This is a list of the first women lawyer(s) and judge(s) in Louisiana. It includes the year in which the women were admitted to practice law (in parentheses). Also included are women who achieved other distinctions such becoming the first in their state to graduate from law school or become a political figure.
The number of women in the United States judiciary has increased as more women have entered law school, but women still face significant barriers in pursuing legal careers.
Bernette Joshua Johnson is an American lawyer from New Orleans, who served as the chief justice of the Louisiana Supreme Court from 2013 to 2020.
Piper Dinita Griffin is an American lawyer who has served as an associate justice of the Louisiana Supreme Court.
Bernadette D'Souza was elected to be the first Family court Judge on the Civil District Court in Orleans Parish. She is also the first female Indian-American judge in the state of Louisiana. D'Souza was born in Goa, India where she received a degree in Psychology from the University of Mumbai. She married Dr. Terrance D'Souza in 1978 and immigrated to the United States where they started their family. In 1989, Bernadette went back to school where entering Tulane University School of Law. After law school, she worked for the New Orleans Legal Assistance Corporation in the domestic violence unit and then became the managing attorney at Southeast Louisiana Legal Services. After 18 years of working in public interest law, D'Souza was elected to the inaugural family court judgeship in the Civil District Court for the Parish of New Orleans as a part of a special election. She was re-elected for this seat in both 2014 and 2020. In 2021, Bernadette was elected the Chief Judge of Orleans Parish Civil District Court. She continues to be an active member of her community, advocating for victims of domestic violence.
Nghana tamu Lewis is an American judge, lawyer, and academic from Lafayette, Louisiana. In January 2021, Lewis took the bench to serve as the Division B 40th District Court judge, in St. John the Baptist Parish, Louisiana. Lewis is also a tenured associate professor in both the English Department and the Africana Studies Department at Tulane University.
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