Biographies

In 1970, Claire Palley became a Professor of Law at Queen’s University Belfast. When she did so, she was the first woman in the United Kingdom ever to be appointed [...]

© Mitchell Library, Glasgow Madge Easton Anderson was the first woman to be admitted to practise as a professional lawyer in the UK, when she qualified as a solicitor in [...]

Sybil Campbell was the first woman to be appointed to the professional judiciary full-time in Britain, when she became a stipendiary magistrate at Tower Bridge Magistrates' Court in 1945. She [...]

Theodora Llewelyn Davies was the first female applicant to be admitted to the Inner Temple in 1920, and one of the earliest women to be called to the Bar on [...]

Nancy Astor was the first woman to take her seat in the House of Commons, after she was elected MP for Plymouth Sutton in November 1919. Early life An American [...]

Mella Carroll was the first female judge of the High Court in the Republic of Ireland.   Born in 1934 in Dublin, her father Patrick Carroll was a founder [...]

Marjorie Powell is a forgotten name, buried in the history books, but she was, and remains, a very important woman. She was the first female student to join Lincoln’s Inn, [...]

Phar Hmee is remembered for being the first Burmese woman to become a barrister in 1926. Little is left in the records about Phar Hmee’s life. Born in 1902, she [...]

Richard Barr, Law Society Council Member, remembers Mary Smith (1967 - 1979) a trailblazer in legal journalism. My late father David Barr and I (later) wrote for the Law Society [...]

Lord Robert Cecil (born Edgar Algernon Robert Gasgoyne-Cecil), first Viscount of Chelwood, was born in Cavendish Square, London, on 14 September 1864, to the third Marquess of Salisbury, Robert Arthur [...]

With every great development in history, there comes a pioneer who enabled such progress to be made. Statistics from the Solicitors Regulation Authority suggest that in the UK currently, 33% [...]

An exclusive interview with Dorothy Livingston, the original inspiration behind the First 100 Years project. She was the first female partner of what was then Herbert Smith. She was [...]

Charlotte Ray (1850 – 1911) was the first African American female lawyer in the United States. She became the first female admitted to the District of Columbia Bar, and the [...]

Three women changed the course of history in France at the end of the 19th century. Their names are not well-known even though they contributed to women's access to the [...]

One of the first 10 women solicitors in England and Wales, Edith Berthen was also the first woman to qualify in Liverpool and later formed the first all women partnership [...]