Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)/Brandeis, Louis Dembitz

BRANDEIS, LOUIS DEMBITZ, an American jurist; born in Louisville, Ky., in 1856. He studied in German schools abroad and also at Harvard University. He was admitted to the bar in 1878. From 1879 to 1916, he practiced law in Boston, where he built up a large clientage and achieved a reputation as a lawyer of remarkable learning and acumen. He was counsel in many cases of national interest, being usually on the side of the public where large corporate interests were concerned. In freight rate cases, eight-hour law controversies, and matters of wage dispute, he has been prominent and he has often been called on to act as arbitrator. He was nominated as a justice of the Supreme Court by President Wilson in 1916, and was confirmed in the face of considerable opposition. He was the first Hebrew to sit on the Supreme Court bench. He was active in the Zionist movement, and in 1920 went to Europe to attend a conference on that question.