Among her professional activities, she has written for the Scotusblog website and speaks annually on the Supreme Court&rsquo;s docket to students in the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute of the University of Delaware.</p>
<h5>Why do lawyers matter?&nbsp; What inspires me to teach?</h5>
<p>Many students come to Widener thinking of lawyers as practitioners who serve the specific needs of their clients.&nbsp; But lawyers also serve a broader constituency - the legal system itself.&nbsp; Through their understanding of constitutional principles, they are often agents of change, helping to make that system a more effective instrument of justice.&nbsp;&nbsp; In my classes I try to convey both these roles.&nbsp; I hope that my students will leave Widener with both the technical expertise a lawyer requires and a more expansive sense of the role that lawyers can play in serving both their clients and the law itself.&nbsp;&nbsp; <br />&nbsp;</p>