Influential Women in Law
Happy Women’s History Month! In honor of International Women’s Day and the entire month of March being dedicated to Women’s History, we wanted to highlight some important women in law! These are just a few of the numerous influential and important women in the legal field.
Sandra Day O’Connor
As the first female Supreme Court Justice, Sandra Day O’Connor made history when she joined the Supreme Court in 1981. O’Connor served on the Nation’s highest court for 25 years until 2006. According to National Public Radio, O’Connor has said she has felt a special responsibility as the first female justice of the United States Supreme Court.
Ruth Bader Ginsburg
The “Notorious R.B.G” is widely known in pop culture due to her fiery dissents and vigor in fighting against gender discrimination. When O’Connor stepped down from the Supreme Court, R.B.G was the only female justice for three years. After fighting both Colon and Pancreatic Cancer on and off from 1999 while maintaining her position as Associate Justice, Ginsburg, unfortunately, passed on September 18, 2020, at the age of 87. Before becoming a Supreme Court Justice, R.B.G was one of 9 female students in the 500 person class at Harvard Law and the first member of the Harvard Law Review.
Arabella “Belle” Babb Mansfield
Belle Babb Mansfield was the first woman to pass a state bar in the United States in June 1869. According to the American Bar Association, Mansfield passed the Iowa State Bar at the age of 23, despite the Iowa exam law specifically referring to only men. Due to her passing the exam, an Iowa judge ruled that even though the law only mentioned men, women could be admitted as well and Mansfield was admitted to the Bar. In 1870, all gendered language in the Iowa admissions statute was removed due to Mansfield’s admittance to the Iowa Bar.
Myra Bradwell
In 1868, Myra Bradwell launched the Chicago Legal News law journal. A year later, Bradwell passed the Chicago Bar; however, due to being a woman, the Illinois Supreme Court deemed her to be unfit to practice on her own in 1970 and the U.S. Supreme Court ruled similarly in 1973. According to the ABA, Bradwell attempted to use the same argument that Mansfield used in Iowa to prove that she was fit to be a practicing attorney. This argument did not hold in Illinois, and Bradwell was turned away. Despite this, Bradwell continued to be the editor and publisher of the Chicago Legal News, and it took until 1890 until the Illinois Supreme Court allowed her to practice as an attorney.
Alta Hulett
Alta Hulett was the first woman lawyer in Illinois after she was admitted to the Illinois State Bar on June 6, 1873. According to the Illinois Bar Association, Hulett was required to pass the Illinois Bar twice before she was allowed to practice law in Illinois. At age 17, after already passing the Bar Exam for the first time in 1971, Hulett also helped draft Illinois legislature for the nation’s first anti-sex-discrimination law in on March 22, 1872. Hulett also opened her own office in Downtown Chicago before she, unfortunately, passed at age 23.
Clara Foltz
Clara Foltz persuaded the California Legislature to pass her “Woman Lawyer Bill” after much lobbying. According to the ABA, This bill allowed women to practice law in the State of California in 1878. After being admitted as the first female attorney on the West Coast, she practiced and became politically influential as she ran for various political offices and was the chief lobbyist for the prison parole system. Foltz is considered by many to be responsible for the creation of the office of public defender.
At Strellis and Field, we are proud to have numerous experienced female attorneys in our two offices. If you would like to learn more about them and all of our firm click here!
