NAWL was founded in 1899 and was the first nationwide association of women lawyers in the United States. Throughout its existence NAWL has been an advocate for women’s legal rights. In 1912 NAWL campaigned for women’s voting rights during the women’s suffrage movement. Six years later, NAWL began an initiative to achieve for women the right to serve on juries. More recently through the Women Lawyers Journal, NAWL’s quarterly magazine, NAWL has spread awareness on topics including domestic violence, gender bias, and sexual harassment in the workplace. Today NAWL continues to be a strong supporter of women’s rights and is proud to direct the NAWL Mentor Program.
| 1869 |
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Arabella Babb Mansfield became the first American woman lawyer admitted to the (Iowa) bar. |
| 1872 |
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Charlotte E. Ray became the first African-American woman lawyer admitted to the (District of Columbia) bar. |
| 1879 |
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Belva A. Lockwood became the first woman lawyer admitted to the bar of the U.S. Supreme Court. |
| 1899 |
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The Women Lawyers' Club was founded. It was the first nationwide association of women lawyers in the United States and was formed by a group of 18 women lawyers in New York City. Rosalie Loew became the first president. In 1923, the club became the "National Association of Women Lawyers." |
| 1918 |
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Judge Mary Belle Grossman and Mary Florence Lathrop became the first two women lawyers admitted to the American Bar Association. |
| 1934 |
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NAWL member Florence E. Allen of Ohio became the nation's first woman federal judge and highest-ranking woman jurist when President Roosevelt appointed her to the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. |
| 1943 |
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Marguerite Rawalt became the first NAWL delegate in the ABA House of Delegates. |
| 1957 |
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NAWL President Grace B. Doering became the first woman elected to the ABA Assembly. |
| 1961 |
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Sarah T. Hughes became the first woman judge on the United States District Court. She also became the first woman judge to administer the oath of office to a President when, immediately following Kennedy's assassination, she was called to President Johnson's airplane in Dallas. |
| 1965 |
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NAWL member Lorna E. Lockwood became the first woman to become chief justice of any state. |
| 1981 |
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Sandra Day O'Connor became the first woman to serve as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. |
| 1983 |
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Mahala Ashley Dickerson became the first African-American president of NAWL. |
| 1995 |
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Roberta Cooper Ramo became the first woman president of the ABA. |
| 1997 |
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NAWL member Martha W. Barnett became the first recipient of NAWL's highest honor, the Arabella Babb Mansfield Award. |
| 2006 |
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NAWL published its first National Survey on Retention and Promotion of Women in Law Firms. |
| 2008 |
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NAWL created the NAWL Foundation, a 501 (c) (3) organization to promote research. |