Timeline of women lawyers in the United States

This is a timeline of women lawyers in the United States.

• 1869 - Arabella Mansfield became the first female lawyer in the United States when she was admitted to the Iowa bar.^[1]
• 1870 - Ada Kepley became the first woman to graduate from law school in the United States; she graduated from Chicago University Law School, predecessor to Union College of Law, later known as Northwestern University School of Law.^[2]
• 1872 - Charlotte E. Ray became the first African-American female lawyer in the United States.^[3]
• 1879 - Belva Lockwood became the first woman to argue before the United States Supreme Court.^[4]
• 1899 - The National Association of Women Lawyers, originally called the Women Lawyers' Club, was founded by a group of 18 women lawyers in New York City.^[3]
• 1918 - Judge Mary Belle Grossman and Mary Florence Lathrop became the first two female lawyers admitted to the American Bar Association.^[3]
• 1922 - Florence E. Allen became the first woman ever elected to a state supreme court (specifically, the Ohio Supreme Court).^[5]
• 1922 - Florence King became the first woman to argue a patent case before the U.S. Supreme Court.^[6]
• 1923 - Florence King became the first woman to win a case before the U.S. Supreme Court in 1923 (Crown v. Nye).^[6]
• 1928 - Genevieve Cline won U.S. Senate confirmation on May 25, 1928 as a judge of the United States Customs Court (now known as the Court of International Trade), received her commission on May 26, 1928, and took her oath of office in the Cleveland Federal Building on June 5, 1928,^[7] thus becoming the first American woman ever appointed to the federal bench.^[8]
• 1965 - Lorna E. Lockwood became the first woman chief justice of any state (specifically, she was chief justice of Arizona).^[9]
• 1970 - Doris Brin Walker became the first female president of the National Lawyers Guild.^[10]
• 1981 - Sandra Day O'Connor became the first woman to serve as a justice on the United States Supreme Court.^[11]
• 1981 - Arnette Hubbard became the first female president of the National Bar Association.^[12][13]
• 1988 - Juanita Kidd Stout was appointed to the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, thus becoming the first African-American woman to serve on a state's highest court.^[3]
• 1995 - Roberta Cooper Ramo became the first female president of the American Bar Association.^[14]
• 2008 - Roberta Cooper Ramo became the first female president of the American Law Institute.^[14]

References

1. Martha C. Nussbaum (24 January 2012). Philosophical Interventions: Reviews 1986-2011. Oxford University Press. pp. 400–. ISBN 978-0-19-977785-3.
2. "First Women Lawyers | Women's Bar Association Of Illinois". Wbaillinois.org. Retrieved 2015-05-16.
3. "History". NAWL. 1923-08-28. Retrieved 2015-05-16.
4. "20,000 Women Strike for Worker's Rights / Women 's Leadership in America History". .cuny.edu. Retrieved 2015-05-16.
5. google. "Judge Florence Allen: First female justice of a state supreme court - Star Beacon: Home". Star Beacon. Retrieved 2015-05-16.
6. "Biographical Search | Women's Legal History". Wlh.law.stanford.edu. Retrieved 2015-03-22.
7. William Ganson Rose, Cleveland: the Making of a City, 1990: Kent State Univ. Press, p. 854 (ISBN 0873384288)
8. Jo Freeman, A Room at a Time: How Women Entered Party Politics, 2002: Rowman and Littlefield, p. 216 (ISBN 084769805X)
9. Zachary Alden Smith (1 January 2002). Politics and Public Policy in Arizona. Greenwood Publishing Group. pp. 129–. ISBN 978-0-275-97118-2.
10. Colin Wark; John F. Galliher (23 April 2015). Progressive Lawyers under Siege: Moral Panic during the McCarthy Years. Lexington Books. pp. 31–. ISBN 978-0-7391-9561-1.
11. "Sandra Day O'Connor Institute | Sandra Day O'Connor Biography". Oconnorhouse.org. 1930-03-26. Retrieved 2015-05-16.
12. "First woman president of National Bar Association installed | African American Registry". Aaregistry.org. 1981-07-31. Retrieved 2015-05-12.
13. Fred D. Gray (2002). Bus Ride to Justice: Changing the System by the System : the Life and Works of Fred D. Gray, Preacher, Attorney, Politician. NewSouth Books. pp. 308–. ISBN 978-1-58838-113-2.
14. "Law School Commencement - Featured Events - Lewis & Clark". Lclark.edu. 2010-05-29. Retrieved 2015-05-16.