Happy Women’s History Month! In these uncertain times, it is comforting to know women are still celebrated, encouraged, and empowered by those who support us. Women have made significant contributions to society, whether those contributions were in the courtroom, the classroom, or the family room. The first woman in America admitted to law school – Lemma Barkaloo – studied right here in St. Louis and was the first woman admitted to the Missouri bar. In her 2014 book Redemption Songs: Suing for Freedom Before Dred Scott, Lea VanderVelde observed that most St. Louis freedom suits were initiated by women, who aimed to keep their families together. In her 1915 crusade to get women in the Missouri judiciary, St. Louis lawyer Adelaide O’Brien – one half of the only women law partnership practicing in the west at that time – quipped, “[T]here is nothing in the statutes requiring that a Supreme Court Judge be a ‘legal male voter.’ But no woman has presumed to take advantage of that oversight as yet.” In 1988, the Honorable Ann Covington was the first female judge appointed to Supreme Court of Missouri, which now maintains a female majority. Barely 2 months ago, St. Louis County swore in its first female Prosecuting Attorney, Melissa Price Smith. The battle for women to be in the courtroom has been fought in the U.S. for hundreds of years. 

I want to extend my congratulations to each and every one of you on behalf of the Women in the Legal Profession (WILP) Section. I am so proud of you. I am elated to share this profession with you. I am so excited to see you begin your careers with such enthusiasm and unique perspectives. What an absolute honor and privilege it is to practice law.