Women’s History Month: Important Women in Law
April is Women’s History Month and we at Malloy Law would not miss this opportunity to pay respects to all our women colleagues. Our own firm is proof that women can thrive and inspire in the legal profession, from our attorneys, Laritta Oligie and Natalie Hinders, to our case managers, paralegals, marketing professionals, and other support staff that keep Malloy Law in the elite tier of firms in DC’s highly competitive legal industry. The impact of women in law extends far beyond the realm of practicing attorneys. Women are judges, congresspeople, district attorneys, and legal professors and scholars at elite institutions worldwide. But this was not always the case. As in many other fields of human endeavor, women have had to change norms and overcome barriers to win their place at the table. For this week’s Malloy Law blog post, we’ll celebrate some notable women in law.
Notable Women in Law: Who Was the First American Woman Lawyer?
Tracking down the “first” American woman lawyer is a more complex task than you may think. Indeed, the history of American women in law mirrors the history of America in general.
Margaret Brent
In the 1600s, when law was highly localized and based primarily on colonial charters, we find Maryland’s own Margaret Brent, widely recognized as the first American woman to speak before a court of the common law. While she is today recognized as a founding mother of the state and Maryland’s first female landowner, it would perhaps be a stretch to name her as America’s first female lawyer, given the lack of a formal bar and an American legal system as we know it. Still, her contributions should be acknowledged.
Arabella Mansfield
The first American woman to be formally admitted to the state bar, Iowa’s Arabella Mansfield took and passed the state bar exam in 1869 despite a formal ban on women and minorities taking the exam. Her excellent scores gave her leverage for a court challenge of the law, prompting Iowa to open the legal profession to women and minorities. Despite her admission to the bar, Mansfield’s career would reach its greatest heights as an administrator and educator. She would become deeply enmeshed with the women’s suffrage movement and serve as an advisor and confidant to Susan B. Anthony.
Ada Kepley
A graduate of Chicago University law school in 1870, Ada Kepley was the first woman to graduate from an American law school. Kepley can be thought of as a fellow traveler to Arabella Mansfield. Despite eventually gaining admission to the bar in 1881, Kepley never practiced, instead lending her drive and talent to the women’s suffrage and temperance movements.
Charlotte E. Ray
To bring it back home to the DMV, we can tip our caps to Charlotte E. Ray. Ray can lay claim to a number of superlatives, America’s first black female lawyer. The first woman admitted to the bar in Washington DC, as well as the first woman admitted to practice before the DC Supreme Court. Crucially, and in contrast to several other women on this list, Ray opened her own law office, advertising in a newspaper run by Frederick Douglass. Despite a relatively short run in District courtrooms, owing to the prejudices of the day, Ray’s story would become a model for other women seeking to break barriers in the legal profession. She also involved herself in the Women’s Suffrage movement and the struggle for black rights.
Notable Women in Law: Sandra Day O’Connor – America’s First Woman Justice of the Supreme Court
In 1981, President Ronald Reagan nominated, and congress voted to confirm, Arizona’s Sandra Day O’Connor as the first female justice of the Supreme Court. Formerly a state judge, and legislator in Arizona, where she also became the first woman to serve as the Majority Leader of the Arizona State Senate, O’Connor would sit on the nation’s highest court until 2006.
Notable Women in Law: Other Supreme Court Justices
- Ruth Bader Ginsburg (1993–2020): Nominated by Clinton; gained broad popular appeal for her advocacy for gender equality.
- Sonia Sotomayor (2009–present): Nominated by Obama; the first Latina to serve on the Court.
- Elena Kagan (2010–present): Nominated by Obama.
- Amy Coney Barrett (2020–present): Nominated by Trump.
- Ketanji Brown Jackson (2022–present): Nominated by Biden; the first Black woman to serve on the Court.
How Malloy Law Can Help
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