--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I never thought I would live long enough…" description: "\"I never thought I would live long enough to see the legal profession change to the extent it has.\" — Constance Baker Motley" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/81a/constance-baker-motley-14556_change_i-never-thought-i-would-live-long-enough_2440471.png" --- # I never thought I would live long enough to see the legal… ![“I never thought I would live long enough to see the legal profession change to the extent it has.” quote by Constance Baker Motley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/81a/constance-baker-motley-14556_change_i-never-thought-i-would-live-long-enough_2440471.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/81a/constance-baker-motley-14556_change_i-never-thought-i-would-live-long-enough_2440471.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/81a/constance-baker-motley-14556_change_i-never-thought-i-would-live-long-enough_2440471.png) > “I never thought I would live long enough to see the legal profession change to the extent it has.” [Constance Baker Motley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/constance-baker-motley/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. She observes that the legal field has transformed dramatically within her lifetime. **In simple terms:** Legal profession has changed a lot. Key Takeaway Embrace and shape change. Themes law progress social change Mood reflective inspirational Type motivational philosophical When to use this quote - career planning - policy advocacy - education reform Key Concepts civil rights legal evolution institutional reform Questions to Reflect On - How can you influence positive change in your profession? - What barriers resist legal reform? A Different Perspective Change can be uneven and may marginalize some voices. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change/) [Enough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enough/) [Legal profession](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/legal-profession/) [Live Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/live-long/) [Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long/) [Long Legal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long-legal-483350/) [Profession](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/profession/) [Profession Change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/profession-change-483349/) ## Related quotes > [I'm beginning to get pigeonholed as the girl who plays the crazies and weirdoes - and that's not the entirety of who I am.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fairuza-balk/i-m-beginning-to-get-pigeonholed-as-the-girl-who-plays-the-crazies/) [Fairuza Balk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fairuza-balk/) > [My profession is to change myself according to my role and I work hard on it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neena-gupta/my-profession-is-to-change-myself-according-to-my-role-and-i-work/) [Neena Gupta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neena-gupta/) > [We have a very long legal system with the European Union, and we're English speaking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/enda-kenny/we-have-a-very-long-legal-system-with-the-european-union-and-we-re/) [Enda Kenny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/enda-kenny/) > [Going through a long legal battle is not what you sign up for as a fighter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-ward/going-through-a-long-legal-battle-is-not-what-you-sign-up-for-as-a/) [Andre Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-ward/) > [Lawyers are necessary in a community. 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When it comes to lawyers, I think it's kind of a Catch-22. On one hand,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-leach/i-think-the-legal-profession-is-getting-somewhat-corrupted-when-it/) [Mike Leach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-leach/) > [The legal profession is a business with a tremendous collection of egos. Few people who are not strong egotistically gravitate to it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-lee-bailey/the-legal-profession-is-a-business-with-a-tremendous-collection-of/) [F. Lee Bailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-lee-bailey/) > [“Like so many attorneys, I careened from crisis to crisis, dream to dream, idea to idea, plan to plan, notion to notion, and never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-shaiken/like-so-many-attorneys-i-careened-from-crisis-to-crisis-dream-to/) [Mark Shaiken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-shaiken/) > [It always rankled me - in law school and the legal profession - when lawyers would speak to each other in their own exclusive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ari-melber/it-always-rankled-me-in-law-school-and-the-legal-profession-when/) [Ari Melber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ari-melber/) ## More by Constance Baker Motley > [Doing away with separate black colleges meets resistance from alumni and other blacks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/constance-baker-motley/doing-away-with-separate-black-colleges-meets-resistance-from-alumni/) [Constance Baker Motley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/constance-baker-motley/) > [Living at the YMCA in Harlem dramatically broadened my view of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/constance-baker-motley/living-at-the-ymca-in-harlem-dramatically-broadened-my-view-of-the/) [Constance Baker Motley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/constance-baker-motley/) > [Sexism, like racism, goes with us into the next century. I see class warfare as overshadowing both.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/constance-baker-motley/sexism-like-racism-goes-with-us-into-the-next-century-i-see-class/) [Constance Baker Motley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/constance-baker-motley/) > [Had it not been for James Meredith, who was willing to risk his life, the University of Mississippi would still be all white.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/constance-baker-motley/had-it-not-been-for-james-meredith-who-was-willing-to-risk-his-life/) [Constance Baker Motley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/constance-baker-motley/) > [New Orleans may well have been the most liberal Deep South city in 1954 becaThe legal difference between the sit-ins and the Freedom Riders…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/constance-baker-motley/new-orleans-may-well-have-been-the-most-liberal-deep-south-city-in/) [Constance Baker Motley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/constance-baker-motley/) > [I remember being infuriated from the top of my head to the tip of my toes the first time a screen was put around…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/constance-baker-motley/i-remember-being-infuriated-from-the-top-of-my-head-to-the-tip-of-my/) [Constance Baker Motley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/constance-baker-motley/) > [A Negro who does not vote is ungrateful to those who have already died in the fight for freedom. ... Any person who does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/constance-baker-motley/a-negro-who-does-not-vote-is-ungrateful-to-those-who-have-already/) [Constance Baker Motley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/constance-baker-motley/) > [Affirmitive action is extremely complex because it appears in many different forms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/constance-baker-motley/affirmitive-action-is-extremely-complex-because-it-appears-in-many/) [Constance Baker Motley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/constance-baker-motley/) > [I was born and raised in the oldest settled part of the nation and in an environment in which racism was officially mooted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/constance-baker-motley/i-was-born-and-raised-in-the-oldest-settled-part-of-the-nation-and-in/) [Constance Baker Motley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/constance-baker-motley/) > [Whites would rather not be involved in race matters, I think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/constance-baker-motley/whites-would-rather-not-be-involved-in-race-matters-i-think/) [Constance Baker Motley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/constance-baker-motley/) > [By 1962, King had become, by the media's reckoning, the new civil rights leader.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/constance-baker-motley/by-1962-king-had-become-by-the-media-s-reckoning-the-new-civil-rights/) [Constance Baker Motley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/constance-baker-motley/) > [How long must the American community afford special treatment to blacks?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/constance-baker-motley/how-long-must-the-american-community-afford-special-treatment-to/) [Constance Baker Motley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/constance-baker-motley/) > [The last state to admit a black student to the college level was South Carolina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/constance-baker-motley/the-last-state-to-admit-a-black-student-to-the-college-level-was/) [Constance Baker Motley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/constance-baker-motley/) > [Something which we think is impossible now is not impossible in another decade.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/constance-baker-motley/something-which-we-think-is-impossible-now-is-not-impossible-in/) [Constance Baker Motley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/constance-baker-motley/) > [The Constitution, as originally drawn, made no reference to the fact that all Americans wre considered equal members of society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/constance-baker-motley/the-constitution-as-originally-drawn-made-no-reference-to-the-fact/) [Constance Baker Motley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/constance-baker-motley/) [Explore all 46 Constance Baker Motley quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/constance-baker-motley/) ## More Change quotes > [Only within yourself exists the other reality for which you long. 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