5 Badass Women in Law You Need to Know About

In honor of International Women's Day, we've rounded up a list of 5 inspiring women in law that you need to know about!

Sandra Day O’Connor

"The power I exert on the court depends on the power of my arguments, not my gender."

After her graduation from law school in 1952, at least 40 law firms refused to interview her for a position as an attorney because she was a woman. She eventually found employment as a deputy county attorney in San Mateo, California, after she offered to work for no salary and without an office, sharing space with a secretary (Source). Despite the initial struggles she faced in her career, Sandra went on to become the first woman to be appointed to the Supreme Court in 1989 under Ronald Reagan.

Kamala Harris

"My mother had a saying: 'Kamala, you may be the first to do many things, but make sure you're not the last.'"

Kamala is an Oakland born lawyer who graduated from Howard University and received her JD from UC Hastings. Attorney General Harris began her career in the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office, where she specialized in prosecuting child sexual assault cases. In 1998, she joined the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office, where she led the Career Criminal Unit. She also served as the head of the San Francisco City Attorney’s Division on Children and Families and is currently running for a seat in the 2016 senatorial election! (Source)

Charlotte E Ray

"Charlotte E. Ray was the first African-American female lawyer in the United States. Ray graduated from Howard University School of Law in 1872. She was also the first female admitted to the District of Columbia Bar, and the first woman admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of the District of Columbia. Her admission was used as a precedent by women in other states who sought admission to the bar.

Ray opened her own law office and ran advertisements in a newspaper run by Frederick Douglass. However, she only practiced for a few years because prejudice against African Americans and women made her business unsustainable. Ray eventually moved to New York, where she became a teacher in Brooklyn. She was involved in the women's suffrage movement and joined the National Association of Colored Women." (Source)

Ruth Bader Ginsburg

"My mother told me two things constantly: one was to be a lady and the other was to be independent."

Since graduating from Cornell in 1954 and Harvard Law (at the top of her class) in 1959, Ruth has overcome tons of gender discrimination in her career. In fact, in 1960, despite a strong recommendation from the dean of Harvard Law School, Justice Felix Frankfurter turned down Ginsburg for a clerkship position because of her gender. Nonetheless, Ginsburg began a clerkship for Judge Edmund L. Palmieri of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York later that year (Source). More recently, Ruth was appointed to the Supreme Court by President Bill Clinton in 1993. Since then, she has reached a new level of internet stardom and has been given the nickname of "Notorious RBG."

Brenda Hale

"Troublemaker Brenda Hale was the first woman and the youngest judge to become a law lord, and is currently the only female justice of the UK supreme court. For the past several years, she has campaigned to increase the diversity of the judiciary, worked to overhaul family law, and to protect victims of domestic violence. Moreover, in the 80s she wrote the first comprehensive survey of women's rights at work, in the family and the state, and was instrumental in introducing the Children's Act 1989 – the most important piece of legislation in the UK protecting children." (Source)

For more fun facts about the many "firsts" for women in law, check out this timeline of major milestones from the New York Women's Bar Association!

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