legal herstory pioneers

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Legal HerStory Pioneers
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Bella Abzug

lawyer, member of congress

Select contributions:

Between 1971 and 1977, member of Congress from New York.
In 1973, primary sponsor of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act.
In 1974, primary sponsor of the Equality Act.
Authored the Comprehensive Child Development Act.
In 1991, co-founded the Women's Environment and Development Organization, an international activist and advocacy network.

Biography: Trackbill, WEDO

Annette Abbott Adams

judge, lawyer

Select contributions:

In 1914, first woman to be an Assistant United States Attorney in the Northern District of California.
In 1920, first woman to be the Assistant Attorney General of the United States.
In 1942, first woman to be appointed a presiding appellate court justice in California.
In 1950, served by special assignment on one case in the California Supreme Court, becoming the first woman to sit on that court.

Biography: Wikipedia, CA Courts

Jane Addams

activist, social worker

Select contributions:

In 1889, co-founded Hull House, the first settlement house in the United States.
In 1919, co-founded the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, later becoming the first American woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize.
In 1920, co-founded the American Civil Liberties Union (“ACLU”).
Wrote articles advocating for women’s suffrage.
Co-founded the Women’s Trade Union League (“WTUL”) and lobbied for protective labor laws
for women, including an eight-hour workday and a minimum wage.

Biography: Women's History, Jane Addams

Madeleine Albright

secretary of state, advisor

Select contributions:

In 1982, joined the academic staff at Georgetown University, directing the University's program on women in global politics.
In 1993, appointed Ambassador to the United Nations by President Bill Clinton.
In 1997, became the first woman U.S. Secretary of State.

Biography: State Department, Wikipedia

Elreta Melton Alexander

lawyer, judge, author

Select contributions:

In 1943, became the first Black woman to be admitted to Columbia Law School.
In 1947, became the first Black woman to practice law in North Carolina.
In 1968, became the first Black woman elected as a judge in North Carolina.
In 1969, created the Judgment Day Program for first-time juvenile offenders in her court as an alternative to sentencing and incarceration to allow for rehabilitation.

Biography: Columbia, NC Archives, Wikipedia

Sadie Tanner Mossell Alexander

activist, lawyer, advisor

Select contributions:

In 1921, was the first Black person to receive a Ph.D. in economics in the United States.
In 1927, was the first woman to receive a law degree from the University of Pennsylvania Law School.
In 1927, was the first Black woman to be admitted to the Pennsylvania Bar.
In 1946, was appointed by President Harry Truman to the Committee on Civil Rights.
In 1963, was a founding member of the National Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law.
In 1978, was appointed chairperson of the White House Conference on Aging by President Jimmy Carter and charged with addressing a range of social and economic needs of the elderly.

Biography: Wikipedia, U Penn

Florence Allen

judge, lawyer

Select contributions:

In 1917, successfully defended women's right to vote in municipal elections under charter of East Cleveland, State ex rel. Taylor v. French, et al.
In 1919, secured the women streetcar conductors' right to retain employment after men returned from WWI, Employees v. Cleveland Railway Co.
In 1920, elected as a judge in the Court of Common Pleas Cuyahoga County, OH.
In 1922, elected to the OH Supreme Court, the first woman elected to any state supreme court.
In 1934, nominated to the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, the first woman to be nominated to the federal appellate court.

Biography: Wikipedia, National Park Service

Gloria Allred

attorney, activist

Select contributions:

In 1980, fought against L.A. County’s practice of shackling pregnant female prisoners during labor and childbirth.
In 1983, sued an L.A. restaurant for refusing to seat same-sex couples.
In 1984, sued an L.A. dry cleaners for charging more for women's clothing than men's.
In 1997, represented a woman who was fired for being pregnant.
In 2004, filed the first suit challenging the ban on same-sex marriage in California.
In 2008, represented CA women farmworkers in a class action suit for gender discrimination.

Biography: LA Times, The New Yorker

Margaret Harris Amsler

attorney, professor, dean, politician

Select contributions:

In 1938, became the first woman elected to the Texas legislature from McLennan County.
In 1940, became the first woman in Texas (the third woman in the United States) to become a tenure-track law professor at an accredited law school.
In 1942, became the first woman employed by the Texas Supreme Court.
In 1946, became the first woman Acting Dean of a law school (Baylor Law School).
In 1963, co-authored the Texas Married Women's Act, giving women rights to property ownership and to contract.

Biography: Wikipedia, Baylor University, Herma Hill Kay, Paving the Way: The First American Women Law Professors (Patricia A. Cain, 2021)

Violette Neatley Anderson

attorney, activist

Select contributions:

In 1922, was the first female prosecutor in Chicago.
In 1926, was the first Black woman admitted to practice before SCOTUS.
In 1936, lobbied Congress for the Bankhead-Jones Act, enacted in 1937, which helped low-income farm workers become farm owners.

Biography: Wikipedia, Black Past

Lori Andrews

attorney, professor, ethicist

Select contributions:

In 1995, chair of the Group on the Ethical, Legal, and Social Implications of the Human Genome Project.
Involved in setting policies regarding genetic technologies and advised on the use of genetic engineering to invent new living species.
Advised science ministers of twelve countries on issues including embryo stem cells, gene patents, and DNA banking.
Chaired committees on custodianship of tissue samples, genetic testing, and ethics for the National Cancer Institute, the American Bar Association, and the National Institutes of Health.

Biography: Wikipedia, Chicago-Kent, World Biography

Mari Carmen Aponte

attorney, diplomat

Select contributions:

In 1975, became the first Latina lawyer in Pennsylvania.
In 1979, appointed a White House Fellow.
In 1984, was the first woman president of the Hispanic National Bar Association.
From 2001-2004, was executive director of the Puerto Rico Federal Affairs Administration.
From 2010-2011 and 2012-2016, served as the U.S. Ambassador to El Salvador, the first Puerto Rican woman to serve as an Ambassador.
In 2016, served as the Acting Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs, U.S. Department of State.
In 2022, became the U.S. Ambassador to Panama.

Biography: Temple University, State Dept., Wikipedia, Embassy

Anne L. Armstrong

politician, diplomat, presidential advisor

Select contributions:

Between 1971-1973, was the first woman co-chair of the Republican National Committee.
In 1972, was the keynote speaker at the Republican National Convention, the first woman to do so from either major party.
In 1972, was the first woman to be appointed Counselor to the President.
Founded the Office of Women's Programs in the White House, now know as The White House Council on Women and Girls.
In 1976, was the first woman to be appointed U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom.

Biography: Wikipedia, Congress

Barbara Nachtrieb Armstrong

law professor, attorney

Select contributions:

In 1921, became the first woman tenure-track law professor.
In 1932, wrote the book, Insuring the Essentials: Minimum Wage Plus Social Insurance - A Living Wage Program, which advocating for a living wage, social security, and other programs.
In 1935, drafted the language for the Social Security Act.

Biography: Wikipedia, Berkeley Law

Marguerite AShford - credited_edited.jpg

Marguerite Kamehaokalani Ashford

lawyer

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In 1915, was the first woman inducted into the Michigan chapter of the Order of the Coif.
In 1916, first woman admitted to practice in the territory of Hawaii.
In 1923, appointed to the Uniform Law Commission.
Between 1934-1953, served as attorney for the Hawaiian territorial legislative body during session, writing much of the legislation of the time.
In 1950, only woman delegate to the Hawaii Constitutional Convention.
In 1953, only woman appointed to a major cabinet post in Hawaii, Commissioner of Public Lands.

Biography: Wikipedia, ULC, Newspaper

Ella Josephine Baker

activist

Select contributions:

In 1940, became a field secretary for the National Advancement of Colored People ("NAACP").
In 1943, became the highest-ranking woman in the NAACP after being named director of branches.
In 1952, elected as the first woman president of the NAACP New York branch.
In 1957, was one of three major organizers of the Prayer Pilgrimage for Freedom in Washington, D.C., during the Civil Rights Movement where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. first addressed a national audience.
In 1958, led the Southern Christian Leadership Conference ("SCLC").
In 1964, helped organize the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party as an alternative to the all-white Democratic Party.

Biography: Wikipedia, New York Times, Time

Lemma Barkeloo

lawyer

Select contributions:

In 1869, was the first woman law student in the United States with Phoebe Couzins.
In 1870, was the first woman admitted to the Missouri bar and the first woman to try a case in a court in the United States.

Biography: Wikipedia, Washington University Journal, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle

Catherine ("Kate") Barnard

politician, advocate, reformer

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Throughout her life, shaped Oklahoma state policies to guarantee education, ban child labor, establish the juvenile justice system, and protect workers and labor unions.
In 1906, as a labor delegate to the Farm-Labor convention, negotiated the “Shawnee Demands” and other progressive reforms included in the Oklahoma Constitution.
In 1907, elected as Charities and Corrections Commissioner making her the first woman to win a not-education-related statewide elected office in the United States.
In 1908, uncovered the forced labor and torture of Oklahoma prisoners held in Kansas prisons, resulting in the prisoners' repatriation and the creation of the state prisons.
Between 1909 and 1914, investigated the exploitation of and theft from Native American children, clawing back more than $1 million in stolen funds. Those who benefitted from this exploitation ended the investigations by defunding the Department of Charities and Corrections.

Biography: Wikipedia, Oklahoma Historical Society

Jennie Loitman Barron

judge, lawyer, suffragist

Select contributions:

In 1934, was the first woman appointed Assistant Attorney General in Massachusetts.
In 1937, was the first woman to serve as a full-time judge in Massachusetts.
In 1959, was the first woman justice of the Massachusetts Superior Court.
First woman to present a case in front of a Massachusetts grand jury.
First woman to be a United States delegate in the United Nations Congress on Crime and Juvenile Delinquency.

Biography: Jewish Women's Archive, Boston Women's Heritage Trail, Wikipedia

Mary Bartelme

lawyer, judge, social worker

Select contributions:

In 1897, was the first woman appointed Cook County Public Guardian in Illinois.
In 1913, created the Girls' Court, staffed by women, hearing only cases of girls as she believed they were neglected by the system.
From 1916 to 1917, served as vice chair of the National Woman's Party.
In 1923, was the first woman to be elected Judge of the Circuit Court of Cook County.
Established "Mary Clubs," group homes for girls.
Nicknamed "Suitcase Mary," for providing young women leaving the judicial system with a suitcase of clothing and toiletries.

Biography: Jane Addams, Wikipedia

Deborah A. Batts

lawyer, judge

Select contributions:

In 1979, became the Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York in the Criminal Division.
In 1984, became the first Black professor at Fordham University School of Law.
In 1990, became a commissioner on the New York Law Review Commission and served as Special Associate Counsel to the Department of Investigation of the City of New York.
In 1994, was sworn in as a United States District Judge for the Southern District of New York, becoming the first openly LGBTQ+ federal judge.

Biography: Wikipedia, History Makers, Harvard

Mary McLeod Bethune

activist, presidential advisor

Select contributions:

In 1904, founded the Daytona Educational and Industrial School for Training Negro Girls.
In 1911, founded the Mary McLeod Hospital and Training School for Nurses.
In 1924, elected president of the National Association of Colored Women, focusing on political advocacy and women's empowerment.
Advisor to 4 presidents between 1904 and 1947.
In 1936, became the first Black woman to head an agency as Director of Negro Affairs of the National Youth Administration.
In 1942, served as a member of the advisory board that created the Women's Army Corps.

Biography: Wikipedia, Smithsonian, National Women's History Museum

Alice Rufie Jordan Blake

lawyer

Select contributions:

In 1884, entered the University of Michigan Law School and passed the court test that enabled her to practice law in the state of Michigan.
In 1885, applied to Yale using her first initials after being rejected at Harvard Law School and Columbia Law School.
In 1886, became the first and only woman graduate from Yale Law School until 1920.

Biography: Wikipedia, Yale

Corinne Claiborne ("Lindy") Boggs

member of congress

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In 1973, was the first woman elected to Congress by Louisiana, was re-elected 7 times, and retired in 1990.
In 1974, inserted the words "or sex or marital status" into the antidiscrimination clause of the 1974 Equal Credit Opportunity Act during mark up in the Banking and Currency Committee.
In 1976, as Chair of the Democratic National Convention, became the first woman to preside over a national political convention.
In 1997, appointed as the U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See, by President Clinton.

Biography: Wikipedia, Congress

Jane Bolin

judge, lawyer, activist

Select Contributions:

In 1931, was the first Black woman to graduate from Yale with a law degree.
In 1939, was the first Black woman to become a judge in the United States.
As a judge in New York family courts, successfully advocated for ending the assignment of probation officers to children based on race and the practice of segregation in child placement facilities.

Biography: Wikipedia, McLeod, Jacqueline A., Daughter of the Empire State: The Life of Judge Jane Bolin, p. 62 (University of Illinois Press, 2011), Biography

Heather Booth

activist, political strategist

Select Contributions:

First executive director of Citizen Labor Energy Coalition, connecting labor organizations and activists.
In 1967, co-founded Chicago West Side Group, the first “women’s liberation group” aimed at social consciousness.
In 1969, co-created the Chicago Women’s Liberation Union, organizing Chicago women to support different reforms to improve their lives.
In the early 1970s, started the Action Committee for Decent Childcare, organizing women and pushing local legislators to create more access to childcare in Chicago.
President and Founder of Midwest Academy, training social changers and organizers.

Biography: Wikipedia, Chicago Reader

Barbara Boxer

senator, member of congress

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In 1976, elected to the Marin County Board of Supervisors, serving as its first woman president.
From 1983 to 1993, was member of Congress representing California’s 6th district.
From 1993 to 2017, was the Senator representing California.
In 1991, led women House members to the Senate Judiciary Committee demanding that Anita Hill’s sexual harassment allegations be taken seriously.
Co-authored, sponsored, or co-sponsored the Violence Against Women Act (1994), the Female Veteran Suicide Prevention Act (2016), the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (2013), the Reinvest in American Education Act (1992), among others.

Biography: Wikipedia, Congress, Gov Info

Myra Bradwell

publisher, suffragist

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In 1868, founded the Chicago Legal News, which published information about legal opinions, published laws and ordinances, and criticized corruption.
In 1869, her application to become the first woman lawyer in Illinois was denied. In 1890, the Illinois Supreme Court granted her a license to practice law, nunc pro tunc to 1869.
Helped write the Illinois Married Women's Property Act of 1861 and the Earnings Act of 1869.

Biography: Wikipedia, ThoughtCo., Library of Congress

Carol Moseley Braun

senator, lawyer

Select contributions:

In 1992, was the first Black woman senator.
Was the first woman to sit on the Senate Finance Committee.
In 1993, with Senator Mikulski, wore pants on the U.S. Senate floor in defiance of the rule that prohibited women from wearing pants.
In 1993, successfully convinced the Senate not to renew the design patent for the United Daughters of the Confederacy as it contained the Confederate flag, which had been routinely renewed for almost 100 years.
Sponsored the Full Faith and Credit for Child Support Orders Act enacted in 1994.
Between 1999-2001, served as the U.S. Ambassador to New Zealand and Samoa.
In 2023, nominated by President Biden to serve as chair of the United States African Development Foundation.

Biography: Wikipedia, Congress, House History

Blanche E. Braxton

lawyer

Select contributions:

In 1923, was the first Black woman to pass the Massachusetts Bar and be admitted to the Massachusetts bar.
In 1933, was the first Black woman admitted to practice in the United States District Court of Massachusetts.

Biography: Wikipedia, MBWA

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Sophonisba Breckinridge

professor, activist, social scientist

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In 1892, was the first woman admitted to the Kentucky Bar.
In 1904, was the first woman to graduate from the University of Chicago with a J.D. degree.
In 1907, was the first woman to earn membership in the Order of the Coif.
Became a professor at the University of Chicago, essentially creating a social work course of study.
Involved in the creation of the social welfare policies in the New Deal.
Was the first woman chosen to represent the United States at an international conference.

Biography: U Chicago, Wikipedia

Margaret Brent

landowner, "attorney"

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Beginning in 1638, as an unmarried landowner and businesswoman in Maryland, acted as an attorney in arguing cases for herself, her brother, and other women in the court of common pleas.
In 1648, appeared before the all-male Maryland legislature and asked for the right to vote, which was denied.
Acted as attorney for Lord Baltimore in settling debts in the protection of the colony.

Biography: Britannica, Wikipedia

Clara Burrill Bruce

attorney, author

Select contributions:

In 1924, was the first Black student to serve as editor-in-chief of any law review in the American legal education system and the first woman to serve as the editor-in-chief for the Boston University Law Review.
In 1926, was the first woman to serve as the Class Day Orator at Boston University Law School.
In 1926, qualified for the Woolsack Key but denied the honor because of her gender.
In 1926, was the third Black woman admitted to the Massachusetts Bar.
In 1934, was the founding first vice-president of the Harlem Congressional League, which worked to elect Black congressmen from Harlem.
In 1936, was the founding vice president of the National Council of Negro Women.

Biography: The Afro-American, Memorandum, Wikipedia

Nancy Duff Campbell

attorney

Select contributions:

In 1981, co-founded the National Women's Law Center.
Between 1981 and 2017, served as co-president of the National Women's Law Center.
Served as counsel in numerous cases involving gender and economic equity including Haffer v. Temple University, which expanded women's sports programs, and Parents Without Partners v. Massinga, establishing the right to child support for custodial parents regardless of income.
Advocated for legislation to further gender and economic equity.

Biography: Wikipedia, NWLC, VFA

Martha Hughes Cannon

state senator, activist

Select contributions:

In 1895, was the first woman to register to vote in Utah.
In 1896, elected to the Utah State Senate, becoming the first woman in the United States to serve as a state senator.
Testified in Congress regarding Utah's women's suffrage work.
Sponsored legislation to improve the working conditions for women and girls.
Helped establish Utah's first state board of health.

Biography: Wikipedia, Utah Women's History

Arkansas_senator._Washington,_D.C.,_March_11._Senator_Hattie_W._Caraway,_Democrat_of_Arkan

Hattie Caraway

senator, politician, teacher

Select contributions:

In January 1932, became the first woman elected to the United States Senate by winning a special election in Arkansas.
On May 9, 1932, became the first woman to officially preside over the Senate.
In November 1932, became the first woman to serve a full term in the Senate by winning the general election.
In 1933, became the first woman to chair a Senate committee (Enrolled Bills Committee).
In 1938, won reelection, becoming the first woman to be reelected to the Senate.
In 1943, was the first woman to co-sponsor the Equal Rights Amendment.
In 1944, co-sponsored the Serviceman's Readjustment Act, more commonly known as the "G.I. Bill."

Biography: AR Encyclopedia, Wikipedia, Smithsonian, Senate, Humanities

Eunice Hunton Carter

attorney

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In 1932, was the first Black woman to receive a law degree from Fordham University.
In 1935, only woman appointed to the Mayor's Commission on Conditions in Harlem, after the March riots.
In 1935, only woman and only Black person appointed to New York Special Prosecutor's law staff, responsible for prosecuting organized crime.
In 1930's, discovered the connection between illegal prostitution and powerful organized crime figures in New York, including Lucky Luciano.
Her work in the New York district attorneys' office led to Lucky Luciano's conviction, the most successful case against organized crime in U.S. history.

Biography: Wikipedia, Carter, Stephen L., Invisible: The Forgotten Story of the Black Woman Lawyer Who Took Down America's Most Powerful Mobster, p. 90 (Picador, 2018)

Soledad "Lala" Chacón

state secretary of state, state legislator

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In 1922, was the first woman elected to be the Secretary of State of New Mexico, becoming the first Hispanic woman elected to statewide office in the United States.
In 1924, served as acting Governor of New Mexico for two weeks, becoming the second woman, and first Hispanic woman, to act as chief executive of a U.S. state.
In 1934, was elected to the New Mexico House of Representatives.

Biography: New Mexico Historic Women, Wikipedia

Gwendolyn Sawyer Cherry

teacher, lawyer, legislator

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Was a public high school chemistry teacher for over 20 years before entering law school.
In 1961, co-authored, Portraits In Color: The Lives of Colorful Negro Women, a book of biographies devoted to pioneering Black women.
In 1965, became the first Black woman to pass the Florida Bar Exam and was the first Black woman to practice law in Dade County, Florida.
In 1970, was the first Black woman elected as a Florida State legislator, serving four terms.
As a legislator in the Florida State House, introduced the Equal Rights Amendment (1972) and the MLK, Jr. State holiday, and chaired the state's committee for International Woman's Year (1978), the Minority Affairs Committee for the Democratic National Convention, and the National Women’s Political Caucus (1972).

Biography: FL Women's HOF, Miami Herald, Wikipedia

Shirley Chisholm

member of congress, activist

Select contributions:

In 1968, became the first Black woman in Congress.
Sponsored legislation to create a guaranteed minimum income, fund national school lunch, increase federal assistance for education, and increase federal funding for childcare.
In 1972, was the first Black woman to seek a major party's nomination for President when she sought the Democratic Party's nomination.

Biography: Wikipedia, Smithsonian, National Women's History Museum, Congress

Kathryn Clarenbach

professor, activist

Select contributions:

In 1962, developed continuing education programs for women at the University of Wisconsin.
Beginning in 1964, chaired the Wisconsin Governor’s Commission on the Status of Women, reviewing and changing laws unfair to women regarding pay equity, access to credit, divorce and marital property, and sexual assault.
In 1966, was one of the founders and the chair of the National Organization for Women.
Also founded the National Women's Political Caucus and the Wisconsin Women's Network.

Biography: Wikipedia, University of Wisconsin

Genevieve R. Cline

judge, lawyer

Select contributions:

Advocated for consumer protections and women's rights.
In 1922, was the first woman assigned to the post of appraiser of merchandise for the United States Department of Treasury at the Port of Cleveland.
In 1928, was the first woman confirmed to a federal court after President Calvin Coolidge's nomination and Senate confirmation to the U.S. Customs Court.

Biography: Wikipedia, U.S. Courts

Hillary Rodham Clinton

lawyer, senator, sec. of state, presidential candidate

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In the 1970's, advocated for children as counsel at the Children's Defense Fund and the Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families.
In 1978, appointed by President Carter to the Legal Services Corporation board, ensuring equal access to justice, and served as the first woman chair.
In the 1980s, as First Lady of Arkansas, and in the 1990s as First Lady of the United States, advocated for health care reform and helped create the Children's Health Insurance Program.
In 2000, was New York's first woman U.S. Senator, where she advocated for working families, higher minimum wage, and microcredit loans for women entrepreneurs.
In 2016, was the first woman to earn a major party's nomination for president.
From 2009-2013, served as U.S. Secretary of State.

Biography: Wikipedia, White House.

Eliza "Lyda" Burton Conley

lawyer, activist

Select Contributions:

In 1902, was the first woman to be admitted to the Kansas Bar and believed to be the first Native American woman lawyer.
In 1906, began and led the successful fight to protect the Heron Indian Cemetery, which became a national historic landmark 100 years later.
In 1910, was the first Native American woman, and third woman, to argue before the U. S. Supreme Court.

Biography: Wikipedia, National Women's History Museum

Phoebe Couzins

lawyer, activist

Select Contributions:

In 1869, along with Lemme Barkeloo, were the only two women law students in the United States.
In 1871, was the first woman to graduate from law school in the United States and the first woman to graduate from Washington University.
In 1887, became the first woman U. S. Marshal.

Biography: Wikipedia

Clara Cressingham

state legislator

Select Contributions:

In 1895, along with two other Colorado women, were the first women legislators in the United States.
In 1895, became the first woman to serve in a leadership role in an American state legislature, serving as secretary of the Colorado House Republican Caucus.
In 1895, was the first woman to introduce legislation in the United States, when her bill to boost Colorado's sugar beet industry was passed by both houses of the Colorado legislature, although vetoed by the governor.

Biography: Wikipedia, CO Encyclopedia

Dorothy Crockett

lawyer, advocate

Select Contributions:

In 1932, became the first Black woman, and the seventh woman overall, to be admitted to the Rhode Island Bar.
In 1932, addressed different groups in Providence such as the Juliette Derricotte Club, becoming known as an outspoken voice in the Black community.
From 1932 to 1938, practiced family law and debt collection in Providence, RI, working in what is now the offices of Locke Lord LLP.

Biography: Roger Williams University, New England Law

Legal HerStory Pioneers
D to F

Harriet Spiller Daggett

law professor

Select contributions:

In 1931, became the first woman to hold a full professorship in law.
In 1939, helped to create a new legal subject, Mineral Rights (Oil and Gas), authoring the definitive treatise on the subject.
Wrote the first authoritative book on community property law in Louisiana.
Was instrumental in the establishment of a family law court in East Baton Rouge, LA and other reforms in child welfare and family law.

Biography: Wikipedia, Kay, Herma Hill, Paving the Way, 43-44 (1921), In Memoriam: Harriet Spiller Daggett, 27 La. L. Rev. (1966).

Swati A. Dandekar

state legislator, ambassador, utility regulator

Select Contributions:

In 2009, elected to the Iowa House of Representatives, becoming the first South Asian American woman. elected to a U.S. state legislature, serving three terms.
In 2008, elected to the Iowa State Senate, the first South Asian American woman so elected.
From 2010 to 2011, served as the President (now, Chair) of the National Foundation of Women Legislators.
In 2011, appointed to the Iowa Utilities Board and focused her efforts on rural connection and Smart Grid technology, among other things.
In 2016, confirmed as the U.S. Executive Director and Ambassador to the Asian Development Bank.
In 2021, became Chairperson of Bright Future Iowa, advocating for renewable energy in Iowa.

Biography: The Modern American, Iowa Legislature, Bright Future Iowa, NARUC, Wikipedia

Crystal Eastman

lawyer, suffragist, activist, journalist

Select Contributions:

In 1910, drafted a report titled, Work Accidents and the Law, which served as the basis for the first workers compensation law.
In 1913, co-founded the Congressional Union, which became the National Woman's Party.
In 1917, co-founded the National Civil Liberties Bureau (later renamed the American Civil Liberties Union) to protect the Bill of Rights.
In 1923, the Equal Rights Amendment ("ERA") she co-drafted was introduced in Congress.

Biography: ACLU, Wikipedia

Carmel "Kim" Prashker Ebb

activist, secretary of state, ambassador

Select Contributions:

In 1945, graduated first in her class at Columbia Law.
In 1945, became the first woman to clerk for the U.S. Court of Appeals.
Served as an attorney at the Atomic Energy Commission.
Served as an attorney in the Supreme Court Branch of the National Labor Relations Board.

Biography: Wikipedia, Legacy, ABA

March Fong Eu

activist, secretary of state, ambassador

Select Contributions:

In 1961, was the first woman and first Asian-American elected to the Alameda County Board of Education.
In 1966, was the first Asian-American woman elected to the California General Assembly, serving four terms.
In 1969, authored a bill (passed in 1974) to ban pay toilets in public buildings as they discriminated against women because men's use of urinals was free.
In 1974, elected as the Secretary of State of California, the first Asian American woman elected to a state constitutional office in the United States, serving in that position longer than anyone in California history.
As Secretary of State, sponsored legislation and implemented measures to increase voter participation and to simplify the voting process.
In 1994, appointed U.S. Ambassador to the Federated States of Micronesia.

Biography: Wikipedia, Arts and Culture, Berkeley Library

Anna Christy Fall

lawyer

Select Contributions:

In 1891, became the third woman lawyer in Massachusetts and the first to plead a case before a jury.
In 1893, elected to the Malden School Committee.
In 1898, published the short novel, The Tragedy of the Widow's Third, showcasing the current estate laws that favored men and disadvantaged women, ultimately leading to the passage of the Equal Guardianship bill in Massachusetts in 1902 and a change in estate laws.
As an active member of the suffrage and equal rights movements, lectured on "Equal Rights for Women," the "Position of Women under the Massachusetts Law," and "Business Law for Women."

Biography: Advocate News, History of Women Suffrage, Wikipedia

Brenda Feigen

lawyer, activist

Select Contributions:

In 1970, helped coordinate Senate testimony for the ERA and testified.
In 1971, co-founded the Women’s Action Alliance (“WAA”), which provides resources for women and fights to end sexism and sex discrimination.
In 1971, co-founded the National Women’s Political Caucus.
In 1972, co-founded and co-directed the ACLU’s Women’s Rights Project with Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
Brought lawsuits for gender equity, including Ackerman v. Bd. of Ed. of N.Y.C. (1974), which sought paternity leave.

Biography: ACLU, Wikipedia, Feigen Law

Chai Feldblum

lawyer, activist

Select Contributions:

From 1988 to 1990, was the lead attorney in drafting the Americans with Disabilities Act ("ADA") and later assisted in the passing of the ADA Amendments Act of 2008.
In 1993, was the legal director for the Campaign for Military Service.
In 2003, was appointed as co-director of Georgetown's Workplace Flexibility 2010 project.
In 2009, nominated by President Obama to serve on the five-member Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ("EEOC"). Became the first openly LGBT person to serve on the EEOC, serving 2 full terms.
In 2021, appointed by President Biden to the AbilityOne Commission and elected vice chair.

Biography: Wikipedia, NARPA

Geraldine Ferraro

lawyer, member of congress, vp candidate

Select Contributions:

In 1979, was the first woman to represent Queens, NY in Congress.
In 1981, sponsored the Economic Equity Act, which reformed pension options for women and protected the rights of widows and divorcees, among other things.
In 1984, first woman vice presidential candidate on a major party ticket.
Founded the Americans Concerned for Tomorrow PAC, which focused on electing women in the 1986 Congressional elections.
In 1995, was Vice Chair of the U.S. Delegation to the Fourth World Conference on Women.

Biography: House, Wikipedia

Betty Binns Fletcher

attorney, judge

Select Contributions:

Between 1956 and 1979, was an attorney in private practice, becoming one of the first women partners at a major American law firm (now K&L Gates).
In 1970, co-founder of the Seattle-King Chapter of the National Organization for Women.
In 1971, appointed to the Washington State Women's Council and, in 1972, chair of the ERA Committee.
In 1979, became the second woman appointed to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Between 1972 and 1973, was the first woman president of the Seattle-King County Bar Association.
From 1975 to 1978, was the first woman to serve on the Board of Governors of the Washington State Bar Association.
In 1991 to 1993, served as president of the Federal Judges Association.

Biography: HistoryLink, FJA, Wikipedia

Clara Shortridge Foltz

lawyer

Select Contributions:

In 1878, lobbied the California Governor to sign into law the Woman Lawyer's Bill, giving women the right to practice law in California. Thereafter, became the first woman lawyer in California.
In 1893, presented the concept of the public defender program and drafted the model statute, which was codified in California in 1921.

Biography: California Bar Journal, Wikipedia

Phyllis Propp Fowle

attorney, post advocate general

Select Contributions:

In 1942, enlisted in the Women's Auxiliary Army Corps.
In 1944, commissioned as the first woman Judge Advocate in the army, served as the first woman post judge advocate, and earned the highest rank available in the WAC, lieutenant colonel.
In 1945, became the only woman judge advocate to serve overseas in World War II.
Was the first judge advocate to earn a combat patch and overseas service stripes.
In 1947, after the army discharged women (following the end of WWII), served as the civilian chief of legal assistance for the army in Germany.
Served as advocate general in the Army Reserve, encouraging women law students to consider military service.

Biography: Iowa, NY Times, JAGCNet

Sonia Pressman Fuentes

lawyer

Select Contributions:

In 1963, on behalf of the ACLU, testified in Congress in favor of the Equal Pay bill.
Co-founder of the National Organization for Women.
In 1965, was the first woman attorney in the General Counsel's office of the EEOC.
Drafted the EEOC’s decision finding airlines violated Title VII when they terminated or grounded stewardesses based on their age and marital status.
Drafted the EEOC’s first Guidelines on Pregnancy and Childbirth.

Biography: Wikipedia, Stanford

Legal HerStory Pioneers
G to I

Ruth Bader Ginsburg

associate justice, lawyer, activist

Select contributions:

In 1963, led an equal pay campaign with her women Rutgers University colleagues, when she learned they were being paid less than their men counterparts.
In 1971, successfully argued Reed v. Reed, wherein the Supreme Court held for the first time that a law categorically providing for differential treatment of men and women violates the Fourteenth Amendment's Equal Protection Clause.
In 1972, co-founded the Women's Rights Project of the ACLU.
In 1980, appointed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for D.C.
In 1993, confirmed as a US Supreme Court associate justice, and served on the Court until 2020.
In 2007, drafted the dissent in Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., inspiring the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act.

Biography: Wikipedia, ACLU, Rutgers

Josephine Clara Goldmark

advocate

Select contributions:

Pioneered the use of social science (rather than solely legal theory) to argue cases and shape laws, by gathering and presenting socially relevant facts in legal and legislative briefs.
In 1911, served on the committee investigating the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire that claimed the lives of 146 workers, 123 of which were women.
In 1912, published Fatigue and Efficiency, the first scientific presentation that fatigue decreases efficiency.
Between 1912 and 1930, with the National Consumers’ League, presented briefs to Congress to advocate for laws improving workers’ conditions and rights.
In 1923, authored, Nursing and Nursing Education in the United States, advocating to increase the professionalism of nursing, including increased training.

Biography: Wikipedia, Jewish Women's Archive, Britannica

Lavinia Goodell

lawyer, author, activist

Select contributions:

In 1871, wrote a series of articles for the Woman's Journal advocating for women's suffrage.
In 1874, became the first woman lawyer in Wisconsin.
In 1876, wrote “Woman in the Legal Profession,” countering the arguments against women as lawyers, which was read at the Fourth Congress of the
Association for the Advancement of Women.
Drafted a law prohibiting courts from denying bar admission to women, which was passed in 1877 by an all-male legislature.
In 1879, opened Wisconsin’s first all-women law firm with Angie King.

Biography: Goodell, Wikipedia

Marcia Greenberger

attorney

Select contributions:

In 1981, co-founded the National Women's Law Center.
Between 1981 and 2017, served as co-president of the National Women's Law Center.
Served as counsel in numerous cases involving gender and economic equity, including Haffer v. Temple University, which expanded women's sports programs, and Parents Without Partners v. Massinga, establishing the right to child support for custodial parents regardless of income.
Advocated for legislation to further gender and economic equity.

Biography: Wikipedia, NWLC

Martha Wright Griffiths

member of congress

Select contributions:

In 1954, first woman elected to Congress from Michigan.
First woman to serve on the House Ways and Means Committee.
In 1964, her work led to the addition of the sex discrimination amendment to Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.
In 1970, filed the discharge petition bringing the ERA to the House Floor for a vote and ultimate passage.
In 1983, first woman elected Lieutenant Governor of Michigan.

Biography: Wikipedia on Lt. Governors, Wikipedia, House of Representatives

Mary B. Grossman

lawyer, judge, activist

Select contributions:

In 1918, one of the first two women admitted to membership to the American Bar Association.
In 1923, Cleveland’s first woman municipal judge, and second woman judge.
In 1926, appointed to the Morals Court and used her position to protect women and families.
Active in the Women’s Suffrage Movement.

Biography: Suffragist Memorial, Wikipedia, JWA, Encyclopedia of Cleveland History

Debra Ann "Deb" Haaland

secretary of the interior, member of congress

Select contributions:

In 2019, became one of the first two Native American women elected to the U.S. House of Representatives.
On March 7, 2019, became the first Native American to preside over the U.S. House of Representatives.
In 2021, was the first Native American to serve as a Cabinet Secretary and the second Native American in a Cabinet position when confirmed as the Secretary of the Interior.
In April 2021, established the Missing & Murdered Unit within the Bureau of Indian Affairs to investigate cases involving missing and murdered American Indians and Alaska Natives.
In June 2021, launched the Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative to address historical abusive practices.
In November 2021, banned the term “squaw” from all federally owned lands, acknowledging its derogatory nature toward Native American women.

Biography: Wikipedia, American Progress, Honoring the Legacy

Mary Hall

lawyer

Select contributions:

In 1882, the Connecticut Supreme Court issued a decision granting her the right to practice law in the state (In re Hall).
Practiced law for 40 years, specializing in wills and property rights cases for women.
In 1884, became Connecticut's first woman notary public.

Biography: Wikipedia, CT History, CT Women's Hall of Fame

Patricia Roberts Harris

lawyer, cabinet secretary, politician

Select contributions:

In 1965, became the first Black woman to be a United States Ambassador.
In 1969, became the first Black woman to be dean of a law school after accepting the position at Howard University of Law.
In 1971, was named to the board of directors of International Business Machines Corporation ("IBM"), becoming the first Black woman to sit on a Fortune 500 company's board.
In 1977, became the first Black woman to serve in the Cabinet after being appointed Secretary for the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Biography: Wikipedia, State Dept.

Aileen Clarke Hernandez

activist, commissioner

Select contributions:

In 1962, appointed assistant chief of the California Division of Fair Employment Practices and enforced anti-discrimination laws.
In 1964, first woman appointed to the EEOC, resigning two years later in protest of the EEOC's refusal to take action on sex discrimination cases.
In 1966, co-founded the National Organization for Women. She served as its president from 1970-1971 and helped organize the Women's Strike for Equality.

Biography: History Makers, Black Past, Wikipedia

Antonia Hernández

activist, attorney, philanthropist

Select contributions:

In 1975, represented minority women who had been involuntarily sterilized in the landmark case Madrigal v. Quilligan, leading to changes in California law.
In 1979, became the first Latina woman to serve as staff counsel to the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee.
In 1985, elected president and general counsel of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund (MALDEF).
In 1985, led MALDEF in combatting gerrymandering and other discriminatory practices that prevented Latinx candidates from winning elections in those districts.
Between 1984 and 1995, led MALDEF in lawsuits that combatted the disparate impacts of underfunding of minority school districts in both Texas and California.
Advocated for education programs and reforms for Latino students in California, Colorado, and Texas.

Biography: Wikipedia, Women's History

Almeda_Eliza_Hitchcock,_c_edited_edited.

Almeda "Alme" Eliza Hitchcock

lawyer

Select contributions:

In 1887, one of the founders of the Equity Club, a correspondence club composed of women members of the bar.
In 1887, served as chairman of the executive committee of the Equity Club at the University of Michigan Law School.
In 1888, graduated with honors as the only woman in the 143 graduates of her law school class.
In 1888, first woman lawyer admitted to practice in the Kingdom of Hawaii.

Biography: Wikipedia, Core

Sarah Tilghman Hughes

judge, lawyer, activist

Select contributions:

In 1954, successfully advocated for an amendment to the Texas Constitution to allow women to sit on juries.
In 1935, became Texas's first woman state judge.
In 1961, became Texas's first woman federal judge.
In 1963, swore in President Lyndon B. Johnson upon President Kennedy's assassination, becoming the first woman to swear in a U.S. President.

Biography: Wikipedia, Women in Texas History

Alta Hulett

lawyer

Select Contributions:

In 1871, after having passed the bar exam but being denied admission to the Bar, successfully lobbied for the passage of legislation in Illinois prohibiting the exclusion of persons from any occupation, profession, or employment on the basis of sex.
In 1872, became the first woman lawyer in Illinois.

Biography: Wikipedia, Illinois State Bar Association

Legal HerStory Pioneers
J to L

Leitia James

lawyer, state attorney general

Select contributions:

Between 2004 to 2013, served on the New York City County.
In 2013, was the first woman of color to hold citywide office in New York City.
From 2013-2018, served as the New York City Public Advocate, where she passed more laws during her tenure than all previous public advocates combined, including a law designed to address the gender wage gap by banning salary history questions.
In 2018, became the first woman elected as Attorney General in New York.

Biography: Wikipedia, New York State Attorney General

Barbara Jordan

lawyer, state legislator, member of congress

Select contributions:

In 1969, sponsored Texas's ratification of the ERA and successfully proposed an equal rights amendment to the Texas Constitution.
In 1971, in the Texas Senate, advocated to establish a minimum wage law, antidiscrimination statements in business contracts, and a Fair Employment Practices Commission.
In 1972, was the first Black woman elected to Congress from the South.
In 1975, as a congresswoman, cosponsored legislation expanding the Voting Rights Act of 1965 to include Latinx, Native, and Asian Americans.

Biography: Wikipedia, National Women's History Museum, Texas State Historical Association

Marcy Kaptur

member of congress, policy advisor

Select contributions:

In 1964, denied admission to Notre Dame and the U.S. Air Force Academy based on her sex.
In 1977, served as a domestic policy advisor to President Jimmy Carter.
In 1982, elected to Congress, becoming the first woman to represent Ohio's Ninth Congressional District, and is the longest-serving woman in congressional history
In 1993, introduced the WWII Memorial Act for the fourth time, which established a commemorative memorial. It was signed into law in 1993.
In 1996, her book, "Women of Congress: A Twentieth Century Odyssey" was published.
Became the first woman to serve as Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development.

Biography: News 5 Cleveland, BGSU, Wikipedia

Herma Hill Kay

law professor, lawyer, activist

Select contributions:

Was instrumental in launching no-fault divorce in California.
In 1968, served as the co-reporter of the committee that drafted the Uniform Marriage and Divorce Act that was widely adopted in the U.S.
In 1992, became the first woman dean of UC Berkeley School of Law.

Biography: Berkeley, Wikipedia

Amalya Lyle Kearse

lawyer, judge

Select contributions:

In 1979, was the first Black woman on a federal appellate court when she was appointed as the first woman to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals.
In 1979, was the first woman elected to a fellowship in the American College of Trial Lawyers.
In 1984, authored the opinion, McCray v. Abrams, setting forth a new test making it harder for jurors to be struck based on race. This test was largely adopted by the U.S. Supreme Court in Batson v. Kentucky.
Considered as a nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court.

Biography: Second Circuit, History, Wikipedia

Florence Kelley

lawyer, activist

Select contributions:

In 1893, appointed Chief Factory Inspector, becoming the first woman appointed to a statewide office in Illinois.
In 1899, became the first General Secretary of the National Consumers League (NCL), helping create shorter workdays and minimum wage laws.
In 1906, successfully advocated for the Pure Food and Drug Act, a consumer protection law.
In 1909, helped found the NAACP.
In 1921, successfully lobbied for the passage of the Sheppard-Towner Act, which provided federal funds for maternity and childcare.

Biography: Wikipedia, Women's History

Mary Virginia "Jennie" Mitchell Kellogg

lawyer, assistant attorney general

Select contributions:

In 1880, was the first woman confirmed to have been admitted to practice law in Kansas.
In 1882, was one of eleven founding members of the Lyon County Bar Association.
In 1888, was the first woman to serve as a state assistant attorney general in the U.S.
Served as an active member of several civic clubs.
In 1895 and 1901, respectively, served as the president of the Kansas Federation of Women's Clubs and the first president of the City Federation of Women's Clubs. These clubs' projects included establishing and running a free public rest room for women, placing public trash cans along the main thoroughfare, lobbying for better sanitation, and enforcing laws prohibiting liquor, gambling, and prostitution.

Biography: Wikipedia, Washburn Law

Maud McLure Kelly

lawyer, suffragist, historian

Select contributions:

In 1908, was the first woman lawyer admitted to practice in Alabama, after a classmate succeeded in having legislation passed that changed the Code of Alabama to allow women to practice law.
Active on the legislative committees of the Birmingham and Alabama Equal Suffrage Associations.
Searched attics and basements of courthouses collecting, preserving, and donating lost, forgotten, and decaying documents and papers including census records, land records, biographies of state officials, etc.

Biography: Samford University, Alabama Women's Hall of Fame, Wikipedia

Florynce Kennedy

lawyer, activist

Select Contributions:

In 1968, advisory sponsor to the Miss America Protest, demonstrating that the pageant exploited women.
In 1969, organized lawyers to challenge the constitutionality of New York’s anti-abortion laws in a class action lawsuit, Abramowicz v. Lefkowitz, using women who suffered from illegal abortions as expert witnesses.
In 1971, founded the Feminist Party, which nominated Shirley Chisholm for President.
In 1973, formulated and participated in the protest to highlight the lack of women's bathrooms at Harvard University.

Biography: Radcliffe, Notable Bios, Wikipedia

Elizabeth Thacher Kent

activist, suffragist

Select Contributions:

In 1903, to save them from being cut down, purchased 611 acres of the coastal redwood forest (with her husband), 295 acres of which were later donated to the federal government, becoming the Muir Woods National Monument.
In 1911, played an active role in the successful and vigorous campaign for women's right to vote in California.
Between 1911 and 1920, actively worked for national suffrage including speaking at National Women's Suffrage Association conventions, lobbying members of Congress, testifying before Congress, attending rallies, picketing the White House as a member of the National Women's Party.

Biography: Biographical Sketch, National Park Service, Wikipedia

Dorothy Kenyon

lawyer

Select Contributions:

In 1936, as chair of a committee studying procedure in women's courts, advocated for better treatment of sex workers and stronger prosecution of the clients and pimps.
From 1938-1943, served as the U.S. representative to the League of Nations Committee for the Study of the Status of Women.
From 1946-1950, served as the U.S. representative to the United Nations Committee for the Study of the Status of Women.
In 1966, as co-counsel in White v. Crook, successfully argued that women have an equal right to serve on juries.

Biography: Wikipedia

Ada Kepley

lawyer, activist, suffragist

Select Contributions:

In 1870, became the first American woman to graduate from law school.
Denied the right to practice law due to her gender.
Advocated for social reform, including women's suffrage and temperance.

Biography: Wikipedia, ABA Journal

Carolyn Burnham Kilgore

lawyer, activist, doctor, teacher

Select contributions:

In 1865, was the first woman to receive a medical degree in New York, but was only able to practice as a physician's assistant.
From 1872 to 1874, her applications to sit for the Pennsylvania Bar exam were rejected.
In 1881, was the first woman admitted to study at Penn Law.
In 1883, became the first woman to hold both a medical and a law degree.
In 1886, became the first woman licensed to practice by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.
In 1871, tried to vote but her ballot was rejected. She appealed her ballot rejection to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court and lost.

Biography: Wikipedia, Alexander Street, Philadelphia Citizen

Florence King

lawyer

Select contributions:

In 1897, was the first woman registered to practice before the U.S. Patent Office.
In 1912, founded and served as president of the Women's Association of Commerce of Chicago.
In 1916, founded and served as president of the Women's Association of Commerce of the United States.
By 1919, was president of the International Women’s Association of Commerce.
In 1922, was the first woman to argue a patent case before the U.S. Supreme Court.
In 1923, was the first woman to win a case before the U.S. Supreme Court, Crown Co. v. Nye Tool Works.

Biography: Wikipedia, Stanford Law, Legal News

Patricia A. King

lawyer, professor

Select contributions:

In 1974, served on the National Commission for the Protection of Human Subjects of Biomedical and Behavioral Research, the first national body addressing biomedical ethics and informed consent and co-authored the Belmont Report, the first report on fetal tissue research.
In 1979, was the First Black woman law professor to receive tenure at Georgetown Law.
In 2006, was the first Black woman to serve on Harvard’s governing Board, the Harvard Corporation.
In 1980, appointed by President Jimmy Carter to his Commission for the Study of Ethical Problems in Medicine and Biomedical and Behavioral Research.
Served in various roles including Deputy Director of the Office of Civil Rights and Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the Civil Division of the Dept. of Justice.

Biography: Wikipedia, ABA

Jewel+Stradford+Lofontant_edited_edited_

Jewel Lafontant-Mankarious

lawyer, activist

Select contributions:

In 1946, was the first Black woman to graduate from the University of Chicago Law School.
In 1963, argued Beatrice Lynumn v. State of Illinois before the United States Supreme Court, which set the precedent for the 1966 landmark decision, Miranda v. Arizona.
In the Nixon Administration, served as the first woman Deputy Solicitor General, vice chairman of the U.S. Advisory Commission on International, Educational and Cultural Affairs, and a U.N. General Assembly representative.
From 1989 to 1993, served in President George H.W. Bush's State Department as Ambassador-at-Large and Coordinator for Refugee Affairs.

Biography: Wikipedia, New York Times, BlackPast

Daisy E. Lampkin

suffragist, activist, writer

Select contributions:

In early 1900’s, organized consumer protest groups made up of Black housewives in Pittsburgh.
From 1915 to 1955, served as president of the Lucy Stone Suffrage League.
In 1924, appointed to PA Governor’s Interracial Committee to advise the state legislature’s race relation policies.
In 1929, elected vice president of the Courier Publishing Company.
From 1930 to 1935, served as the regional field secretary of the NAACP.
From 1935 to 1947, served as the national field secretary of the NAACP.
In 1947, became the first woman board member of the NAACP, serving in that capacity for 17 years.

Biography: PA Book, Wikipedia, BlackPast

Mary Florence Lathrop

lawyer, journalist, activist

Select contributions:

Was the first woman to try a case before the Colorado Supreme Court.
In 1902, successfully argued Clayton v. Hallett before the Colorado Supreme Court, which established Colorado's law of charitable bequests.
Practiced probate law, ultimately helping to re-draft Colorado's probate statutes.
In 1918, was one of the first two women to be admitted to the American Bar Association.

Biography: Wikipedia, Colorado's Hall of Fame

Sheila Jackson Lee

lawyer, member of congress

Select contributions:

In 1972, graduated with honors from Yale University in the first coed graduating class.
In 2020, authored the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act.
In 2021, sponsored the Violence Against Women Act Reauthorization Act.
Advocated for the passage of the Paycheck Fairness Act of 2021 and the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act of 2021.
First woman to be appointed as a ranking member of the Judiciary Subcommittee for Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security.

Biography: Wikipedia, House, NAACP

Mildred Lillie

lawyer, judge

Select contributions:

In 1949, appointed to the Los Angeles County Superior Court, becoming the youngest person ever named to that court.
In 1958, appointed to the Second District Court of Appeal for California, only the second women to serve on that court, serving for 44 years.
In 1971, considered by President Richard Nixon to fill a vacancy on the United States Supreme Court but was not nominated.
In 1971, authored the opinion in Hammontree v. Jenner, featured in law school torts classes due to its civil rights implications regarding opportunities for full participation in society for those with disabilities.

Biography: Wikipedia, University of Pittsburgh

Belva Lockwood

lawyer

Select contributions:

In 1873, completed law studies at George Washington University Law School, but was denied a diploma until President Grant intervened.
In 1876, after being denied admission to the Supreme Court Bar due to gender, drafted legislation, which was passed by Congress, allowing qualified women to practice in federal court.
In 1880, as the first woman member of the Supreme Court Bar, became the first woman to argue in front of the Supreme Court.
In 1884 (and 1888), became the second woman to be on the official ballot for President of the United States, running on the ticket of the National Equal Rights Party, but the first who was over the legal age of 35.

Biography: Wikipedia, SCOTUS, National Archives

Lorna E. Lockwood

chief justice Arizona supreme court, judge, lawyer

Select contributions:

In 1925, became the first woman to graduate from law school in Arizona.
In 1947, was denied membership in the Lawyer’s Club of Phoenix, so founded a club for women lawyers.
In 1949, became the first woman to be appointed as an Assistant Attorney General in Arizona.
In 1950, elected as judge for the Arizona Superior Court in Maricopa County, becoming the first woman to serve on that bench.
In 1961, elected to the Arizona Supreme Court, becoming the first woman to hold that position.
Unanimously elected Chief Justice of the Arizona Supreme Court from 1965 to 1966 and again from 1970 to 1971, becoming the first woman to serve as Chief Justice of any State Supreme Court.

Biography: Wikipedia, Arizona Research Library

Helen "Lucile" Lomen

lawyer

Select contributions:

In 1944, was the first woman Supreme Court Clerk when she became a clerk for Associate Justice William O. Douglas. Despite her competence, another woman did not serve as a Supreme Court clerk for 22 years.
In 1945, served as assistant attorney general in the state of Washington.
In 1948, was the first women hired in the legal department of General Electric Company and was the first woman to hold many senior positions.

Biography: SCOTUS History, Wikipedia

Loretta Lynch

lawyer, attorney general

Select contributions:

From 1999 to 2001 and 2010 to 2015, led the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York after being appointed as US Attorney.
From 2003 to 2005, served as a board member on the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
In 2005, served as Special Counsel to the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda.
From 2015 to 2017, served as US Attorney General, the first Black woman to be so appointed.

Biography: Wikipedia, Dept. of Justice, Harvard

Sandra Lea Lynch

lawyer, judge

Select contributions:

In 1971, as law clerk for Judge Raymond J. Pettine, was the first woman law clerk in the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island.
In 1981, became the first woman partner to lead the litigation department of Foley, Hoag, & Eliot.
In 1995, was the first woman appointed to the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.
In 1996, wrote a dissenting opinion later adopted by Congress. An all-men panel held that rape committed at gunpoint by a carjacker did not constitute "serious bodily injury" under the federal sentencing guidelines. In her dissent from the denial of a rehearing en banc, she wrote that clearly Congress intended "serious bodily injury" to include abduction and rape. Congress adopted this position.
In 2008, was the first woman appointed as chief judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.

Biography: Wikipedia, BU, First Circuit

Lutie Lytle

lawyer, law professor

Select contributions:

In 1895, while still a teenager, was sworn in as “Assistant Enrolling Clerk” for the Kansas State Legislature, learning about the legislative process.
In the 1890s, worked as an editor, essayist, and journalist, shedding light on racial and gender injustice.
In 1897, was the first woman admitted to the Tennessee Bar and the first Black woman admitted to the Kansas Bar.
In 1898, with Ellen Spencer Mussey and Emma Gillett, became the first women to teach law.
Was the first Black woman admitted to the National Bar Association.

Biography: Wikipedia, Iowa Law Review

Legal HerStory Pioneers
M to O

Wilma Mankiller

activist, principal chief

Select contributions:

In 1978, advocated for the Indian Child Welfare Act, which prevents children from being removed from their culture.
In 1980, wrote the grant for and oversaw the Bell Project, a community development project that served as a model for other grant programs for Cherokee and other tribes.
In 1981, appointed as the first director of the Community Development Department of the Cherokee Nation.
In 1983, first woman elected to serve as Deputy Chief of the Cherokee Nation.
In 1985, first woman elected to serve as the Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation or of any major Native tribe.
As Chief, worked to improve education, healthcare, and housing services, resulting in a decline in infant mortality and an increase in educational achievement.
In 2004, was a founding board member of Women Empowering Women for Indian Nations ("WEWIN") to promote and empower Indigenous women's leadership.

Biography: Wikipedia, National Women's History Museum

Arabella Mansfield

lawyer, suffragist

Select contributions:

In 1869, sat for the Iowa State bar exam, even though it was restricted to "males over 21."
In 1869, became the first woman admitted to a licensed bar in the United States when she was admitted to the Iowa bar following the Iowa Supreme Court's ruling that women could not be denied the right to practice law in Iowa.
Advocated for equal education opportunities and voting rights for women.

Biography: Wikipedia, State Historical Society of Iowa, Iowa Judicial Branch

Carol Los Mansmann

lawyer, judge, professor

Select contributions:

In 1967, one of only two women to graduate from the Duquesne University School of Law.
Between 1968 and 1972, was an assistant district attorney of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania.
In 1970, became the youngest woman attorney (at the time) to argue before the U.S. Supreme Court, successfully arguing on behalf of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in Chambers v. Maroney.
Between 1973 and 1979, was a Special Assistant to the Attorney General of Pennsylvania.
Between 1974 and 1983, served as an associate professor of law at Duquesne University School of Law.
In 1982, became the first woman attorney appointed to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania.
In 1985, appointed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit by President Reagan.

Biography: Wikipedia, Duquesne Law Review, PAWD

Margaret H. Marshall

lawyer, state supreme court justice, advocate

Select contributions:

In 1996, appointed associate justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, only the second woman to serve on that court.
In 1999, was the first women appointed as Chief Justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court.
As Chief Justice, modernized the courts through accountability and transparency strategies, judicial evaluation, increased access for self-represented litigants, and livestreaming oral arguments.
In 2003, she authored the decision in Goodridge v. Department of Public Health, holding that the Massachusetts's ban on same-sex marriage was unconstitutional under that state's Constitution.
Between 2012 and 2016, was the Senior Trustee of the Yale Corporation (Yale University governing body), the first woman to hold that position.

Biography: Wikipedia, Yale, National Judicial College

Anne (Henrietta) Martin

activist, suffragist, author

Select contributions:

In 1912, elected president of the Nevada Equal Franchise Society (later the Nevada Woman’s Civic League).
In 1914, organized the campaign that won women’s suffrage with the popular vote in Nevada.
In 1916, chosen as the National Woman’s Party’s first chairman at its founding convention.
In 1917, was one of the Silent Sentinels arrested for picketing in front of the White House for the right to vote.
In 1918 and 1920, first woman to run for the U.S. Senate, running as an Independent from Nevada.
Author of numerous newspaper and magazine articles on women’s equality and related political and economic subjects.

Biography: Wikipedia, Nevada Women, Suffragists

Annabel Matthews

judge, lawyer

Select contributions:

In 1925, was the second women hired as an attorney in the office of the Solicitor of Internal Revenue.
In 1927, selected as an expert on the foreign tax credit to assist the American delegate for the Committee of Technical Experts for the Council of the League of Nations.
In 1930, became the first woman to serve as a judge on the United States Board of Tax Appeals.
In 1939, used her platform as a judge to write letters, along with other women judges, in an unsuccessful attempt to advocate for the nomination of Florence E. Allen as the first woman Justice of the United States Supreme Court.

Biography: Wikipedia, Hollis Archives

Burnita Shelton Matthews

judge, suffragist, lawyer

Select contributions:

In 1920, passed the District of Columbia bar exam but denied admission in professional lawyers' associations, including the District of Columbia Bar Association.
With other women lawyers, formed the Women's Bar Association and the national Association of Women Lawyers.
In 1920, was rejected by the Veterans Administration's legal department because of her gender. Formed the all-women firm, Matthews, Berrien, and Greathouse.
In 1921, began serving as legal counsel for the suffragist National Women's Party.
In 1922, obtained the largest condemnation settlement from the government (at that time) for seizure of the National Women's Party's headquarters property.
In 1949, became the first woman to serve on a United States District Court.

Biography: Wikipedia, Mississippi History NOW

Catharine Waugh McCulloch

lawyer, justice of the peace, suffragist

Select contributions:

In 1887, opened a law firm representing women in matters including custody disputes and wage discrimination.
In 1901, successfully advocated for legislation giving women equal right to guardianship over children.
In 1904 to 1911, served as legal adviser and as first VP of National American Woman Suffrage Association.
In 1905, spearheaded successful efforts to raise the age of consent for girls from 14 to 16.
In 1907, became the first woman in Illinois elected to serve as a Justice of the Peace. Agreed to omit "obey" from women's vows when presiding over marriages.
In 1916, was the first woman nominated by a major party as a presidential elector.
In 1917, as the first president of the Women’s Democratic Club of Illinois, advocated for suffrage.

Biography: CWM, Wikipedia, Evanston Women

Enolia Pettigen McMillan

educator, activist

Select contributions:

In 1933, in her master's thesis, Some Factors Affecting Secondary Education for Negroes in Maryland Counties (Excluding Baltimore), attacked the racist dual school system, including salary scales and curricula.
In 1975, first woman chair of the Board of Regents at Morgan State University.
In 1984, first woman to be the national president of the NAACP.
Advocated for equal pay for Black teachers, the majority of which were women.

Biography: Wikipedia, Morgan State University

Soia Mentschikoff

lawyer, law professor

Select contributions:

In 1942, as a law student, was named as the assistant to the chief reporter in drafting the Uniform Commercial Code. In 1949, was named the associate chief reporter in drafting the Uniform Commercial Code.
In 1944, became one of the first women partners at a major Wall Street firm.
In 1947, became the first woman to teach at Harvard, and in 1951, became the first woman to teach at the University of Chicago.
In 1974, became the first woman president of the Association of American Law School ("AALS") while dean of the University of Miami School of Law.

Biography: Wikipedia, Univ. of Miami

Barbara Mikulski

member of congress, senator

Select contributions:

In 1976, elected to the U.S. House of Representatives.
In 1986, first woman Democrat elected as a Senator without succeeding a husband or father.
In 1993, with Senator Carol Moseley Braun, wore pants onto the Senate floor, violating the floor rule prohibiting women from wearing pants.
Advocated for the passage of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009.
In 2010, became longest-serving woman senator.
In 2012, first woman appointed to chair the Senate Appropriations Committee.
Aided in the establishment of the Office of Research on Women's Health at the National Institutes of Health ("NIH").
Introduced the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 2013.

Biography: Wikipedia, Senate, John Hopkins, Trailblazer

Inez Milholland

lawyer, activist, suffragist

Select contributions:

In 1909, participated in the shirtwaist and laundry worker strikes advocating for higher wages, shorter hours, and safer working conditions.
In 1913, helped organize and led the Women's Suffrage Procession in Washington, D.C.
In 1915, joined the Ford Peace Ship in an effort to stop WWI through negotiation.
In 1916, toured the United States to gain support for a Constitutional amendment to grant women the right to vote.

Biography: Wikipedia, Vassar, New York Times

Lucy Kennedy Miller

suffragist, activist

Select contributions:

In 1912, founded the Allegheny County Equal Rights Association, which lobbied Pennsylvania legislators to give women the right to vote.
In 1919, was the first woman to address the Pennsylvania State Legislature in her effort to persuade the state to ratify the 19th Amendment.
In 1919, elected as the first President of the League of Women Citizens of Pennsylvania, which later became the League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania.
Between the 1930s and 1950s, with her sister, exposed corruption in Pittsburgh’s government, including a probe of the city’s mayor resulting in his conviction in 1932.

Biography: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, PA Senate, Wikipedia

Patsy Mink

lawyer, member of congress

Select contributions:

In 1964, was the first Asian American woman and first woman of color to serve in Congress.
In 1972, was the first Asian American to run for President.
Advocated for issues related to childcare and education, including the Early Childhood Education Act and the Comprehensive Child Development Act.
Advocated for gender equality in education as a drafter and/or sponsor of legislation, including Title IX and the Gender Equity in Education Act.

Biography: Wikipedia, National Women's History Museum, Congress

Susan Oki Mollway

lawyer, judge, author

Select contributions:

In 1994, successfully argued on behalf of an aircraft mechanic before the Supreme Court in Hawaiian Airlines, Inc. v. Norris. This opinion ultimately strengthened state whistleblower protections.
In 1998, nominated to be a judge for the District of Hawaii by President Clinton, becoming the first East Asian American woman to serve as an Article III federal judge.
In 2021, her book, "The First Fifteen: How Asian Women Became Federal Judges,” detailing the journey of the trailblazing Asian American women in federal judiciary positions, was published.

Biography: Wikipedia, AAUW

Esther Hobart Morris

justice of the peace

Select contributions:

In 1870, became the first woman to be appointed as the justice of the peace for the South Pass District in Wyoming.
In 1870, as justice of the peace, was the first woman to serve as a judge in the United States.

Biography: AOC, Wikipedia

Constance Baker Motely_edited_edited_edi

Constance Baker Motley

judge, lawyer, activist

Select contributions:

Between 1950 and 1954, wrote the original complaint and played a pivotal role in landmark civil rights litigation, in Brown v. Board of Education, as part of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund.
In 1962, successfully argued Meredith v. Fair, granting Mr. Meredith the right to be the first Black student to attend the University of Mississippi.
In 1964, was the first Black woman in the New York State Senate.
In 1966, became the first Black woman appointed and confirmed to the federal judiciary when she was confirmed as a U.S. District Court Judge for the Southern District of New York.

Biography: Wikipedia, U.S. Courts

Lucretia Mott

suffragist, educator

Select contributions:

In 1837, organized the Anti-Slavery Convention of American Women.
In 1840, was denied a seat at the International Anti-Slavery Convention in London, leading to her organization of the Women’s Rights Convention at Seneca Falls in 1848 with Elizabeth Cady Stanton.
In 1844, helped create the Northern Association of the City and County of Philadelphia for the Relief and Employment of Poor Women and served as its president.
In 1848, was first signatory of the Declaration of Sentiments at Seneca Falls.
In 1866, served as the first President of the American Equal Rights Association.

Biography: Nat'l Women's History, Wikipedia, Archives

Diana Gribbon Motz

attorney, judge

Select contributions:

From 1972 to 1986, Motz served as Maryland assistant state attorney general.
In 1981, as assistant state attorney general, recovered moneys from former Vice President Spiro Agnew that he had accepted as bribes when he served as Governor of Maryland
From 1994 to present, has served on the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, being the first woman from Maryland to do so and half of the first married couple to sit on the federal bench
In 2021, wrote for a unanimous panel that the Equal Pay Act requires equal pay in each pay time, not simply the total paycheck in Sempowich v. Tactile Systems Technology, Inc.

Biography: Wikipedia, Maryland Women's Hall of Fame, Washington Post

Pauli Murray

lawyer, activist, poet

Select contributions:

In 1944, formulated the challenge to the "separate" part of "separate but equal," which was successfully used by Thurgood Marshall in 1954 in arguing Brown v. Board of Education.
Wrote the definitive book on segregation, "States' Laws on Race and Color."
Coined the term "Jane Crow" to explain the segregation of the sexes.
In 1966, one of the founding members of the National Organization for Women ("NOW").
In 1966, as co-counsel in White v. Crook, successfully argued that women have an equal right to serve on juries.

Biography: Wikipedia, Pauli Murray Center, The New Yorker

Ellen Spencer Mussey

lawyer, activist, educator

Select contributions:

In 1896, the Mussey Act was passed in Washington D.C., providing property and guardianship protections for married women.
In 1898, after being denied admission to law school, opened the first law school for women, the Washington College of Law, with Emma Gillett, which was also the first law school founded by women.
In 1898, was the the first woman law school dean in America and served in this role until 1913.
In 1917, founded the D.C. Woman’s Bar Association.
Co-drafted the Cable Act of 1922, allowing married women to retain their U.S. citizenship.

Biography: Wikipedia, WCL, Britannica, WBADC

Elaine Nobel

politician, activist

Select contributions:

In 1975, first openly gay woman and person elected to a state legislature.
In 1971, co-founded the Massachusetts Women’s Political Caucus.
Fought for the desegregation of Boston.
public schools while in the Massachusetts legislature.
In 1977, served as a member of the first delegation of people invited to the White House by Jimmy Carter to discuss LGBTQ+ issues

Biography: Wikipedia, GLBTQ

Eleanor Holmes Norton

lawyer, activist, delegate to congress

Select contributions:

In 1967, successfully defended a white supremacist group's freedom of speech in Carroll v. Town of Princess Anne.
In 1970, successfully represented 60 women in their EEOC complaint of sex discrimination, resulting in their employer, Newsweek, agreeing to allow women to be reporters.
In 1970, appointed as Chair of the New York City Commission on Human Rights where she held the country's first hearings on gender discrimination.
In 1977, was the first woman to chair the EEOC.
In 1990, elected as a delegate to the House of Representatives for the District of Columbia.

Biography: Wikipedia, ACLU, AP News

Sandra Day O'Connor

associate justice, lawyer, state senator

Select contributions:

In 1973, was the first woman to serve as a state's Majority Leader, when she became the majority leader in the Arizona State Senate.
In 1981, became the first woman nominated and first woman confirmed as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.

Biography: Wikipedia

Kuma Elizabeth Ohi (Owen)

attorney, detainee, civil servant

Select contributions:

In 1937, became the first Japanese-American woman admitted to practice law in the U.S.
Legal secretary for Arthur Goldberg, who later became a Supreme Court Justice.
On December 7, 1941, was detained by the FBI after the bombing of Pearl Harbor by order of J. Edgar Hoover. Her release was secured by future Justice Arthur Goldberg.
Enlisted in the United States Navy following her release, serving one year as an Ensign.
Worked as an attorney for the Office of Management and Budget and U.S. Department of Labor in Washington, D.C., where she changed her surname to "Owen" attempting to conceal her Japanese heritage.

Biography: Memorial, Lawyer's Club, Wikipedia, Legacy

Hazel O'Leary

lawyer, government official

Select contributions:

In the 1970's, served as general counsel for the Community Services Administration in the Gerald Ford Administration.
Appointed by President Ford as director of the Federal Energy Administration’s Office of Consumer Affairs.
In 1977, appointed by President Carter to head the Department of Energy's Economic Regulatory Administration.
In 1981, co-founded an energy consulting firm with her husband, serving as vice president and general counsel.
In 1993, nominated by President Clinton and confirmed as the first women and first African American to serve as the Secretary of Energy.
From 2004-2012, was the 14th President of Fisk University.

Biography: BlackPast, Wikipedia, NCSEA

Graciela Olivárez

attorney, advocate, public servant, entrepreneur

Select contributions:

In 1965, appointed by AZ Governor as State Director of the Office of Economic Opportunity.
In 1966, was a charter member of NOW.
In 1970, was the first woman and the first Latina to graduate from the Notre Dame Law School.
In 1973, was the first Latina law professor in the U.S. (University of New Mexico).
In 1975, appointed by NM Governor to the State Planning Officer.
Chair and one of the first two women on the board of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund.
In 1977, appointed by President Carter as the director of the Community Services Administration.
In 1980, founded the Olivarez Television Company the first Spanish-language TV network in the U.S.

Biography: NM Historic Women, AZ Memory, Wikipedia,

Legal HerStory Pioneers
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Alice Paul

activist, suffragist

Select contributions:

In 1913, formed the Congressional Union for Woman Suffrage to support a federal amendment to give women the right to vote.
In 1913, organized over 5,000 women to march from the Capitol to the White House in support for women’s suffrage.
In 1917, organized the “Silent Sentinels” who picketed the White House silently six days a week for eighteen months to win the right to vote for women.
After being arrested as a Silent Sentinel, conducted a hunger strike in jail that convinced President Wilson to support a woman's right to vote, providing momentum for the passage and ratification of the 19th Amendment.
In 1923, drafted the ERA.

Biography: PBS, Women's History, Wikipedia

Nancy Pelosi

member of congress

Select contributions:

In 2002, became Minority Leader of the U.S. House of Representatives.
In 2007, became the first woman Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives.
In 2019, became Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives.
Advocated for gender equity, marriage equality, civil rights, and healthcare reform.

Biography: Wikipedia

Frances Perkins

cabinet member, activist

Select contributions:

In 1933, as Secretary of Labor for President Roosevelt, became the first woman to serve in a Presidential cabinet.
Was instrumental in crafting the New Deal, which included a 40-hour work week, minimum wage, unemployment compensation, and an end to child labor.

Biography: Frances Perkins Center, AFL-CIO

James M. Perry

lawyer

Select contributions:

In 1918, first woman lawyer admitted to the bar in South Carolina.
Charter member of the Greenville Business and Professional Women’s Club, serving as its President from 1920-1922.
In 1937, first woman lawyer to be made a partner in a law firm in South Carolina.
In 1937, founded the Greenville Chapter of the Humane Society.
In 1955, served as Chair of the Greenville Bar Association, one of the first women to chair a local bar association.

Biography: Wikipedia, Attorneys & Law in Greenville County: A History, South Carolina Encyclopedia

Mary Philbrook

lawyer, activist

Select contributions:

In 1894, petitioned the New Jersey Supreme Court to allow women to practice law.
In 1895, first woman lawyer to be admitted to the bar in New Jersey.
In 1947, successfully lobbied for “he” to be replaced with “persons” in the New Jersey Constitution to promote gender equity.
Lobbied for the founding of New Jersey College for Women.

Biography: Wikipedia, New Jersey Women's History, New Jersey City University

Ida Platt

attorney

Select contributions:

In 1894, was the first Black woman to graduate from Chicago-Kent College of Law.
In 1894, was the first Black woman admitted to the Illinois Bar and was the only Black woman lawyer in Illinois until 1920.
In 1896, gave a speech on "Women in the Profession of Law" at the national convention of the Colored Women's League in New York City.

Biography: Wikipedia, Chicago-Kent

Nitza_Quinones_Alejandro_edited_edited.j

Nitza I. Quiñones Alejandro

lawyer, federal judge

Select contributions:

In 1977, became the first woman attorney at the Department of Veterans Affairs.
In 1991, elected as a judge on the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas becoming the first Hispanic woman judge in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
In 2013, became the first lesbian Latina appointed to the federal judiciary when she was confirmed as a U.S. District Court Judge for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

Biography: Wikipedia, U. Penn Law Review

Louise Raggio

lawyer

Select contributions:

In 1967, as Chair of the Texas Family Law Section of the Texas Bar, crafted the Texas Marital Property Act of 1967, giving women the same rights as their husbands upon marriage.
In the 1970s, became the first woman trustee of the Bar Foundation.
In 1979, became the first woman elected to the board of directors of the Texas State Bar.
Advocated for better conditions for women at the Texas State Capitol.

Biography: Wikipedia, TSHA

Jeannette Rankin

member of congress, activist, suffragist

Select contributions:

Actively worked to amend the constitutions of Washington and Montana to give women the right to vote, both of which were amended in 1911 and 1914, respectively.
In 1916, was elected to serve in Congress, becoming the first woman elected to national office in the United States.
In 1918, presented the 19th Amendment to the House of Representatives for a vote.

Biography: Wikipedia, Biography, House of Representatives

Marguerite Rawalt

lawyer, activist

Select contributions:

In 1943, first woman elected as the President of the Federal Bar Association.
In 1961, served on President Kennedy's Commission on the Status of Women and was then appointed by President Johnson to the Citizen's Advisory Council on the Status of Women.
In 1966, co-founded the National Organization of Women ("NOW"), serving as chair of its Legal Committee from 1966-1969. She helped found NOW's Legal Defense Fund.
Created the Marguerite Rawalt Legal Defense Fund, which focuses on women's equity cases.

Biography: Fed Bar, TSHA, Wikipedia

Janet Reno

attorney general, lawyer

Select contributions:

In 1978, became the first woman state attorney in Florida as the State Attorney for Dade County.
In Miami, created a victims' advocacy program to support victims throughout their trials.
In 1993, became the first woman Attorney General of the United States.
In 1996, advocated for the rights of victims of violent crimes and for funding to support those victims.
In 1998, fought to include crimes related to gender, disability, and sexual orientation as hate crimes.

Biography: Wikipedia, Washington Post, CNN, Britannica

Gertrude Durden Rush

attorney

Select contributions:

In 1910, passed the enumerator's exam and became an enumerator for the Census Bureau.
In 1912, led the Charity League, which created the Protection Home for Negro Girls.
In 1918, first Black woman admitted to the Iowa Bar.
In 1921, first woman elected president of a co-ed bar association, the Iowa Colored Bar Association.
In 1925, co-founded the National Bar Association after the American Bar Association denied admission to her and other Black lawyers.
Focused her legal practice on women's rights in estate cases.

Biography: UIPress, Census Bureau, Wikipedia

Charlotte E. Ray

lawyer

Select contributions:

First Black woman lawyer, having graduated from Howard University School of Law in 1872.
First woman admitted to the District of Columbia Bar.
In 1885, secured a rare reversal of a denied divorce decree based on domestic violence as the first woman to argue before the District of Columbia Supreme Court.

Biography: History, Wikipedia

Legal HerStory Pioneers
S to U

Portrait_of_Edith_Sampson,_in_feathered_

Edith S. Sampson

lawyer, judge

Select contributions:

In 1927, became the first woman to earn a Masters of Law from Loyola University’s Graduate Law School.
In 1943, became one of the first Black members of the National Association of Women Lawyers.
In 1949, was part of the Round-the-World Town Meeting, where she countered propaganda
regarding the treatment of African Americans in the United States.
In 1950, was appointed as the first African American to officially represent the United States at the United Nations.
In 1961, became the first Black U.S. representative to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
In 1962, became the first Black woman to be elected as a judge in the state of Illinois.

Biography: Wikipedia, Black Past

Bernice "Bunny" Sandler

teacher, activist

Select contributions:

In 1970, with the Women’s Equity Action League (WEAL), filed over 250 lawsuits against colleges and universities based on Executive Order 11375, which prohibited federal contractors from discriminating based on race, color, sex, etc. in employment.
In 1970, provided House Representatives Edith Green and Patsy Mink with data compiled by WEAL to help facilitate congressional hearings on sex discrimination in education, a significant step in getting Title IX passed.
In 1971, became the Director of the Project on the Status and Education of Women (PSEW) at the Association of American Colleges.
In 1975, was appointed by Presidents Ford and Carter as the Chair of the National Advisory Council on Women’s Educational Programs.

Biography: Wikipedia, National Women's History Museum

Patricia Scott Schroeder

lawyer, member of congress

Select contributions:

In 1973, was the first woman elected to Congress from Colorado and the first woman to serve on the House Armed Services Committee.
In 1977, was a founding member of the Congressional Women's Caucus.
Crafted and/or advocated for the Pregnancy Discrimination Act (1978), Military Family Act (1985), Women in Apprenticeship and Nontraditional Occupations Act (1992), and the Family and Medical Leave Act (1993).
Advocated for reform in the military regarding sexual harassment and successfully advocated for the Armed Services Committee's recommendation that women be able to fly combat missions.

Biography: Wikipedia, House History, Congress

Cynthia "Jeanne" Shaheen

governor, senator, state senator

Select contributions:

From 1991 to 1996, was New Hampshire State Senator.
In 1997, first woman elected Governor of New Hampshire, serving from 1997-2003.
From 2005-2007, was the Director of Harvard University’s Institute of Politics.
In 2008, first woman elected to the U.S. Senate from New Hampshire, and first woman elected both a governor and a U.S. Senator.
Drafted the Sexual Assault Survivors’ Rights Act, signed into law in 2016.
In 2018, worked to expand the Violence Against Women’s Act to strengthen the investigation and prosecution of acts of violence against women.
Worked to repeal the Global Gag Rule, which limits family planning services and healthcare in developing countries.

Biography: Wikipedia, Congress

Eleanor_Smeal_Feminist_Majority_Foundati

Eleanor "Ellie" Smeal

activist, author

Select contributions:

In 1977, 1979, and 1985, elected president of the National Organization for Women.
In 1984, authored How and Why Women Will Elect the Next President, coining the term “gender gap.”
In 1986, led the first national abortion rights march, and in 2004, led the March for Women’s Lives, the largest march in the nation's history.
In 1987, founded the Feminist Majority Foundation and in 1995, launched the Feminist Majority Foundation Online.
Played a pivotal role in the passage of landmark legislation including the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, Equal Credit Act, Civil Rights Restoration Act, Violence Against Women Act, Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, and Civil Rights Act of 1991.

Biography: Wikipedia, Feminist Majority

Margaret Chase Smith

member of congress, senator

Select contributions:

First woman to serve in both houses of congress and first woman from Maine to serve in either house.
In 1948, responsible for the passage of the Women's Armed Services Integration Act, giving women in the armed forces regular status and eligibility for benefits.
On June 1, 1950, was the first senator to speak out against Senator Joseph McCarthy, giving an impassioned speech on the floor against his tactics.
In 1954, with Eleanor Roosevelt, first women panelists on the CBS news show, Face the Nation.
In January 1964, first woman to be a candidate for a major party nomination for president. However, Barry Goldwater won the nomination.
From 1967 to 1972, was the first (and still only) woman chair of the Senate Republican Conference.

Biography: Wikipedia, House History, Senate

Olympia Snowe

senator

Select contributions:

First woman to serve in both houses of a state legislature and both houses of Congress.
Co-chair of the Congressional Caucus on Women's Issues.
In 2001, first Republican woman to serve a full term on the Senate Finance Committee, which is considered the most powerful in Congress.
Crafted and/or advocated for the inclusion of women in clinical research (1990), the Women's Health Equity Act (1990s-2000s), the creation of the Office of Women's Health Research (1993), the resolution calling on the National Cancer Institute to reissue guidelines for breast cancer screenings (1997).

Biography: Wikipedia, National Women's History Museum

Sonia Sotomayor

lawyer, member of congress

Select contributions:

Became a student activist while an undergraduate student at Princeton University, focusing on faculty hiring and curriculum.
In 1992, became the youngest judge in the District Court for the Southern District of New York.
In 1998, confirmed to the Second Circuit Cout of Appeals where she served on the Second Circuit Task Force on Gender, Racial and Ethnic Fairness in the Courts.
In 2009, became Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court and the first woman of color on SCOTUS.

Biography: Wikipedia

Winifred Stanley

lawyer, member of congress

Select contributions:

In 1937, successfully advocated for women's right to serve on jury panels in New York.
In 1938, became the first woman assistant district attorney in Erie County, New York.
From 1943 to 1944, served as a member of the U.S. Congress from New York.
In 1944, proposed the first Equal Pay Act, a bill to amend the National Labor Relations Act to make it unlawful “to discriminate against any employee, in the rate of compensation paid, on account of sex.”
While in Congress, advocated for women to be commissioned as surgeons in the Army.

Biography: House History, Wikipedia

Kate Stoneman

lawyer

Select contributions:

In 1885, was the first woman to pass the New York State bar but was denied admission due to her gender.
In 1886, successfully lobbied for the passage of legislation in the New York state legislature that would prohibit the consideration of sex or race in admission to the bar.
In 1886, was the first woman admitted to the New York Bar.
In 1898, was the first woman to graduate from Albany Law School.

Biography: Albany Law School, Nat'l Women's Hall of Fame, Wikipedia

Juanita Kidd Stout

lawyer, judge

Select contributions:

In 1959, was appointed as a municipal court judge in the Philadelphia Municipal Court and become the first Black woman in the state to serve as a judge.
In 1959, was the first Black woman in the United States to be elected to a judgeship.
In 1963, was appointed as a special ambassador to the Kenya Independence Celebration and served on the White House Conference on Children and Youth by President John. F. Kennedy.
In 1969, was appointed to the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas, specializing in homicide cases.
In 1988, was appointed to the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania and become the first Black woman in the United States to serve on the supreme court of any state.

Biography: Wikipedia, OK Historical Society, L.A. Times

Mary Church Terrell

suffragist, civil rights activist

Select contributions:

In 1895, became the first Black woman appointed to the District of Columbia Board of Education.
In 1896, co-founded the National Association of Colored Women ("NACW"). Her words, “Lifting as we climb,” became the motto of the NACW.
1910, co-founded the College Alumnae Club, now known as the National Association of University Women.
In 1917, picketed the Wilson White House with members of the National Woman’s Party for suffrage.
In 1922, organized the Silent March in support of passing anti-lynching legislation.
In 1948, became the first Black member of the American Association of University Women after winning an anti-discrimination lawsuit.

Biography: Wikipedia, National Women's History Museum

Linda Copple Trout

lawyer, judge

Select contributions:

In 1990, was the first woman to serve as a district court judge in Idaho’s 2nd Judicial District, making her the second woman ever to serve as a district court judge in the state of Idaho.
In 1992, was the first woman to be appointed as an Idaho State Supreme Court Justice.
In 1997, was the first woman to be elected as the Chief Justice of Idaho’s State Supreme Court and the only woman to ever hold that position.

Biography: Wikipedia, Idaho Business Review, Western Legal History, The Lewiston Tribune

Legal HerStory Pioneers
V to Z

Elizabeth Warren

lawyer, law professor, senator

Select contributions:

Researched consumer spending and bankruptcy, becoming the leading expert on consumer protections.
In 1995, advised the National Bankruptcy Review Commission, helping to draft the Commission's report.
From 2006 to 2010, member of the FDIC Advisory Committee on Economic Inclusion.
In 2007, developed the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ("CFPB"), advised the Obama administration on its creation, and built it after congressional approval.
From 2008 to 2010, chair of the Congressional Oversight Panel for the Troubled Asset Relief Program.
In 2010, appointed Assistant to the President and Special Advisor to the Secretary of the Treasury on the CFPB.
In 2013, became the first woman Senator from Massachusetts.

Biography: Congress, Vanity Fair, Wikipedia

Sarah Weddington

lawyer

Select contributions:

In 1971 and 1972, was the youngest person to argue in front of the Supreme Court and win when she argued Roe v. Wade.
Advocated for reforms to Texas's rape law, including expanding the statute of limitations on reporting rape from two to three years and barring the questioning of a rape victim regarding her sexual history.
From 1978 to 1981, as a Special Assistant to the President and the chair of the Interdepartmental Task Force on Women, was a key strategist for ratification of the ERA and the Senate's extension of the ratification deadline.

Biography: Wikipedia, NY Times

Loretta Weinberg

activist, state legislator

Select contributions:

Between 1992 and 2005, served in the New Jersey General Assembly, sponsoring legislation like requiring health insurance companies to pay for 48 hours of hospital care for mothers and their newborns.
Between 2005 and 2022, served in the New Jersey Senate.
In 2018, instrumental in passing the New Jersey Equal Pay Act, the strongest pay equity law in the nation.
In 2019, introduced legislation prohibiting Nondisclosure Agreements in employment contracts in cases of sexual harassment and sexual assault.
In 2022, primary sponsor of S3416, codifying marriage equality in New Jersey.
In 2022, lead sponsor of the Freedom of Reproductive Choice Act in New Jersey.

Biography: Rutgers, Wikipedia, NJ Senate Dems

Mabel Willebrandt

lawyer

Select contributions:

First woman public defender in Los Angeles County, primarily defending women charged with prostitution.
In 1921, appointed assistant attorney general, becoming the second woman to hold the post and making her the highest-ranking woman in the U.S. government.
In 1927, successfully argued before the Supreme Court that taxes should be paid on illegal income, opening the door to Internal Revenue Service tax evasion cases against mob bosses.
Responsible for federal prison reforms, including the first woman's facility, industrial programs for prison inmates, and a first-time offender facility.

Biography: Women & the American Story, Wikipedia

Victoria Woodhull_edited_edited_edited.j

Victoria Claflin Woodhull

activist, politician

Select contributions:

In 1870, became the first woman stockbroker along with her sister, and the first woman to own a brokerage firm.
In 1870, published a newspaper, Woodhull & Claflin's Weekly, which promoted women's suffrage and political reform.
In 1871, became the first woman to address the House Judiciary Committee, arguing that the Fifteenth Amendment gave women the right to vote.
In 1872, became the first woman nominated to run for President, after being nominated by the Equal Rights Party. It is not clear if she could have assumed the office of President had she won, as she would not have been 35 years of age, as Constitutionally required.

Biography: NPS, History, Wikipedia

Helen "Nellie" Louise Young

lawyer, teacher, politician

Select contributions:

In 1892, before women had property rights in Idaho, along with her lawyer, successfully argued her right to separate property from her husband.
In 1895, was the first woman admitted to the Idaho State Bar.
In 1896, elected as a vice-president of the state’s National American Woman Suffrage Association.
Successfully advocated for an Idaho state constitutional amendment giving women the right to vote, only the fourth state to grant suffrage.

Biography: Wikipedia, Idaho State Bar, Idaho Legal History

legal herstory pioneers

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