Minnie Anderson Hale (later Minnie Hale Daniel) was one of the first three female lawyers in Georgia. [1]
On June 9, 1911, she became the first female to graduate from the Atlanta Law School—as well as the first female to graduate from a law school in the state. Nevertheless, she was denied the right to practice law. In 1916 "An Act to Permit Females to Practice Law", otherwise known as the "Portia Bill", was signed by Governor Nathaniel Edwin Harris, and Hale was finally admitted to practice law in the state of Georgia. [2] She became the first of the three female lawyers in Georgia, as Betty Reynolds Cobb and Mary C. Johnson were admitted the same year. In 1922, Hale was elected as the Vice-President of the Georgia of the Women Lawyers' Association. [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7]
Belva Ann Bennett Lockwood was an American lawyer, politician, educator, and author who was active in the women's rights and women's suffrage movements. She was one of the first women lawyers in the United States, and in 1879 she became the first woman to be admitted to practice law before the U.S. Supreme Court. Lockwood ran for president in 1884 and 1888 on the ticket of the National Equal Rights Party and was the first woman to appear on official ballots. While Victoria Woodhull is commonly cited as the first woman to run for president, she was not old enough to run, unlike Lockwood.
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.
Myra Colby Bradwell was an American publisher and political activist. She attempted in 1869 to become the first woman to be admitted to the Illinois bar to practice law, but was denied admission by the Illinois Supreme Court in 1870 and the United States Supreme Court in 1873, in rulings upholding a separate women's sphere. Bradwell had founded and published Chicago Legal News from 1868, reporting on the law and continued that work. Meanwhile, influenced by her case, in 1872 the Illinois legislature passed a state law prohibiting gender discrimination in admission to any occupation or profession.
Charlotte E. Ray was an American lawyer. She was the first black American female lawyer in the United States. Ray graduated from Howard University School of Law in 1872. She was also the first female admitted to the District of Columbia Bar, and the first woman admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of the District of Columbia. Her admission was used as a precedent by women in other states who sought admission to the bar.
An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are distinct practising certificates.
Betty Reynolds Cobb was an attorney, author, and activist.
The Atlanta Law School was a private, night law school for working professionals and others seeking a legal education. The school's faculty members were practicing lawyers and judges from across the state of Georgia.
Laura de Force Gordon was a California lawyer, newspaper publisher, and a prominent suffragette. She was the first woman to run a daily newspaper in the United States, and the second female lawyer admitted to practice in California.
This is a short timeline of women lawyers in the United States. Much more information on the subject can be found at: List of first women lawyers and judges in the United States
This is a short timeline of women lawyers. Much more information on the subject can be found at: List of first women lawyers and judges by nationality.
Women in law describes the role played by women in the legal profession and related occupations, which includes lawyers, paralegals, prosecutors, judges, legal scholars, law professors and law school deans.
Maud McClure Kelly was an American lawyer, suffragist and historian. She was the first woman to practice law in the state of Alabama and worked for the Alabama Department of Archives and History after her retirement from law.
The History of the American legal profession covers the work, training, and professional activities of lawyers from the colonial era to the present. Lawyers grew increasingly powerful in the colonial era as experts in the English common law, which was adopted by the colonies. By the 21st century, over one million practitioners in the United States held law degrees, and many others served the legal system as justices of the peace, paralegals, marshalls, and other aides.
Susie Blue Buchanan was Mississippi's first female lawyer.
Marion Scudder Griffin was an American lawyer, and the first woman to practice law in Tennessee.
Agnes Jane Westbrook Morrison (1854-1939) was West Virginia’s first female lawyer.
Mary Campbell Johnson was one of the first three females to practice law in Georgia.
Sara Mathilde Soffel was an American lawyer and judge from Pennsylvania. She was Pennsylvania's first woman judge, serving on the Allegheny County Courts from 1930 to 1941 and on the Pennsylvania Common Pleas Court from 1942 to 1962. In 1939, she was the first woman to run for the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania.