On these shoulders we stand

Centenary

On these shoulders we stand

On 6 and 7 November 1922, 100 years ago this month, Maud Crofts, Carrie Morrison, Mary Pickup and Mary Sykes made history as the first women to sit The Law Society’s final examination, the final stage in their journey to become the first women to qualify as solicitors in England and Wales. Later the same month, on 17 November 1922, ten women were called to the Bar of England and Wales and were some of the first women to practise as barristers in England and Wales. (The centenaries for Scotland and Northern Ireland are slightly different - see insert box). LegalWomen asked Katie Broomfield and Elizabeth Cruickshank to reflect on this centenary, the obstacles faced, and progress made, by women since the historic moment they were first admitted to practise as members of the legal profession. First, Katie Broomfield, as a barrister herself, concentrates on the first women barristers.

First Women Barristers

The call of ten women to the Bar of England and Wales on 17 November 1922 was widely reported in the press, with high hopes expressed for the women’s prospects. Their admission to the profession was made possible by the passing of the Sex Disqualification (Removal) Act, which removed all legal barriers to women, including married women, working as lawyers. However, as a brief look at the careers of some of the women reveals, this was only the beginning, with women continuing to strive for equality in the legal profession.

Monica Cobb (1891–1946): First woman to hold a brief

A fortnight after she was called, Monica Cobb became the first woman to appear as counsel in an English Court, instructed to prosecute in a case of bigamy. The Daily Mirror reported that: “Wearing wig and gown, she briefly addressed the jury as to the circumstances of the case, which throughout she conducted very clearly, securing a conviction.” The question of what women barristers should wear was hotly debated as there were real concerns that the admission of women to the profession would lead to the abolition of the wig with grave consequences for the administration of justice! Although it was eventually decided that women would wear the same wig as men, this was not without controversy. In November 1922, the Evening Standard reported: “Women Barristers’ Hidden Tresses: Wigs make them look like men”; and in 1924 Monica Cobb commented that: “Sometimes I am addressed by witnesses as ‘Madam’ but more often as ‘Sir’.” Earlier this year LegalWomen (May 2022, pp.14–17) reported on the issue of the (in)visibility of women barristers in the profession and if, as Brenda Hale, the first woman President of the Supreme Court, suggests, the wearing of men’s wigs: “humanise[s] all of us into men” this further impairs the visibility of women in the profession.

Beatrice Davy (1885-1966): Requalified as a solicitor

In 1928 Beatrice Davy contributed a chapter to a careers’ advice book for girls. Reflecting on the hardships faced by women barristers she warned that: “For a woman who must earn her own living the Bar is the very last profession in the world.” Although the Sex Disqualification Removal Act meant the Inns of Court could no longer reject any suitably qualified women, barristers could not be compelled to accept women members of chambers nor solicitors to instruct them. As a result, Davy decided to qualify as a solicitor and set up her own firm of solicitors, forming the first all-women partnership. One of the women barristers Davy subsequently instructed was Enid Rosser (called 1927) who recalled Davy’s strong feeling: “that until there were solicitors willing to brief women barristers their future prospects were hard and dim.” The latest statistics reveal that women are still more likely to choose a career as a solicitor, with women making up more than half of all practising solicitors but only 38% of barristers (The Law Society Annual Statistics Report 2021; Bar Standards Board).

Sybil Campbell (1889–1977): First woman judge

It was not until 23 April 1945 that Sybil Campbell was appointed the first woman full-time professional judge in England and Wales, when she became a stipendiary (paid) magistrate at Tower Bridge Police Court. She earned a reputation for severe sentencing but, despite protests and calls for her dismissal, she continued to sit as a stipendiary magistrate until 1961. The following year, Elizabeth Lane was appointed the first woman High Court Judge but it was not until 1988 and 2004 respectively that Elizabeth Butler-Sloss and Brenda Hale were the first women appointed to the Court of Appeal and the House of Lords (now the Supreme Court). On Elizabeth Butler-Sloss’s appointment, she was known officially as “Lord Justice Butler- Sloss” and addressed in court as “My Lady, Lord Justice Butler- Sloss.” This was changed by the Courts Act 2003 and “’Lady’ was officially acknowledged as a separate title for women judges in the Court of Appeal although in the Chancery Division women remain invisible behind the title ‘Master’. Moreover, as the latest statistics reveal, while women represent 50% of tribunal judges they still make up only 35% of court judges (Diversity of the judiciary: 2022 statistics).

Helena Normanton (1882–1957): First Woman KC

A staunch campaigner for the opening of the legal profession to women, on Christmas Eve 1919 Helena Normanton was the first woman to be admitted to any Inn of Court the day after the Sex Disqualification (Removal) Act was passed. She achieved several firsts in the legal profession including being the first woman barrister to appear in the High Court and the Central London Criminal Court (the Old Bailey). Although she practised as a barrister until her retirement in 1951, she struggled to make enough money as a barrister and supplemented her income through public speaking and writing, including contributions to the Notable British Trials series and her Everyday Law for Women. Despite being disappointed not to be made a judge, she was, in 1949, one of the first woman to be appointed King’s Counsel in England and Wales. Although women are now joining the legal profession in equal numbers to men, it remains the case they are underrepresented in the upper echelons of the profession. As the latest statistics reveal, only 18% of King’s Counsel are women (Bar Standards Board).

Theodora Davies (1898–1988): Balancing a career and family life

Balancing work and family life has been an issue for women lawyers since the Sex Disqualification (Removal) Act was passed. As Theodora Davies recalled upon her marriage in 1929: “I decided that I’d rather devote my time and interest to joining my husband and the work he was doing. In those days it wasn’t very customary for married women to work apart from their domestic duties and it didn’t really occur to me that it would be possible to combine the two.” Although such attitudes are no longer voiced, the main issues facing women lawyers remain the structural and cultural norms which place the burden of domestic responsibilities disproportionately on women thus creating barriers to a more equitable legal profession. In September this year, First 100 Years launched their Mothers in Law Survey to identify what can be done to help women juggle their responsibilities so that they can remain in the profession and rise to positions of power. After all, everyone will benefit from a legal profession which more accurately reflects the diversity of the population.

Called to the Bar on 17 November 1922

ETHEL ASHFORD

SYBIL CAMPBELL

MONICA COBB

THEODORA DAVIES

BEATRICE DAVY

LILLIAN DAWES

AUVERGNE DOHERTY

HELENA NORMANTON

NAOMI WALLACE

ELSIE WHEELER

Sex Disqualification Removal Act

The Sex Disqualification Removal Act applied throughout England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. The first woman to qualify as a lawyer following the Act was Madge Easton Anderson, who in 1920 was admitted as a law agent in Scotland. In 1936 she sat The Law Society’s final examination and was subsequently admitted as solicitor in England and Wales. The first women barristers anywhere in Great Britain and Ireland were Frances Kyle and Averil Deverell, who were called to the Bar of Ireland on 1 November 1921. Later that month Kyle was also called to the Bar of Northern Ireland. Ivy Williams was the first woman called to the Bar of England and Wales in May 1922. The first woman called to the Faculty of Advocates in Scotland was Margaret Kidd, in July 1923. Revealing the obstacles women faced, Kidd remained the only woman advocate in Scotland for 25 years. She was the first woman in the UK to be appointed King’s Counsel in 1948.

Katie Broomfield

Katie Broomfield

Postgraduate Researcher at Royal Holloway, University of London and co-author of First: 100 Years of Women in Law