President's Perspective

Pioneers in the Law: The First 150 Women

By Susan R. Steingass

On Oct. 28, 1998, at the Monona Terrace and Convention Center in Madison, the State Bar of Wisconsin will sponsor an evening celebration as part of Wisconsin's 150th birthday - Pioneers in the Law: The First 150 Women.

The first woman lawyer was admitted to the Wisconsin Bar in 1879 and the 150th was admitted in 1943, a 60-year span in Wisconsin history. Many of these pioneering women are still living; some are still practicing law. Wisconsin is alive with people who knew and practiced law with them. Their stories should make all of us, as lawyers, proud of our tradition and proud of our place in Wisconsin history.

The professional lives of these remarkable women, who lived in times far less commodious than ours, could only have flourished with the support and encouragement of their friends, families, and colleagues. They all remind us of where we have been and where we need to go. The stories of just a few of these lives speak eloquently.

The first woman lawyer, Rhoda Lavinia Goodell, was admitted to the Wisconsin bar in 1879. She was born in New York, moved to Janesville in 1871, and began to study law at the age of 32. She was admitted to the Rock County bar in 1874. At that time, admission to any circuit court bar permitted her to practice in any court except the Wisconsin Supreme Court. However, when she applied for admission to practice in the supreme court in 1876, her petition was denied. Chief Justice Edward G. Ryan described her efforts to practice law as "a departure from the order of nature" and "treason against it." The court denied her petition for her own good, since "Nature has tempered woman as little for the juridical conflict of the court room, as for the physical conflicts of the battle field."

Ms. Goodell had her victory in 1877 when the Wisconsin Legislature, at the urging of her male colleagues at the bar, passed a bill prohibiting denial of admission to the bar on the basis of sex. Ms. Goodell again applied for admission to practice before the supreme court. In 1879 her petition was granted - with Chief Justice Ryan dissenting.

Kate Pier McIntosh and her daughter Kate, came together to the U.W. Law School in 1887 - Mrs. Pier attending with Kate because Madison was no place for a young woman alone. The two were followed soon after by the younger Kate's sisters, Caroline and Harriet. The first two Piers were admitted to practice in 1887; the second two in 1891. They practiced together in Fond du Lac and Milwaukee. The four women of the Pier family made up almost a third of the female graduates of the U.W. Law School before 1919.

Mabel Watson Raimey, admitted to the Wisconsin bar in 1927, is the first African American woman known to have graduated from a Wisconsin law school. She earlier received her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Wisconsin in 1918, where she is thought to have been its first African American woman graduate. She described her grandfather Sully Watson as "the only son of Molly" who was "the daughter of an African chief from New Guinea." Her family obtained their freedom and came to Milwaukee in 1851. They were among the first African Americans to settle in Wisconsin.

In 1911 the American Bar Association barred blacks from membership, a ban not removed until 1943. It is easy to imagine that when Ms. Raimey was admitted to the Wisconsin bar in 1927, there were few enough opportunities for a female lawyer, let alone an African American female lawyer. Thus, she worked as a legal secretary before, during and after graduating from law school, but soon began practicing law in the office of the attorney who hired her. She was dedicated to the advancement of African Americans and served on the Board of the Milwaukee Urban League for 25 years. She only stopped practicing in 1972 after she suffered a stroke. She died in 1986.

There are 147 other stories to tell and they will be told! Some of them will be told by the women themselves as they will be our honored guests, along with their families and friends, at the celebration on Oct. 28. All their stories will be told in a booklet to be released on Oct. 28. Research for this work is being done by volunteers from around the state. Literally hundreds of people - lawyers, friends, colleagues, State Bar staff, history buffs, students, and faculty from the U.W. and Marquette Law Schools, historical societies, and local bar associations - have volunteered to do the research and write the biographies.

We want to take this celebration past Oct. 28. No human lives in a vacuum and we want to chronicle not only these lives, but their place in the history of the legal profession and this state. For this reason, we are producing a historical videotape that will debut on Oct. 28. After its premiere, it will be reproduced and distributed free of charge to schools around the state so that our young people can know of the contributions of these extraordinary lawyers, their families, friends, and colleagues.

Please join us in this celebration. Attend and encourage others to attend. Volunteer to help organize and celebrate. Help sponsor the booklet or the video. Please see the sponsorship form at page 6 of this issue. Or, for more information on how you and your organization can be involved, please contact me or Kaye O'Kearny at the State Bar at (800) 444-9404. Kaye's extension is 6193 and mine is 6182. I also can be reached by email. or (608) 255-6663. And, visit our Web site. See you on Oct. 28!

Wisconsin Lawyer