Roslyn Litman

Roslyn Litman (September 30, 1928 - October 4, 2016) was an American attorney. In 1966 she negotiated a settlement with the National Basketball Association on behalf of blackballed player Connie Hawkins on the basis of antitrust. In her first appearance before the U.S. Supreme Court in 1989, she successfully argued to remove a nativity scene from display in the Allegheny County courthouse in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Early life and education Litman was born Eta Roslyn Margolis on Sept. 30, 1928, in Brooklyn, to Ukrainian Jewish immigrants Harry and Dorothy Perlow Margolis. She had an older sister, Ruth. Her father was a clothing salesman and her mother a milliner. She joined the ACLU while in law school.

In 1989, Litman successfully argued before the U.S. Supreme Court on behalf of the ACLU of Pennsylvania to remove a nativity scene from display in the Allegheny County courthouse in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Litman and other members of a team of lawyers won a settlement of $415M, a record in 1991, from Continental Can Company, which the team had argued had laid off 3000 workers to avoid pension liabilities. Litman died of pancreatic cancer in Pittsburgh on October 4, 2016. She was 88.