List of first women lawyers and judges in the United States

Firsts nationwide

Law Degrees

• Ada Kepley : first woman to graduate with a law degree and practice in a court of law in the U.S.
• Charlotte E. Ray : First African American female to earn a law degree in the U.S.
• Claudia L. Gordon : First deaf African American female to earn a law degree in the U.S.

  Lawyers

• Margaret Brent: first woman to act as an attorney in court
• Arabella Mansfield: first woman without a formal legal education admitted to a state bar in the U.S.
• Charlotte E. Ray : First African American female lawyer in the U.S.
• Belva Ann Lockwood : First female lawyer to argue a case before the U.S. Supreme Court
• Lyda Conley : First Native American female lawyer in the U.S. and to argue a case before the U.S. Supreme Court
• Christine la Barraque : First blind female lawyer admitted to practice law in the U.S.
• Helen R. Carloss : First female lawyer to argue cases before a U.S. Court of Appeal
• Elizabeth K. Ohi : First Japanese American female lawyer in the U.S.
• Emma Ping Lum : First Chinese American female lawyer in the U.S.
• Jewel Lafontant : First African American female lawyer to argue a case before the U.S. Supreme Court
• Carin Clauss : First female solicitor for the U.S. Department of Labor
• Vilma Socorro Martínez : First Latino American female lawyer to argue a case before the U.S. Supreme Court
• Claudeen Arthur : First Navajo female licensed as a lawyer in the U.S.
• Arlinda Locklear : First Native American female lawyer to win a U.S. Supreme Court case
• Holly Caudill : First female quadriplegic lawyer per available records in the U.S. and Washington
• Claudia L. Gordon : First deaf African American female lawyer in the U.S.
• Arsima A. Muller : First Marshallese female lawyer in the U.S.
• Maysaa Ouza: First Air Force JAG Corps officer authorized to wear hijab

  Law Clerks

• Lucile Lomen : first woman to serve as a law clerk for a Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court
• Rochelle Lee Shoretz: First Orthodox Jewish female to serve as a law clerk for a Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court
• Kamaile A. Nichols : First female of Native Hawaiian ancestry to serve as a law clerk for a Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court
• Tobi Merritt Edwards Young: First Native American female to serve as a law clerk for a Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court
• Laura Wolk : First blind female to serve as a law clerk for a Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court
• Carmel “Kim” Prashker Ebb: First woman to serve as a law clerk for a Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals
• Doris Gray: First woman to serve as the law clerk for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit

  Judicial Officers

Justices of the Peace

• Esther Hobart Morris: First female judge in the U.S.
• Catherine Waugh McCulloch : First female lawyer elected as a Justice of the Peace in the U.S.

  Judges

• Mary H. Cooper: First female probate judge in the U.S.
• Julia W. Ker : First female police judge in the U.S.
• Florence Ellinwood Allen : First female elected to a judgeship in the U.S.
• Mary O'Toole : First female appointed as a municipal judge in the U.S.
• Jane Bolin : First African American female judge in the U.S.
• Cornelia Groefsema Kennedy and Margaret G. Schaeffer : First sisters to serve simultaneously as judges in the U.S.
• Frances Munoz : First Latino American female judge in the U.S.
• Patricia A. Yim Cowett : First Chinese American female judge in the U.S.
• Mary C. Morgan : First openly gay female judge in the U.S.
• Margaret Treuer : First Native American female to serve as a federal judge in the U.S.
• Lillian Y. Lim : First Filipino American female judge in the U.S.
• Phyllis Frye : First openly transgender judge in the U.S.
• Wendy Duong : First Vietnamese American female judge in the U.S.
• Rena M. Van Tine : First Indian American female judge in the U.S.
• Jeannie Hong : First Korean American female judge in the U.S.
• Pamela Leeming: First known Pakistani American judge in the U.S.
• Sherrie Mikhail Miday : First Egyptian American female elected as a judge in the U.S.
• Rachel Freier : First Hasidic Jewish American female elected as a judge in the U.S.
• Kashoua "Kristy" Yang and Sophia Y. Vuelo : First Hmong American female judges respectively in the U.S.

  State Judgeships

Appellate Court

• Arleigh M. Woods : First African American female appointed as a state appellate court judge

  Supreme Court

• Florence Ellinwood Allen : first woman to serve as a Justice of the Supreme Court in any state
• Lorna E. Lockwood : First female appointed as a Chief Justice of a state supreme court in the U.S.
• Julia Cooper Mack : First African American female appointed to a court of last resort in the U.S.
• Dorothy Comstock Riley: First Hispanic American female appointed as a Justice of the Supreme Court in any state
• Leah Ward Sears First African American female to serve as a Chief Justice in the U.S.
• Virginia Linder : First openly gay woman appointed as a state supreme court justice
• Maite Oronoz Rodríguez : First openly gay female justice appointed as a Chief Justice in the U.S.

  Federal Judgeships

• Kathryn Sellers : First federally appointed female judge in the U.S.
• Constance Baker Motley : First African American female appointed as a federal judge
• Deborah Batts : First openly gay African American female federal judge
• Irma Elsa Gonzalez : First Mexican American female federal judge
• Lorna G. Schofield : First Filipino American female to sit on a federal court in the U.S.
• Cecilia Altonaga : First Cuban American female federal judge in the U.S.
• Dolly M. Gee : First Chinese American female to serve as a federal judge in the U.S.
• Pamela K. Chen : First openly gay Asian American female judge to serve on the federal bench
• Lucy H. Koh : First Korean American female to sit on a federal court in the U.S.
• Cathy Bissoon : First South Asian American female to sit on a federal court in the U.S.
• Diane Humetewa : First Native American female to serve as a federal judge in the U.S.
• Nitza I. Quiñones Alejandro : First openly gay Latino American female appointed to a federal judgeship

  Bankruptcy

• Bernice B. Donald : First African American female to serve as a bankruptcy judge

  District Court

• Burnita Shelton Matthews : First female appointed as a federal district judge
• Carmen Consuelo Cerezo : First Puerto Rican American female appointed as a U.S. district court judge
• Susan Oki Mollway : First Asian American female appointed as a U.S. district court judge

  Magistrate

• Joyce London Alexander : First African American female to be appointed a Chief Magistrate judge in the U.S.

  Circuit Court

• Amalya Lyle Kearse : First African American female appointed as a U.S. circuit court judge
• Kim McLane Wardlaw First Hispanic American female appointed as a U.S. circuit court judge

  Customs Court

• Genevieve R. Cline : First female appointed as a judge of the U.S. Customs Court

  Appellate Court

• Florence Ellinwood Allen : First female appointed as a judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals
• Amalya Lyle Kearse : First African American female to serve as a federal appeals judge in the U.S.
• Kim McLane Wardlaw First Hispanic American female appointed as a federal appeals judge in the U.S.
• Staci Michelle Yandle : First openly LGBT African American female Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
• Jacqueline Nguyen : First Vietnamese American and Asian-Pacific female to serve on a federal appeals court

  Supreme Court

• Sandra Day O'Connor : First female appointed as a Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court
• Ruth Bader Ginsburg : First Jewish female appointed as a Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court
• Sonia Sotomayor : First Hispanic female appointed as a Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court
• Elena Kagan*

  Attorneys General

Federal

• Janet Reno : First female lawyer to become the United States Attorney General
• Loretta Lynch : First African American female appointed as the United States Attorney General

  State

• Anne X. Alpern : First female appointed as an Attorney General in the U.S. and Pennsylvania
• Arlene Violet : First female elected as an Attorney General in the U.S. and Rhode Island
• Patricia A. Madrid : First Mexican American female elected as an Attorney General in the U.S. and New Mexico
• Pamela Carter: First African American female to serve as an Attorney General in the U.S. and Indiana
• Kamala Harris : First Asian American female elected as an Attorney General in the U.S. and California.
• Maura Healey : First openly gay woman to become an Attorney General in the U.S. and Massachusetts

  Deputy Attorney General

Federal

• Carol E. Dinkins : first woman to serve as the Deputy Attorney General of the U.S.

  Assistant Attorneys General

Federal

• Annette Abbott Adams and Mabel Walker Willebrandt : First females to serve as the United States Assistant Attorney General

  State

• Ella Knowles Haskell : first woman to serve as an Assistant Attorney General in the U.S. and Montana
• Helen Elsie Austin : First African American female to serve as an Assistant Attorney General in the U.S. and Ohio

  Solicitor General

Federal

• Barbara Underwood : first woman to serve as the Acting Solicitor General of the United States
• Elena Kagan : First female Solicitor General of the United States. She later became a U.S. Supreme Court Justice.

  Deputy Solicitor General

Federal

• Jewel Lafontant : First female to become the Deputy Solicitor General of the United States

  United States Attorney

• Annette Abbott Adams : first woman to serve as a U.S. Attorney in the U.S. and California
• Virginia Dill McCarty : first woman to serve a full, four-year term as a U.S. Attorney in the U.S. and Indiana
• Jenny Durkan : First openly gay woman to serve as a U.S. Attorney in the U.S. and Washington
• Debra Wong Yang : First Asian American female appointed as the U.S. Attorney in the U.S. and California
• Diane Humetewa : First Native American female to serve as a U.S. Attorney in the U.S. and Arizona

  Assistant United States Attorney

• Annette Abbott Adams : first woman to serve as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the U.S. and California
• Jewel Lafontant : First African American female to serve as an Assistant United States Attorney in the U.S. and Illinois

  Special Assistant U.S. Attorney

• Mary Grace Quackenbos Humiston : first woman to serve as a Special Assistant United States Attorney in the U.S. and the Southern District of New York

  District Attorney

• Edna C. Plummer : first woman to become a district attorney in the U.S. and Nevada
• Bonnie Dumanis : First openly gay woman elected as a district attorney in the U.S. and California

  Deputy District Attorney

• Clara Shortridge Foltz : First female deputy district attorney in the U.S.

  Political Office

• Consuelo N. Bailey : First female Lieutenant Governor of any state
• Shirley Hufstedler : First female to serve as the U.S. Secretary of Education
• Carla Anderson Hills : First female to serve as the U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
• Patricia Roberts Harris : First African American female to serve in the United States Cabinet
• Geraldine Ferraro : First female vice presidential candidate representing a major U.S. political party
• Barbara M. Watson : First African American to serve as the Assistant Secretary of State
• Elizabeth Dole : First female to serve as the U.S. Secretary of Transportation
• Hazel R. O'Leary : First African American female to serve as the U.S. Secretary of Energy
• Hillary Clinton : First female presidential candidate representing a major U.S. political party
• Roberta Achtenberg : First openly LGBT female appointed to a federal position that was confirmed by the U.S. Senate
• Ann Veneman : First female to serve as the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture
• Gale Norton : First female to serve as the U.S. Secretary of the Interior
• Mazie Hirono : First Asian-born female and Buddhist elected to the U.S. Senate
• Janet Napolitano : First female to serve as the U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security
• Kate Brown : First openly bisexual woman elected as a governor in the U.S. and Oregon
• Susana Martinez : First Hispanic American female lawyer to be elected as a governor in the U.S. and New Mexico
• Tammy Baldwin : First openly gay woman to be elected to the U.S. Senate
• Mee Moua : First Hmong American female lawyer to become a Senate member
• Rashida Tlaib : First Muslim and Palestinian-American female to serve in Congress
• Kyrsten Sinema : First openly bisexual woman elected to the U.S. Congress

  First Ladies

• Hillary Clinton : First First Lady of the United States elected to the United States Senate
• Michelle Obama : First African American female to become the First Lady of the United States

  Presidential Candidates

• Belva Ann Lockwood : First female to run as a candidate for the President of the U.S.
• Patsy Mink : First Asian American female to seek the presidential nomination of a major U.S. political party
• Hillary Clinton : First female to become a presidential candidate representing a major U.S. political party

  Bar Associations

Federal

• Gertrude Rush : First female lawyer to co-found a coed national bar association
• Arnette Hubbard: first woman to serve as President of the National Bar Association
• Roberta Cooper Ramo: First female to serve as the President of the American Bar Association
• Paulette Brown : First African American female to serve as the President of the American Bar Association

  State

• Gertrude Rush : First female to lead a coed state bar association
• Carole Bellows: first woman to serve as the president of a voluntary state bar association
• Donna Willard-Jones: first woman to serve as the president of a mandatory/integrated bar association
• Mary Torres: First Latino American female to serve as the president of a state bar association
• Esther H. Lim: First Korean American female to serve as the president of a state bar association

  Firsts in individual states

• List of first women lawyers and judges in Alabama
• List of first women lawyers and judges in Alaska
• List of first women lawyers and judges in Arizona
• List of first women lawyers and judges in Arkansas
• List of first women lawyers and judges in California
• List of first women lawyers and judges in Colorado
• List of first women lawyers and judges in Connecticut
• List of first women lawyers and judges in Delaware
• List of first women lawyers and judges in Florida
• List of first women lawyers and judges in Georgia
• List of first women lawyers and judges in Hawaii
• List of first women lawyers and judges in Idaho
• List of first women lawyers and judges in Illinois
• List of first women lawyers and judges in Indiana
• List of first women lawyers and judges in Iowa
• List of first women lawyers and judges in Kansas
• List of first women lawyers and judges in Kentucky
• List of first women lawyers and judges in Louisiana
• List of first women lawyers and judges in Maine
• List of first women lawyers and judges in Maryland
• List of first women lawyers and judges in Massachusetts
• List of first women lawyers and judges in Michigan
• List of first women lawyers and judges in Minnesota
• List of first women lawyers and judges in Mississippi
• List of first women lawyers and judges in Missouri
• List of first women lawyers and judges in Montana
• List of first women lawyers and judges in Nebraska
• List of first women lawyers and judges in Nevada
• List of first women lawyers and judges in New Hampshire
• List of first women lawyers and judges in New Jersey
• List of first women lawyers and judges in New Mexico
• List of first women lawyers and judges in New York
• List of first women lawyers and judges in North Carolina
• List of first women lawyers and judges in North Dakota
• List of first women lawyers and judges in Ohio
• List of first women lawyers and judges in Oklahoma
• List of first women lawyers and judges in Oregon
• List of first women lawyers and judges in Pennsylvania
• List of first women lawyers and judges in Rhode Island
• List of first women lawyers and judges in South Carolina
• List of first women lawyers and judges in South Dakota
• List of first women lawyers and judges in Tennessee
• List of first women lawyers and judges in Texas
• List of first women lawyers and judges in Utah
• List of first women lawyers and judges in Vermont
• List of first women lawyers and judges in Virginia
• List of first women lawyers and judges in Washington
• List of first women lawyers and judges in West Virginia
• List of first women lawyers and judges in Wisconsin
• List of first women lawyers and judges in Wyoming

  Firsts in Washington, D.C. (Federal District)

• List of first women lawyers and judges in Washington D.C.

  Firsts in the Territories of the U.S.

• List of first women lawyers and judges in the Territories of the U.S.

  Other topics of interest

• List of first minority male lawyers and judges in the United States
• List of African American jurists
• List of Asian American jurists
• List of first women lawyers and judges by nationality
• List of Hispanic/Latino American jurists
• List of Jewish American jurists
• List of Native American jurists