By Claudine Otto – Varsity College (Pretoria Campus)
Cynthia Grant Bowman stated that women are described as a paradox when it comes to the legal profession. The contradicting descriptions between a “woman” and a “lawyer”. Shall she walk and talk right? Sit up straight, smile, be polite and do what she is told to do. Or risk being impolite, inappropriate, and aggressive whilst being in the unsuited life of the court room.
From the beginning of time, it seems that women cannot do what men can do. Were they right? In 1847 Marija Milutinovic became the first Serbian female lawyer and in 1879 the first woman who argued in the US Supreme Court was Belva Ann Lockwood. South Africa had its first legal case weather a woman is fit to be a legal practitioner in 1909. Schlesin v. Incorporated Law Society, 1909 TSC 363 the Transvaal Supreme Court held that women can’t practice in the legal profession, because of history in Holland, South Africa, and England. Interpretation of Laws Proclamation 15 of 1909 said that “the words masculine gender includes females unless contradicting intention appears.” The court found that there it was legislation for the governing admission to the bar. This piques interest as it betrays what we expect. Legislation contradicting itself and defining women as a paradox in the legal profession yet again!
The leading case in South Africa was the Incorporated Law Society v. Wookey 1912 AD 623. Madeline Wookey a bold and bright female who found a firm that was willing to register her for articles. Which then was denied by the Law Society. The court found that the definition of the word “person” in the statute regarding admitting attorneys only included men. Thus, only a one-way street, it is inappropriate for females to take part in the legal practice. No exceptions.
As woman started climbing the legal ladder to success South African women still had the arduous undertaking to fit into the legal profession. The summer of 1921 a passionate young female Constance Mary Hall age 20 lodged her application for the registration for her articles of clerkship on 7 January 1921. At MacRoberts Ins attorneys former Lunnon and Tindall. The Londoner was born in the early year of the nighty hundreds and arrived in our homeland South Africa in 1903. This young, talented, and eager female matriculated as head girl from Mary’s Diocesan School for Girls young in life she decided to pursue her career in law. Connie was the only female between 200 men. This bright woman registered for her articles but was cancelled on 16 February 1921 by the Secretary of the then Incorporated Law Society. The short and devasting reason for the cancelation of her articles was, that she is a woman. With the help of her father, she got into a law firm to practice.
As time progressed so did female lawyers and a South African female was ultimately admitted. 1923 Irene Antoinette Geffen became the first female who was admitted as a lawyer in South Africa. Following in her footsteps thereafter Constance Mary Hall became the first female attorney in 1926.
A writer in 1917 said that women sew and nurse which shows no indication that they have the capacity to work in the legal profession. If there is a calling in the world that is unfit, it is law. As we look at history and how women were described as unfit for the legal profession,
we see that women were warriors and that the battlefield to success was a good fit for them. As they started winning the war of discrimination, they lost one aspect of a section of it. Black women. Yet again if women fell, they stood up even stronger than before. Forty-four years after the admission of South Africa’s first female attorney Desiree Finac was admitted as the first black female attorney.
Even though South Africa does not have many cases of women who were denied, the rest of the women over the world still has their stories to tell. Bradwell v. The State, 83 U.S. 130 (1872) is a case that took place in the United States on 15 April 1873. It was noted that the attorneys’ licenced which was denied was rooted upon English Common law. At that time English Common law did not accept any female to be an attorney. Thus, yet again as history was repeating itself repeatedly all over the word females couldn’t take part of the legal profession because they were women. As a base on discrimination no one saw that this was wrong. If you search “best attorneys in the world” you will see that only four women out of twenty-four people will show up. Even if women can take part in the legal profession on this day, the discrimination still roaming around. Like a disease with no cure.
A Stanford law professor, Deborah Rhodes said that women face a double bind and double standard. Women must avoid being too ‘aggressive’, or ‘not aggressive’ enough, ‘too soft’ or ‘too strident.’
Even though the glass ceiling was broken years back, women still have a glass ceiling above their heads, slowly coming closer and closer and one day it will break!