Woman Lawyers

The rights and roles of women have changed drastically over the last century. In most developed countries, the attitude towards women’s place in society is now no longer that they should stay at home to cook and look after the kitchen, but that they have equal rights to men and are increasingly dominating the workplace.

In the world of law, more and more women are becoming successful and respected lawyers. Some of the best lawyers in the world are women, but this hasn’t always been the case.

In Britain, women weren’t allowed to become lawyers until 1919 when the Sex Disqualification Act was passed. In 1922, the first four women in Britain passed the Law Society examination - Maud Crofts, Carrie Morrison, Mary Pickup and Mary Sykes. By 1931, still only 100 woman lawyers had been admitted. Even in 1967, only 2.7% of qualified lawyers were women. These days nearly 40% of lawyers in Britain are now women.

America was way ahead of Britain in terms of woman lawyers though. The world’s first woman lawyer in the English-speaking world - Arabella Mansfield - was admitted in the state of Iowa in June 1869. Women are an important of the USA’s legal system, with over 25% of the nation’s lawyers being women. This number has almost doubled since 1985. With over 40% of law school students in the USA being female, it is expected that the number of woman lawyers will keep increasing. Despite women being such an important part of the legal system, they are still only paid on average approximately 75% of the average male lawyers salary.

Within the legal profession, women make up 45.34% of associates at large law firms but only 18.74% of partners at large law firms.

Within law schools, the number of women employed has increased dramatically over the years, but is still significantly lower than the number of men. Out of all of the law school deans, only 19.8% of them are women. Women make up 29.3% of all full professors; 46.8% of associate professors; and 53.9% of assistant professors.

Within the judiciary the statistics are even more surprising, with very few women working within the federal judiciary. Women make up 11.1% of the U.S. Supreme Court; 17.4% of U.S. Circuit Court judges; and 16.2% of U.S. District Court judges.

There are many support groups and associations that cater for women working in the legal profession. Womeninlaw.com is one of the popular and respected of these groups. Founded in 2003 in the UK, it has the goal of keeping woman lawyers informed and up-to-date on the latest news. It also provides support to women in law and a community for them to share experiences and knowledge. This is a free to join website.

There are numerous associations to which women lawyers can join. Most major cities have an association just for women including: the Women Lawyers Association of Los Angeles (WLALA); the Women’s Law Association of Ontario (WLAO); and Association of Women Lawyers in Milwaukee.

The largest association that caters to female lawyers is the National Association of Women Lawyers (NAWL). The association aims to advocate for women’s rights in the legal profession around the world. It is a not-for-profit organization, and membership fees start at $45 annually. It is one of the oldest law associations in the world, and was founded back in 1899 long before women were admitted to any bar associations.

Many of the USA, and the world’s, highest paid and most successful and respected lawyers. The Best Lawyers of America’s guide is one of the most prestigious and well-respected guides to the top lawyers in the country. Many female lawyers make it onto the list every year.

On this year’s list one of the top female lawyers that made it was Doreen S. Davis who has been recognized for her legal work in the area of Labor and Employment Law. Davis is a lawyer at the Philadelphia branch of the prestigious Morgan, Lewis & Bockius law firm. She attended university at Pennsylvania State, and completed law school at Temple University before being admitted to the Pennsylvania bar in 1978. She is just one example of many of the fine female lawyers that are working in the legal profession in the USA today.

Although things are not completely equal between men and women in the legal profession, this is definitely changing. Women are fast becoming just as respected and successful in the world of law.