As the current Vice President of the United States of America, Kamala Harris is undoubtedly one of the most famous female lawyers in history, smashing a whole suite of important firsts: the first woman, the first person of color, and the first South Asian American Vice President in American history.
One of the most impressive aspects of the legal profession is its ability to open doors and shatter glass ceilings in a variety of professional capacities. Here are thirteen female attorneys who rose to positions of prominence and power in law, government, and politics. 1. Ruth Bader Ginsburg
1913 - Natividad Almeda-Lopez became the first female lawyer in the Philippines. 1918 - Judge Mary Belle Grossman and Mary Florence Lathrop became the first two female lawyers admitted to the American Bar Association. 1918 - Eva AndĂŠn became the first female lawyer admitted to the Swedish Bar Association.
In 1886, Lettie Burlingame, a stanch suffragette, started an organization at the University of Michigan called The Equity Club. Originally intended solely for female law students and law alumnae, the organization grew, making it the first professional organization for women lawyers.
Charlotte E. Ray was the first-ever female attorney of color in the United States and the first to practice in the Supreme Court of the District of Columbia. In fact, her admission to the District of Columbia Bar was used as a precedent by women in other states to get admission to their statesâ bars.
Eunice Carter was one of New York's first black female lawyers, and one of the first prosecutors of color in the United States. She played an enthusiastic and active role in the United Nations committees to advance the status of women in the world.
Bella AbzugâAKA âBattling Bellaââis one of the most influential female attorneys and womenâs rights activists in history, advocating tirelessly for the rights of people of all genders, races, religions, and sexual orientations. A graduate of Columbia Law School, Bella was an American lawyer, a member of the U.S.
Constance Baker Motley broke so many glass ceilings for women in law that conservatories, greenhouses, and sunrooms around the world set up an official ban on her entering them. Seriously though, Ms.
Ruth Bader Ginsberg is arguably one of the most famous female lawyers in history and for good reason. From graduating at the top of her class at Columbia Law School and returning to teach civil procedure to become the second-ever female lawyer to serve on the United States Supreme Court, Ginsbergâs career is a remarkable and inspiring one.
Gloria Allred is a famous female lawyerâconsidered one of the most influential in the legal profession todayâand a champion for womenâs rights both in and out the courtroom.
As the first Latina and Hispanic Supreme Court Justice appointed to the bench, Sonya Sotomayor has blazed many trails for female lawyers. In 1991, then-President George H. W. Bush nominated her to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. Six years later, she was nominated to the U.S.
Originally intended solely for female law students and law alumnae, the organization grew, making it the first professional organization for women lawyers. Burlingame eventually went into private practice and was regarded as a highly skilled lawyer until her death in 1890.
In 1993, Janet Reno became the first female Attorney General of the United States. She went on to serve for both terms of Bill Clintonâs presidency, making her the longest-serving Attorney General in U.S. history.
Luckily, she became interested in a case that caught her eye and agreed to take it pro bono. Sarah Weddington was only 26 years old when she became the youngest person ever to argue and win a Supreme Court case. You may have heard of the case; the caption was Roe v. Wade.
In addition to her legal prowess, Cline was an early advocate for consumer protection, womenâs rights, and the suffrage movement.
Two years after winning election to the Arizona Court of Appeals, President Reagan appointed her to the United States Supreme Court in 1981, making her the first woman justice to serve on the Supreme Court in its 191-year history. She served for twenty-four years, during which she established herself as one of the most influential voices on the Court until her retirement in 2006.
At issue was the question of whether the right to receive a license to practice law is guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution to all American citizens. Not surprisingly, the answer was no; the Supreme Court held that states could statutorily deny women the right to practice law.
Lemma Barkaloo was the first woman to apply for admission to Columbia University Law School when her application was rejected in 1868. Two other women applied and were also immediately denied entry. George Templeton Strong of Columbia wrote at the time: âApplication from three infatuated young women to the law school.
Ada Kepley. In 1870, Ada Kepley became the first woman in the United States to graduate from law school. However, when she applied for a license, she was informed that Illinois law prohibited women from practicing law.
Janet Napolitano. Another woman with a massively impressive resume, Janet Napolitano may be the most accomplished woman in politics that most people have never heard about. She was the first woman attorney general for the state of Arizona before being elected Governor of Arizona from 2003 to 2009.
Upon her graduation from Yale Law in 1979, she worked as an assistant district attorney in New York for four-and-a-half years before entering private practice in 1984. Sotomayor was nominated to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York by President George H. W. Bush in 1991.
Despite her failure to capture the Oval Office, she served as a United States Senator and Secretary of State, plus eight years as First Lady of the United States during her husbandâs presidency.
Despite partisan political maneuvering in the Senate, she was finally confirmed in 1998. In 2009, President Barack Obama nominated Sotomayor to fill the Supreme Court seat vacated by David Souter. She was confirmed by a vote of 68-31 and has consistently served as one of the most liberal voices on the Court. 5.
She started at Harvard before transferring to Columbia Law School, where she graduated in a tie for first in her class.
She was a writer and published anti-alcohol newspapers that went so far as to name men who frequented saloons. After her husband died in 1906, Kepley fell upon hard financial times. After numerous moves and downsizings, Ada Kepley died in 1925, a poverty-stricken charity case. 12.
2. Ally McBeal â Ally McBeal. Loosely based on the personal traits of his stunning, neurotic wife, Michelle Pfeiffer (well, âallegedlyâ), David Kelley dreamed up one of the most famous and memorable lawyers of all time â the ditzy, quirky, charming, paranoid (hallucinations anyone?) wisp of a woman, Ally McBeal.
Jessica Pearson â Suits. The Managing Partner of big city law firm, Pearson Specter Litt, Pearson sassily sways around the office commanding respect from all who report to her â sheâs a control freak whohas worked hard to build a legal life sheâs proud of and she wonât let anyone stand in her way.
Entering the legal genre with a bang this year was the ruthless Keating (played by charismatic Viola Davis), a âtake no prisonersâ criminal law lecturer and law firm owner who runs a legal class called âHow to Get Away with Murderâ.
Whilst the wildly popular SATC is firmly focused on sex, âRabbitsâ, love and other bedroom dramas, who can forget one its favourite characters, Miranda Hobbes, the hard working, fiery haired lawyer who famously quits her job because of her misogynistic boss.
Quotes: Alicia Florrick: âOh yes, itâs time to kick some ass.â.
Shirley Schmidt â Boston Legal. The founding member of Crane, Poole and Schmidt, Shirley is a formidable lawyer played by the unforgettable veteran, Candice Bergen, a woman who responded to a multitude of allegations by simply claiming âIâm Schmidtâ.