NAWL History
FIRST ANNUAL SESSION OF THE WOMEN LAWYERS' ASSOCIATION - AUGUST 28, 1923
Seated to the right of Chief Justice, former President, WIlliam Howard Taft, is Emilie Bullowa, President of NAWL 1923-24,
as well as Judge Mary O'Toole of Washington, D.C., Customs Court Judge Genevieve Cline, N.Y. and Phoebe Munnecke of Michigan.
Timeline of Important Events
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1869 |
Arabella Babb Mansfield became the first American woman lawyer admitted to the bar. |
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1872 |
Charlotte E. Ray became the first African-American woman lawyer admitted to the bar. NAWL Member, Simone Wilson-Brito wrote and provided a feature on Charlotte E. Ray's legacy for 2021 Black History Month. The feature can be found here. |
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1879 |
Belva A. Lockwood became the first woman lawyer admitted to the bar of the U.S. Supreme Court. |
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1899 |
The Women Lawyers' Club was founded by a group of 18 women lawyers in New York City. |
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1911 |
The first issue of the Women Lawyers Journal was published (pdf). It cost 15¢ per issue and had 25 subscribers. |
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1914 |
Membership in the Women Lawyers' Club grew to 170, with representation from 25 states. |
NAWL Suffragettes |
Long before women could vote, they became attorneys.™
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1915 |
Women's suffrage became the first major project undertaken by the Club. Three time NAWL President, Olive Stott Gabriel, argued for women's voting rights across the county. |
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1918 |
Judge Mary Belle Grossman and Mary Florence Lathrop became the first two women lawyers admitted to the American Bar Association. |
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1919 |
Congress passed the 19th Amendment and the Women Lawyers' Club membership mobilized to work for ratification by the states. |
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During the first four decades of the Club (and later, the Association) worked consistently on social legislation - including child labor laws, minimum wage, divorce and marriage laws, the right for a woman to keep her name after marriage, and the right for women to serve on juries. |
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1923 |
Due to increasing nationwide membership, the Women Lawyers' Club became the National Association of Women Lawyers. |
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NAWL held its first national convention in Minneapolis with Chief Justice William Howard Taft. |
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1934 |
NAWL member Florence E. Allen of Ohio was appointed to the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit by President Roosevelt and she became the nation's first woman federal judge and the highest-ranking woman jurist. |
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1935 |
NAWL was one of the first national organizations to endorse the proposed Equal Rights Amendment, first introduced to Congress in 1922. The ERA becomes an ongoing high priority for the Association over the next several decades. |
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1943 |
NAWL became an Affiliated Organization of the American Bar Association. |
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NAWL led the creation of opportunities for women to serve in the military. More than 150 NAWL members were serving in the WACS, WAVES, and the Marine Corps Women's Reserve. |
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1945 |
NAWL became an official NGO Observer of the newly-founded United Nations. |
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1949 |
The National Association of Women Lawyers celebrated its 50th Anniversary in St. Louis. |
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1952 |
NAWL drafted the Uniform Divorce Bill, calling it "the greatest project NAWL has ever undertaken." |
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1954 |
The first NAWL office was established in the new ABA Center in Chicago. |
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1961 |
NAWL past president, Marguerite Rawalt, was appointed by President Kennedy to the President's Commission on the Status of Women. |
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"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, |
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1965 |
NAWL member Lorna E. Lockwood became the first woman chief justice of any state. |
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1972 |
Congress passed the Equal Rights Amendment. The ratification of the amendment by the states became NAWL's major project for the rest of the decade. In 1972, Yvonne Brathwaite Burke became the first African American woman from California to win a House seat. NAWL Member, Vicky McPherson wrote a feature on Burke's legacy for Black History Month in 2021. |
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1974 |
The Women Lawyers Journal carried a comprehensive review of the need for the Equal Rights Amendment written by Ruth Bader Ginsberg, the first tenured woman law professor at Columbia University. |
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1981 |
Sandra Day O'Connor became the first woman to serve as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. |
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1983 |
Mahala Ashley Dickerson became the first African-American president of NAWL. In 1983, Hon. Juanita Kidd Stout spoke at NAWL's Regional Meeting in Anchorage, Alaska. You can find her speech here.
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1985 |
NAWL began granting membership to male applicants. |
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1988 |
NAWL member, Juanita Kidd Stout, was appointed to the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, becoming the first African-American woman to serve on a state's highest court. |
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1989 |
The NAWL assembly endorsed the U.N. Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). |
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1995 |
Roberta Cooper Ramo was elected the first woman president of the American Bar Association. |
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1997 |
NAWL member, Martha W. Barnett, became the first recipient of NAWL's highest honor, the Arabella Babb Mansfield Award. |
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1999 |
NAWL celebrated its Centennial Anniversary. |
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2000 |
The first Directory of Women Lawyers and Women Owned Law Firms was published. |
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Sonia Sotomayor received the Arabella Babb Mansfield Award. |
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2005 |
NAWL's first Annual General Counsel Institute was held in New York City. |
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2006 |
NAWL published the first National Survey on the Retention and Promotion of Women in the Law. |
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2008 |
NAWL published the Summit Report Actions for Advancing Women into Law Firm Leadership. |
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2009 |
NAWL's independent Supreme Court Committee recommended the confirmation of Elena Kagan as Associate Justice to the Supreme Court. |
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2010 |
NAWL holds regional meetings on the status of the Summit Report Actions for Advancing Women into Law Firm Leadership. |
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2014 |
NAWL introduces the NAWL Challenge Club |
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2016 |
NAWL issues its one-third by 2020 Challenge to the profession. |
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Information gathered from NAWL's archives and the writings of Mary Zimmerman and Selma Moidel Smith
NAWL Presidents
Year of NAWL Presidency | Name | Location |
1899 - 1911 |
Rosalie Loew |
New York, NY |
1911 - 1913 |
Marion Weston Cottle |
New York, NY |
1913 - 1914 |
Edith Julia Griswold |
New York, NY |
1914 - 1915 |
Jean H. Norris |
New York, NY |
1915 - 1917 |
Olive Stott Gabriel |
New York, NY |
1917 - 1918 |
Sarah Stephenson |
New York, NY |
1918 - 1920 |
Jean H. Norris |
New York, NY |
1920 - 1924 |
Emilie M. Bullowa |
New York, NY |
1925 - 1927 |
Rose Falls Bres |
Brooklyn, NY |
1927 -1930 |
Katharine R. Pike |
Washington, D.C. |
1930 - 1934 |
Olive Stott Gabriel |
New York, NY |
1934 - 1935 |
Burnita Shelton Matthews |
Washington, D.C. |
1935 - 1938 |
Percilla Lawyer Randolph |
Los Angeles, CA |
1938 - 1939 |
Laura M. Berrien |
Washington, D.C. |
1939 - 1940 |
Helen M. Cirese |
Chicago, IL |
1940 - 1941 |
Florence Thacker Bradley |
Indianapolis, IN |
1941 - 1942 |
Gertrude Harris |
Atlanta, GA |
1942 - 1943 |
Marguerite Rawalt |
Corpus Christi, TX |
1943 - 1944 |
Daphne Robert Leeds |
Washington, D.C. |
1944 - 1945 |
Lula E. Bachman |
Michigan |
1945 - 1946 |
Laura Miller Derry |
Louisville, KY |
1946 - 1947 |
Adele I. Springer |
Brooklyn, NY |
1947 - 1949 |
Charlotte E. Gauer |
Chicago, IL |
1949 - 1950 |
Eleanor March Moody |
Boston, MA |
1950 - 1951 |
J. Helen Slough |
Cleveland, OH |
1951 - 1952 |
Mary H. Zimmerman |
Michigan |
1952 -1954 |
Dorothea K. Blender |
Chicago, IL |
1954 - 1955 |
Diana J. Auger |
Boston, MA |
1955 - 1956 |
Victoria V. Gilbert |
Arkansas |
1956 - 1957 |
Neva B. Talley |
Little Rock, AR |
1957 - 1958 |
Grace B. Doering |
Cleveland, OH |
1958 - 1959 |
Nina Miglionico |
Birmingham, AL |
1959 - 1960 |
Maurine H. Abernathy |
Washington, D.C. |
1960 - 1961 |
Rebecca Bowles Hawkins |
Birmingham, AL |
1961 - 1962 |
Anna O. Blum |
Monroe, WI |
1962 - 1963 |
Dorothy M. Orsini Jones |
Little Rock, AR |
1963 - 1964 |
Catherine Anagnost |
Chicago, IL |
1964 - 1965 |
Catherine Edmondson |
Clarksville, TN |
1965 - 1966 |
Mattie Belle Davis |
Florida |
1966 - 1967 |
Mary Louise DeMarco McLeod |
Michigan |
1967 - 1968 |
Grace D. Cox |
New York, NY |
1968 - 1969 |
Ruth Gentry Talley |
Louisiana |
1969 - 1970 |
Jettie Pierce Selvig |
San Francisco, CA |
1970 - 1971 |
Adele T. Weaver |
Miami Beach, FL |
1971 - 1972 |
Jean McVeety |
Minneapolis, MN |
1972 - 1973 |
NettaBell Girard Larson |
Wyoming |
1973 - 1974 |
Helen Viney Porter |
Northbrook, IL |
1974 - 1975 |
Marjorie M. Childs |
San Francisco, CA |
1975 - 1976 |
Kathleen Ryan Dacey |
Boston, MA |
1976 - 1977 |
Lee Berger Anderson |
North Chevy Chase, MD |
1977 - 1978 |
Mary Alice Duffy |
Philadelphia, PA |
1978 - 1979 |
Miriam G. Newman |
New York, NY |
1979 - 1980 |
Sheila Gallagher |
Anchorage, AK |
1980 - 1981 |
Ann W. Lake |
Boston, MA |
1981 - 1982 |
Meredith P. Sparks |
Coral Gables, FL |
1982 - 1983 |
Claire E. Morrison |
Detroit, MI |
1983 - 1984 |
Mahala Ashley Dickerson |
Anchorage, AK |
1984 - 1985 |
Mary Jo Cusack |
Columbus, OH |
1985 - 1986 |
Virginia S. Mueller |
Sacremento, CA |
1986 - 1987 |
Irene Redstone |
Miami, FL |
1987 - 1988 |
Sylvia Marks-Barnett |
Oklahoma City, OK |
1988 - 1989 |
Leona Beane |
New York, NY |
1989 - 1990 |
Gail McKnight Beckman |
Atlanta, GA |
1990 - 1991 |
Jeanne Schubert Barnum |
Cherry Hill, NJ |
1991 - 1992 |
Janis L. Blough |
Lansing, MI |
1992 - 1993 |
Veronica C. Boda |
Brigantine, NJ |
1993 - 1994 |
Faith F. Driscoll |
Dedham, MA |
1994 - 1996 |
Myrna S. Raeder |
Los Angeles, CA |
1996 - 1997 |
Sally Lee Foley |
Bloomfield Hills, MI |
1997 - 1998 |
Janice L. Sperow |
San Diego, CA |
1998 - 1999 |
Susan Fox Gills |
Chicago, IL |
1999 - 2000 |
Katherine J. Henry |
Washington, D.C. |
2000 - 2001 |
Gail Sasnett-Stauffer |
Gainesville, FL |
2001 - 2002 |
Elizabeth K. Bransdorfer |
Grand Rapids, MI |
2002 - 2003 |
Ellen A. Pansky |
South Pasadena, CA |
2003 - 2004 |
Zoe Sanders Nettles |
Columbia, SC |
2004 - 2005 |
Stephanie Scharf |
Chicago, IL |
2005 - 2006 |
Lorraine K. Koc |
Philadelphia, PA |
2006 - 2007 |
Cathy Fleming |
New York, NY |
2007 - 2008 |
Holly English |
Roseland, NJ |
2008 - 2009 |
Lisa Horowitz |
Washington, D.C. |
2009 - 2010 |
Lisa Gilford |
Los Angeles, CA |
2010 - 2011 |
Dorian Denburg |
Atlanta, GA |
2011 - 2012 |
Heather C. Giordanella |
Philadelphia, PA |
2012 - 2013 |
Beth L. Kaufman |
New York, NY |
2013 - 2014 |
Deborah S. Froling |
Washington, D.C. |
2014 - 2015 |
Lisa M. Passante |
Philadelphia, PA |
2015 - 2016 |
Marsha L. Anastasia |
Stamford, CT |
2016 - 2017 |
Leslie Richards-Yellen |
Chicago, IL / New York, NY |
2017 - 2018 |
Angela Beranek Brandt |
St. Paul, MN |
2018 - 2019 |
Sarretta C. McDonough |
Los Angeles, CA |
2019 - 2020 |
Kristin D. Sostowski |
Newark, NJ |
2020 - 2021 |
Karen S. Morris |
San Antonio, TX |