www.loubar.org 12 Louisville Bar Briefs The Times, They Have Changed Women Lawyers Before World War II For Women’s History Month, last year’s March Bar Briefs recounted some of the stories of pre-WWII women lawyers. The few women who were admitted as lawyers were lucky to acquire a job as a legal secretary. At that time, one woman lawyer was told she could not go to ABA functions. She went anyway. https://www.loubar.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Bar-Briefs_March25_web.pdf. A Shifting Landscape: The Surge of Women in Law In 2026, women lawyers continue to defy expectations. It’s fair to say, the times, “they are a’ changing.” Before the 1970s, less than five percent of lawyers were women. In the 1970s and 1980s, a great surge of women entered the legal profession. I, and many of my friends, were part of that “great surge.” Here are some of our stories. Personal Stories of Women Lawyers One top-tier graduate went looking for a legal job in Louis- ville in 1977, only to be told the firm was hoping to hire their “first woman lawyer.” Although she was a top graduate with substantive work experience, she was asked if there were any women with a higher class-ranking. When she acknowledged there was one woman who ranked higher in their class, the interviewer abruptly terminated the interview. A woman lawyer at a law firm in Louisville was akin to a black swan. There could only be one. This same lawyer persisted and sent her resume to other major Louisville firms. One firm wrote back that they were not hiring. Two weeks later, that same firm posted a notice they were recruiting. When confronted with this inconsis- tency, the firm apologized for their “clerical error” and then proceeded to ask if she was married and had children. She was and did. She was not hired. A Watershed Moment in Legal Education UofL’s law school class of 1977 was a watershed year. “Before we enrolled in 1974 there had never been more than five or six women students. My class had an enroll- ment of 53 women that August of 1974. They didn’t know what to do with us. Many of us were married or single mothers. The one women’s restroom was ridiculously small. The slights to women litigants in the case law was profound.” Alternative Paths and New Opportunities Some women came to the law as a second career, as former legal secretaries. They found their prelaw background es- sential to finding judicial clerkships and in-house positions. “Were it not for my ‘legal’ background before and during law school, I am certain the judicial clerkships and the sub- sequent in-house roles would not have come so easily my way. I witnessed the challenges of so many of my women classmates and other women I knew in the legal field, stellar students, challenged to set their careers in gear.” Experiences in the Field Some came to Louisville after having substantial legal experi- ence elsewhere, only to be treated as an oddity: “I was sent to argue a motion in a rural county. Upon entering the courthouse, I realized I had an audience: the staircase was crowded with clerks and probably local attorneys eager to see the first ‘girl’ attorney make an ap- pearance there.” Another woman lawyer (later a judge and mediator) who moved to Louisville remembers her interview with a large law firm: “I had already passed the California and Kentucky bars. During the awkward interview I was asked what my father did. I answered ‘Why? He isn’t looking for a job.’ And so ended my big firm legal career.” Shifting Careers and Opening Doors Some women eventually entered other careers after judicial clerkships and in-house positions. One such lawyer ex- plained her decision: “I founded an executive search firm in Louisville special- izing in legal and financial executive positions. I recruited many general counsel and staff attorney positions for many Louisville companies and organizations. Most of these companies were keen to have me present women candidates for consideration, and indeed many did hire a woman for these roles during the 1985 to 1995 timeframe of my firm’s existence.” One of her women recruits notes: “I was fortunate to be one of the women recruited! In 1990 I was hired as VP-General Counsel of a large health care company. I will always be grateful to “The Law” and the career opportunities it opened for me!” Progress and Persistent Barriers As a part of the “great surge,” one woman recounted: “I arrived at Georgetown Law School in the mid-1970s, pleased to find approximately half of my classmates were women. In 1979, after graduating magna cum laude and member of the Editorial Staff of Georgetown Law Journal, I had several offers from top law firms in major cities. But upon moving to Louisville, I was told by the major firms here, they either were not hiring or already had ‘their one woman lawyer.’ Luckily for me, a federal district court “WOMEN BELONG IN ALL PLACES WHERE DECISIONS ARE BEING MADE.” – Ruth Bader Ginsberg Public do- main, via Wikimedia Commons “HERE’S TO STRONG WOMEN: MAY WE KNOW THEM. MAY WE BE THEM. MAY WE RAISE THEM.” – Michelle Obama Public domain, via Wikipedia “HOW WONDERFUL IT IS THAT NOBODY NEED WAIT A SINGLE MOMENT BEFORE STARTING TO IMPROVE THE WORLD.” – Anne Frank Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (Continued on next page) Dorothy Chambers
