List of first women lawyers and judges in Virginia explained

This is a list of the first women lawyer(s) and judge(s) in Virginia. It includes the year in which the women were admitted to practice law (in parentheses). Also included are women who achieved other distinctions such becoming the first in their state to graduate from law school or become a political figure.

Firsts in state history

Law school

• First female law graduates: Elizabeth N. Tompkins and Jane Brown Ranson in 1923^{[1] [2]}

Lawyers

• First female to practice before state's federal court: Belva Ann Lockwood in 1879^{[3] [4] [5]}
• First females licensed: Rebecca Pearl Lovenstein and Carrie M. Gregory (1920)^[6]
• First female to practice before the Virginia Supreme Court: Mildred Callahan in 1923
• First African American female: Lavinia Marian Fleming Poe (1925)^[7]
• First African American female (full-time government attorney): Alda White^[8]
• First African American female (major law firm partner): Jacquelyn Stone in 1994^[9]

State judges

• First female: Mary Kerr Moorehead Harris in 1922^{[10] [11]}
• First female (Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court): Odessa Pittard Bailey in 1944^[12]
• First female (county court): Anna Fancher Hedrick (1930) in 1951^{[13] [14] [15]}
• First female (Virginia Supreme Court): Elizabeth B. Lacy in 1989^{[16] [17] [18]}
• First African American female: Angela Roberts in 1990^{[19] [20]}
• First African American female (First Judicial Circuit): Eileen A. Olds (1982) in 1995^[21]
• First female (Twenty-Fifth Judicial District): Virginia Anita Filson in 2001^[22]
• First Hispanic American (female): Uley Norris Damiani in 2009^[23]
• First African American female (Virginia Supreme Court): Cleo Powell (1982) in 2011^{[24] [25]}
• First female (Chief Justice; Virginia Supreme Court): Cynthia D. Kinser in 2011^[26]
• First Asian American female: Maha-Rebekah Abejuela in 2019^[27]

Federal judges

• First African American female (U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit): Allyson Kay Duncan (1975) in 2003^[28]
• First African American female (U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia): Arenda Wright Allen (1985) in 2011^[29]
• Firs female chief judge (U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Virginia): Rebecca B. Connelly (1963) in 2012^{[30] [31] [32]}
• First female (U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia): Elizabeth K. Dillon (1986) in 2014^[33]
• First African American (female) (U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Virginia): Klinette H. Kindred (1970) in 2017^{[34] [35]}
• First female (U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit): Barbara Milano Keenan (1991)^[36]

• First female: Mary Sue Terry (1973) from 1986-1993^[37]

Deputy Attorney General

• First female: Elizabeth B. Lacy in 1982

Commonwealth's Attorney

• First African American female: Gammiel Poindexter in 1975^[38]

• First female (presidents): Anita Poston and Jeanne Franklin respectively from 2000-2001 and 2001-2002^[39]
• First African American (female): Doris Henderson Causey in 2017^[40]
• First Latino American female: Stephanie E. Grana in 2022^[41]

Firsts in local history

• Eleanor Dobson (1974):^[42] First female judge in Arlington County, Virginia (1982)
• Judith Wheat:^[43] First female to serve as the Chief Judge of the Arlington County Circuit Court (2023)
• Elaine Jones:^[44] First African American female to attend and graduate from the University of Virginia School of Law (1970)
• Reece Hale Robertson:^[45] First female circuit judge in Buchanan County, Virginia (2024)
• Gammiel Poindexter: First African American (female) judge in the Sixth Judicial District (Brunswick County, et al.; 1995)
• Tania M.L. Saylor:^[46] First female of color to serve as a Judge of the Fairfax County Circuity Court (2022)
• Lee Lovett (1947):^{[47] [48]} First female lawyer in Winchester, Virginia, Frederick County, Virginia
• Buta Biberaj:^[49] First (Albanian American, Muslim, and immigrant) female to serve as the Commonwealth’s Attorney for Loudoun County, Virginia (2019)
• Lorrie A. Sinclair Taylor:^[50] First African American (female) judge in Loudoun County, Virginia (2020)
• Stephanie Morales:^[51] First female elected as the Commonwealth's Attorney for Portsmouth, Virginia (2015)
• Janice Wellington:^[52] First female (and African American) judge in Prince William County, Virginia (1990)
• Phoebe Hall:^[53] First female to serve as the Public Defender for Richmond, Virginia
• Rachel Figura:^[54] First female judge for the City of Harrisonburg and Rockingham County, Virginia (2019)
• Kimberly M. Jenkins: First female judge for the 30th Judicial Circuit Juvenile & Domestic Relations Court, from Scott County, Virginia (2019)
• Alda White: First female (and African American female) to serve as the County Attorney for Stafford County, Virginia
• Suzanne Kuzco Fulton: First female to serve as General District Court Judge for Wise County and the 30th Judicial Circuit (1989-2005)

See also

• List of first women lawyers and judges in the United States
• Timeline of women lawyers in the United States
• Women in law

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 Virginia

References

1. Web site: Arthur J. Morris Law Library People Elizabeth N. Tompkins. archives.law.virginia.edu. March 5, 2020.
2. Web site: Making Strides Toward a More Inclusive Bar. 2013. The Bar at Work: 1888-2013.
3. News: Meet the First Woman to Run a Full Presidential Campaign Washingtonian. October 21, 2016. Washingtonian. January 20, 2018. en-US.
4. Book: Norgren, Jill. Belva Lockwood: The Woman who Would be President. March 2007. NYU Press. 978-0-8147-5834-2. en.
5. Book: Burns, Brian. Gilded Age Richmond: Gaiety, Greed & Lost Cause Mania. 2017. Arcadia Publishing. 978-1-62585-851-1. en.
6. Book: Wallenstein, Peter. Blue Laws and Black Codes: Conflict, Courts, and Change in Twentieth-Century Virginia. February 20, 2013. University of Virginia Press. 978-0-8139-2487-8. en.
7. Web site: Lavina Marian Fleming Poe, 1st Black woman lawyer in Virginia, 1925 . J. Clay Smith Selected Photographs . February 16, 2019 . December 15, 2016.
8. Web site: Stafford County, VA. Stafford County, VA. en. February 27, 2020.
9. Web site: February 18, 2021. Richmond law firm's lone female Black attorney made it her mission to change that dynamic. January 24, 2022. WTVR. en.
10. News: Virginia's First Woman Judge Assumes Office. The Washington Times. October 8, 1922. February 27, 2019. 6. 1941-0697.
11. News: Woman Judge is Sworn In By Danville Court. The Washington Times. October 11, 1922. February 27, 2019. 11. 1941-0697.
12. Web site: 2016-06-06 . “To Benefit All, to Exclude None”: Judicial Trailblazers in Virginia . 2024-08-19 . Virginia Appellate Court History . en-US.
13. Book: Acts of the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Virginia. 1994. Commonwealth of Virginia, Division of Purchases and Supply. en.
14. News: 90 Years Later, Arlington Elected Officials Reflect on 19th Amendment. Scott. McCaffrey. insidenova.com. January 9, 2018. en.
15. Web site: Important Women in Loudoun's History. www.connectionnewspapers.com. February 27, 2019.
16. Web site: Kettlewell . Caroline . December 27, 2017 . Women in the Law . July 3, 2019 . VirginiaLiving.com . en-us.
17. Web site: Hardy . Michael . Virginia high court justice says she'll retire . July 3, 2019 . Richmond Times-Dispatch . en.
18. News: Sherwood . Tom . April 7, 1985 . Lacy Breaks Tradition of All-Male SCC in Va. . Washington Post .
19. News: After 26 years, Judge Roberts retiring from juvenile court. February 2, 2018.
20. Web site: Judge Roberts. Richmond Justice. en-US. February 2, 2018.
21. Web site: Judge Eileen A. Olds '82 Inaugurated as President of American Judges Association William & Mary Law School . January 10, 2018 . law.wm.edu.
22. News: Petska [e-mail] . Alicia . Chris Clemens, Tom Roe tapped for Roanoke Valley judgeships . en . Martinsville Bulletin . February 10, 2018.
23. Web site: June 6, 2016. "To Benefit All, to Exclude None": Judicial Trailblazers in Virginia. February 26, 2022. Virginia Appellate Court History. en-US.
24. News: Cleo Powell, Va.'s first black female justice to be sworn in . en-US . WJLA . February 2, 2018.
25. News: October 21, 2011 . Virginia's 1st black female justice sworn in . en . DeseretNews.com . February 2, 2018.
26. Web site: Cooper . Alan . August 31, 2010 . Kinser to be next chief justice . March 5, 2020 . Virginia Lawyers Weekly . en-US.
27. News: Former prosecutor becomes first Asian American woman to be judge in Va.. Jouvenal. Justin. September 28, 2019. The Washington Post.
28. News: July 18, 2016 . Judge Roger Gregory Makes History Again . en-US . The Seattle Medium . January 13, 2018.
29. News: Who's the judge in Va. gay-marriage ban case? A seeker of a 'more perfect' freedom.. Barnes. Robert. February 14, 2014. Washington Post. January 9, 2018. Fahrenthold. David A.. en-US. 0190-8286.
30. Web site: HON. REBECCA CONNELLY . 2023-11-18 . National Bankruptcy Conference . en-US.
31. Web site: Meeker . Taylor . 2019-11-12 . W&L Hosts Chief Judge Rebecca Connelly '88L . 2023-11-18 . The Columns . en.
32. Web site: Rebecca Connelly . 2023-11-18 . Washington and Lee University . en.
33. News: Senate Confirms Elizabeth Dillon to Western District Federal Bench. Mark R. Warner. February 10, 2018. en.
34. Web site: Points of Pride - Virginia State University . February 2, 2018 . www.vsu.edu.
35. Web site: Judicial News . February 2, 2018 . www.olddominionbarassociation.com.
36. News: Longtime Va. Judge Nominated for U.S. Appeals Court Has Been a Trailblazer. Jackman. Tom. The Washington Post. September 15, 2009. February 8, 2018. en-US. 0190-8286.
37. Web site: Library of Virginia - Virginia Women in History 2009. www.lva.virginia.gov. en. November 19, 2018.
38. . McClellan Celebrates 23 Women at Inaugural Women of Excellence Awards . 15 March 2024 .
39. Web site: Female Presidents Of The Virginia Bar Association. www.omagdigital.com. en-US. January 3, 2019.
40. Web site: Doris Causey making VSB history. Bondurant. Jordan. June 26, 2017. Virginia Lawyers Weekly. en-US. January 6, 2019.
41. Web site: Virginia State Bar - News - Stephanie E. Grana of Richmond Sworn-in as VSB President . August 2, 2022 . www.vsb.org.
42. Web site: Eleanor Dobson - Wednesday, September 18th, 2013. www.bakerpostfh.com. en. February 9, 2018.
43. Web site: 2023-07-07 . 'Arlington's Judge Judy,' Hon. Judith Wheat, makes history as first woman Circuit Court Chief Judge ARLnow.com . 2023-07-11 . ARLnow.com Arlington, Va. local news . en.
44. Web site: You Don't Say!: A collection of quotations from some of the University's most celebrated figures, compiled by Fred R. Shapiro, author of The Yale Book of Quotations. . March 15, 2022 . Virginia Magazine . en.
45. Web site: DAVIS . TUCKER . 2024-06-20 . Robertson becomes first female judge in Buchanan Co. history . 2024-08-15 . The Virginia Mountaineer . en.
46. Web site: New Circuit Court Judge Will Receive Official Commission on May 6 News Center . 2022-10-21 . www.fairfaxcounty.gov.
47. Web site: ISJL - Virginia Winchester Encyclopedia. Goldring/Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life. en. February 13, 2018.
48. News: Winchester Star Newspaper Archives, Mar 24, 2007, p. 33. March 24, 2007. NewspaperArchive.com. February 13, 2018. en.
49. Web site: 2023-06-03 . Buta Biberaj: An extraordinary journey from Albania to becoming the first female Commonwealth’s Attorney for Loudoun County in Virginia ILLYRIA . 2023-12-20 . www.illyria.com . en-US.
50. Web site: Loudoun County will soon have its first black judge; General Assembly approves Sinclair Taylor, Snow. Trevor. Baratko. LoudounTimes.com. en. March 6, 2020.
51. Web site: Portsmouth's Stephanie Morales is setting new standards for accountability. November 1, 2017. Medium. January 15, 2019.
52. Web site: General Assembly approves first Latino judge for Prince William. Berti. Daniel. Prince William Times. en. March 14, 2020.
53. Web site: Phoebe Hall, VCU rector and Richmond's first female public defender, dies. Wilson. Patrick. Richmond Times-Dispatch. en. January 9, 2019.
54. Web site: Delea . Pete . New Judge Chosen — Bridgewater Woman To Hear Juvenile, Domestic Relations Cases . March 3, 2019 . Daily News-Record . en.