Lawyer Monthly - Women In Law Special Edition

1918 UK Parliament passed Representation of the People Act granting women over 30, who were householders, wives of householders, occupiers of property and graduates, to vote. 1919 Sex Discrimination Act passed. This allowed women to enter the legal sector, to receive their degrees and allowed them to act on juries and as magistrates. Nancy Astor became the first woman to take a seat in the House of Commons after being elected as MP. After the Sex Discrimination Act 1919 was passed, Ada Jane Summers became the first female to sit as a magistrate. 1920 A major landmark saw the 19th amendment of the US constitution stating women had the right to vote. Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, and Lucy Stone were important figures in the women’s rights movement. 1922 Ivy Williams was the first woman to be called to the English bar. Florence E. Allen became the first woman ever elected to a state supreme court (specifically, the Ohio Supreme Court). Helena Normanton became the first female barrister to practice in England. 1923 Florence King became the first woman to win a case before the US Supreme Court in 1923 (Crown v. Nye). 1965 The first female to be appointed as High Court judge in he UK was Elizabeth Lane . She is also responsible for introducing ‘Your Ladyship’ into legal discourse. 1969 Moya Quinlan was elected the first Lady Council member of the Law Society. 1971 Barring women from practising law was prohibited in the US.