In Memoriam: The Honorable Rosemary Collyer (1945-2026)

It is with deep admiration that Crowell & Moring honors the life and legacy of the Honorable Rosemary Collyer, former judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, who passed away June 7, 2026. Judge Collyer was the first woman to lead a major Washington law firm when she became Chair of Crowell in 1995. 

An honors graduate of Trinity College in Washington, D.C., and the University of Denver Law School, Judge Collyer began her career in Denver in 1977, before becoming Chair of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission in 1981, and then the General Counsel of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) in 1984. In 1989, she became a Crowell partner and served as a member of the firm’s Management Committee (now Management Board) from 1993 to 2002. Judge Collyer was a leading partner in the firm’s Labor & Employment Group and blazed a path followed by subsequent generations of Crowell lawyers – women and men alike. 

In 2002, Judge Collyer was appointed to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia by President George W. Bush. She took senior status in 2016 and served with distinction until 2020, including seven years of service on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, for which she was Presiding Judge for three years. In the words of Chief Judge Jeb Boasberg, “Judge Collyer was a trailblazer, a mentor, and a highly respected jurist.” 

Both at Crowell and at the court, Judge Collyer was a mentor to many and a role model to us all. We all stand on the shoulders of great lawyers and leaders who came before us. At Crowell, we stand on the shoulders of Rosemary Collyer. We owe her our gratitude and admiration, and a commitment to do the same for the generations that follow us.