List of first women lawyers and judges in North Carolina
This is a list of the first women lawyer and judge in North Carolina. It includes the year in which the women were admitted to practice law. Also included are women who achieved other distinctions such becoming the first in their state to obtain a law degree or become a political figure.
Firsts in state history
Lawyers
- First female to act as an attorney in a North Carolina court
- Tabitha Ann Holton : First female lawyer in North Carolina
- Lillian Exum Clement : First female lawyer without male partners in North Carolina
- Ruth Whitehead Whaley : First African American female lawyer in North Carolina
Law Clerk
- Doris Gray: First female to serve as the law clerk for the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
Judicial Officers
State
Judges
- Mamie Dowd Walker: First female judge in North Carolina
- Elreta Melton Alexander-Ralston : First African American female judge in North Carolina
- Georgia J. Lewis: First Hispanic American judicial officer in North Carolina
- Tanya T. Wallace : First female judge to swear her daughter into judicial office. Her daughter is Judge Chevonne Wallace.
- Sam Hamadani: First Iranian American female judge in North Carolina
- Angelica Chavis McIntyre and Brooke Locklear Clark: First Native American female judges respectively in North Carolina
Superior Court
- Susie Sharp : First female appointed as a Judge of the Superior Court, Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court and Chief Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court
District Court
- Kimberly S. Taylor : First female appointed as a Judge of the Twenty-Second Judicial District in North Carolina
- Ola M. Lewis: First female serve as a Judge of the Thirteenth Judicial District in North Carolina
- Rebecca Eggers-Gryder: First female to serve as a Judge of the Twenty-Fourth Judicial District in North Carolina
Supreme Court
- Susie Sharp : First female appointed as a Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court and Chief Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court
- Patricia Timmons-Goodson: First African American to serve as a Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court
- Cheri Beasley: First African American female to serve as the Chief Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court
Federal
District Court
- Allyson Kay Duncan: First African American to serve as a Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
- Catherine Eagles : First female appointed as a Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina
District Attorneys
- Jean E. Powell: First female to serve as a District Attorney in North Carolina
- Belinda J. Foster: First African American female to serve as a District Attorney in North Carolina
Assistant District Attorney
- Wanda G. Bryant: First African Americna female to serve as an Assistant District Attorney for the Thirteenth Prosecutorial District in North Carolina
Public Defender
- Mary Ann Tally: First female to serve as a Public Defender in North Carolina
Political Office
- Lillian Exum Clement : First female elected to the North Carolina General Assembly
- Elizabeth Dole : First female to serve as a U.S. Senator for North Carolina
- Julia Boseman : First openly LGBT female to serve as a Member of the North Carolina Senate from the Ninth District
Bar Association
- Ann Reed: First female to serve as the President of the North Carolina Bar Association
Firsts in local history
Region
- Margaret Fonvielle Heyward : First female lawyer admitted to the Bar Association in Southeastern North Carolina
Alleghany County
- Beirne Minor Harding: First female District Attorney for the Twenty-Third Judicial District Alleghany County, North Carolina|.
Ashe County
- Beirne Minor Harding: First female District Attorney for the Twenty-Third Judicial District Alleghany County, North Carolina|.
Avery County
- Rebecca Eggers-Gryder: First female to serve as a Judge of the Twenty-Fourth Judicial District in North Carolina
Bladen County
- Tami Mancos: First female magistrate in Bladen County, North Carolina
Brunswick County
- Tamika Jenkins : First African American female lawyer in Leland, North Carolina
Buncombe County
- Lillian Exum Clement: First female lawyer in Buncombe County, North Carolina
Cabarrus County
- Juanita Boger-Allen: First African American female district judge in Cabarrus County, North Carolina
Caswell County
- Belinda J. Foster: First African American female to serve as the District Attorney of Caswell and Rockingham Counties, North Carolina
Cherokee County
- Ashley Welch: First female District Attorney for the Thirtieth Judicial District in North Carolina
Clay County
- Ashley Welch: First female District Attorney for the Thirtieth Judicial District in North Carolina
Cumberland County
- Beth Keever: First female judge in Cumberland County, North Carolina
- Mary Ann Tally: First female to serve as the Public Defender for Cumberland County, North Carolina
Durham County
- Karen Bethea-Shields: First female judge in Durham County, North Carolina
Graham County
- Ashley Welch: First female District Attorney for the Thirtieth Judicial District in North Carolina
Guilford County
- Avery Crump: First female to serve as the District Attorney for Guilford County, North Carolina
- Teresa Vincent: First African American to serve as the Chief Judge of the Guilford County District Court, North Carolina
Haywood County
- Ashley Welch: First female District Attorney for the Thirtieth Judicial District in North Carolina
Henderson County
- Carolyn Burnette Ingram: First woman to practice law in Henderson County, North Carolina
Hoke County
- Jean E. Powell: First female to serve as the District Attorney for Hoke and Scotland Counties, North Carolina
Jackson County
- Ashley Welch: First female District Attorney for the Thirtieth Judicial District in North Carolina
Macon County
- Ashley Welch: First female District Attorney for the Thirtieth Judicial District in North Carolina
Madison County
- Rebecca Eggers-Gryder: First female to serve as a Judge of the Twenty-Fourth Judicial District in North Carolina
Mecklenburg County
- Julia Alexander: First female lawyer in Charlotte, North Carolina
- Kathy Thompson: First female to serve as the President of the Mecklenburg County Bar Association, North Carolina
- Nell Lott: First African American female to serve as the President of the Mecklenburg County Bar Association, North Carolina
Mitchell County
- Rebecca Eggers-Gryder: First female to serve as a Judge of the Twenty-Fourth Judicial District in North Carolina
Pitts County
- Wendy Hazelton: First African American judge in Pitts County, North Carolina
Rockingham County
- Belinda J. Foster: First African American female to serve as the District Attorney of Caswell and Rockingham Counties, North Carolina
- Erica Standfield Brandon: First African American female judge in Rockingham County, North Carolina
Rowan County
- Brandy Cook: First female District Attorney for Rowan County, North Carolina
Scotland County
- Jean E. Powell: First female to serve as the District Attorney for Hoke and Scotland Counties, North Carolina
Swain County
- Ashley Welch: First female District Attorney for the Thirtieth Judicial District in North Carolina
Wake County
- Lorrin Freeman: First female District Attorney for Wake County, North Carolina
Watauga County
- Rebecca Eggers-Gryder: First female to serve as a Judge of the Twenty-Fourth Judicial District in North Carolina
Wilkes County
- Mary Louise Canter: First female magistrate in Wilkes County, North Carolina
- Beirne Minor Harding: First female District Attorney for the Twenty-Third Judicial District Alleghany County, North Carolina|
Yadkin County
- Beirne Minor Harding: First female District Attorney for the Twenty-Third Judicial District Alleghany County, North Carolina|. She was also the first female to practice law in Yadkin County, North Carolina.
Yancey County
- Rebecca Eggers-Gryder: First female to serve as a Judge of the Twenty-Fourth Judicial District in North Carolina
Other topics of interest
- List of first minority male lawyers and judges in the United States
- List of first minority male lawyers and judges in North Carolina