Author on how ‘tremendously radical’ women blazed trails into the legal profession (podcast)

In the 19th century, women battled for equal rights and began to try to enter many professions, including the law. What drove the first women lawyers?

“The critical issue is whether or not they have the personality that makes them ambitious in this tremendously radical and threatening way,” says Jill Norgren, author of the new book Rebels at the Bar: The Fascinating, Forgotten Stories of America’s First Women Lawyers.

In this episode of the Modern Law Library, Norgren discusses some women trailblazers with ABA podcast editor Lee Rawles. They include Clara Foltz, who some credit as being the first to call for public defenders; and Belva Ann Lockwood, the first woman member of the U.S. Supreme Court Bar.

Related photo gallery:

ABAJournal.com: “13 Pioneering Women in American Law”

Listen to the Podcast

In This Podcast:

Lee Rawles
Jill Norgren is Professor Emerita at John Jay College and the University Graduate Center at the City University of New York, where she taught government, law and society, and women’s studies for nearly thirty years. She is the author of several books, including Rebels at the Bar: The Fascinating, Forgotten Stories of America’s First Women Lawyers and Belva Lockwood: The Woman Who Would be President.