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CT Women in Law Project

History of Connecticut Women in the Legal Profession

At the turn of the 20th century, other than Mary Hall, women lawyers were virtually unknown in Connecticut. By contrast, at the turn of the 21st century, law schools were enrolling roughly the same number of women as men. Since their earliest time at the bar, women have become leaders in all areas of the profession at a pace out of all proportion to their brief history and number. 

About the Project

In 1999, the Fellows initiated the Oral History of Connecticut Women in the Legal Profession Project to create a permanent video, audio, and photographic historical record of milestone achievements of women as they have become more visible and achieved prominence in the field of law. In 2019, a leadership donation of $20,000 from the law firm of Carmody Torrance Sandak & Hennessey enabled the project to significantly broaden its scope and plan for the future.

Through its first two phases, the project worked with award-winning documentarian Karyl Evans and attorney/photographer Isabel Chenoweth to produce fifty-eight oral history interviews with outstanding female attorneys and 118 portraits of women in the Connecticut judiciary.

The oral history interviews have collected the stories of women whose ingenuity, perseverance, and intelligence dismantled barriers that historically prevented women from pursuing careers in the law. Connecticut has benefited from the efforts of these "pioneers" as they enriched the legal profession by joining the ranks of their male peers and paved the way for more women to join the profession.

Now entering its third phase, the project hopes to grow the number of stories captured in the archive, develop new ways to share these stories, and continue to highlight the achievements of female lawyers and the barriers to their full participation that persist in the legal profession today.

  • As of June 29, 2012, thirty-three interviews of Connecticut’s outstanding female judges and lawyers, a number of whom were among the first in Connecticut to achieve prominence in their particular roles within the profession, have been completed.

  • Women in Black Portraits
    Women in Black Portraits

    CBF Fellows, in collaboration with lawyer and photographer Isabel Chenoweth, created “Women in Black,” photographic portraits of seventy-six women on the state and federal judiciaries serving in CT between 2001 and 2007. The photographs, taken at courthouses throughout the state, provide a striking visual statement about the powerful presence of women in Connecticut’s judiciary, and consequently, their part in history. Permanently displayed at Quinnipiac University Law School.

  • Download the timeline of Connecticut Women in the Legal Profession (pdf).

  • The Symposium on the Status of Women in the Law presented an overview of the history and progress of women in the legal profession since the first woman was admitted to the Connecticut Bar in 1882. Panelists discussed whether gender bias persists; where women have found success; why senior women often leave the profession; where gaps remain in the career trajectories of men and women; and how, given the enormous changes in the demographics of the profession, to best move forward in unpredictable times.

Click to view individual interviews

2018 Interview Compilation

In 2018, CBF and Fellows held a reception at the Legislative Office Building in Hartford to celebrate the new installments of the History of Connecticut Women in the Legal Profession Project. The event premiered a documentary by Emmy award winning filmmaker, Karyl Evans. The film is based on twenty-five (25) oral history interviews of women, conducted in 2017-2018, who have been among the first of their gender to attain professional achievement and recognition as lawyers throughout the state. The interviewees include members of the state and federal judiciaries, inhouse counsel, academics, prosecutors, legal services lawyers and partners in private law firms.

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