List of first women lawyers and judges in Georgia
This is a list of the first women lawyer and judge in Georgia. It includes the year in which the women were admitted to practice law. Also included are women who achieved other distinctions such becoming the first in their state to obtain a law degree or become a political figure.
Firsts in state history
Law Degree
- Minnie Anderson Hale: First female to earn a law degree from a Georgia law school in 1911
Lawyers
- Minnie Anderson Hale, Betty Reynolds Cobb and Mary C. Johnson : First female lawyers respectively in Georgia
- Viola Ross Napier : First female lawyer to practice before the Georgia Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court of Georgia
- Rachel E. Pruden-Herndon : First African American lawyer in Georgia
Judicial Officers
State
Judges
- Annie Anderson: First female judge in Georgia
- Edith Grant Ingram: First African American female judge in Georgia
- Dorothy Robinson: First female judge appointed to a court of record in Georgia
- Rufe McCombs Maulsby: First female elected as a judge without prior appointment in Georgia
- Glenda Hatchett : First African American female to become a Chief Presiding Judge in Georgia
- Carolina Colin-Antonini: First Latino American female judge in Georgia
Superior Court
- Phyllis A. Kravitch : First female elected as a Judge of the Superior Court in Georgia
- Leah Ward Sears : First African American female appointed as a Judge of the Superior Court
Appellate Court
- Dorothy Beasley : First female appointed as a Judge of the Georgia Court of Appeals
- Anne Elizabeth Barnes: First female to serve as a Judge of the Georgia Court of Appeals without having served a prior judgeship
- M. Yvette Miller: First African American female to serve as a Judge of the Georgia Court of Appeals and its Chief Judge
- Carla Wong McMillian: First Asian American female to become a Judge of the Georgia Court of Appeals
Supreme Court
- Dorothy Robinson: First female to sit as a temporary judge on the Georgia Supreme Court
- Leah Ward Sears : First female appointed as a Justice of the Georgia Supreme Court. She was also the first African American female appointed as the Chief Justice of the Georgia Supreme Court.
- Carla Wong McMillian: First Asian American female to sit on the Georgia Supreme Court. She became a Justice of the Georgia Supreme Court in 2020.
Federal
District Court
- Orinda Dale Evans : First female appointed as a Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia and serve as its Chief Judge
Appellate Court
- Phyllis A. Kravitch : First female to become a Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in Georgia prior to the state's removal
- Frank M. Hull : First female to become a Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
Assistant Attorney General
- Rubye Jackson: First female to serve as the Assistant Attorney General for Georgia
United States Attorney
- Sally Yates: First female to serve as the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia
District Attorney
- Cheryl Fisher Custer: First female to become a District Attorney in Georgia
Bar Associations
- Donna Barwick: First female to become President of the Young Lawyers Division
- Linda Klein: First female President of the State Bar of Georgia
- Patrise M. Perkins-Hooker: First African American female to serve as President of the State Bar of Georgia
Firsts in local history
Athens-Clark County
- Edith Elizabeth House: First female graduate from the University of Georgia School of Law
Baker County
- Heather H. Lanier: First female appointed as a Judge of the South Georgia Circuit Superior Court
Baldwin County
- Eva L. Sloan: First female lawyer in Milledgeville, Georgia
- Hulane E. George: First female appointed as a Judge of the Ocmulgee Judicial Circuit
Bartow County
- Rosemary Greene: First female District Attorney for the Cherokee Judicial Circuit, Georgia
Ben Hill County
- Denise Fachini: First female appointed as a Judge of the Cordele Judicial Circuit
Bibb County
- Alene Hardin : First female lawyer in Macon, Georgia
Bulloch County
- Faye Sanders Martin : First woman to practice law in Bulloch County, Georgia. She would later become a judge.
Calhoun County
- Heather H. Lanier: First female appointed as a Judge of the South Georgia Circuit Superior Court
Chatham County
- Sarah Estelle Akin : First female lawyer in Savannah, Georgia
- Mary V. Clark Creech : First female lawyer in Savannah, Georgia to have a courtroom practice
Clayton County
- Leah Ward Sears : First African American female judge in Clayton County, Georgia
Cobb County
- Helen Huff : First female lawyer in Cobb County, Georgia
- Dorothy Robinson: First female to serve as a Judge of the Cobb County Superior Court, Georgia
- Adele Grubbs : First female to serve as the Assistant District Attorney for Cobb County, Georgia
- Joyette Holmes: First female to serve as the District Attorney for Cobb County, Georgia
Crisp County
- Denise Fachini: First female appointed as a Judge of the Cordele Judicial Circuit
Decatur County
- Cathy Cox : First female lawyer in Bainbridge, Georgia
- Heather H. Lanier: First female appointed as a Judge of the South Georgia Circuit Superior Court
DeKalb County
- Eleonore Raoul: First female to graduate from Emory University’s School of Law in Atlanta, Georgia
- Sarah Irene Brown, Lucine Milan Dalton, Ann Kimsey and Mrs. Holbrook: First females to graduate from John Marshall Law School
- Mary Welcome : First African American female Court Solicitor in Atlanta, Georgia
- Linda W. Hunter : First African American female judge of the DeKalb Superior Court and Chief Judge and Administrative Judge of the DeKalb Superior Court
- Carol W. Hunstein: First female elected as a Judge of the Superior Court bench in DeKalb County, Georgia
- Sharon Mackenzie and Diana McDonald: First females to graduate from the Georgia State University College of Law
- Catharina Haynes : First female graduate from Emory University’s School of Law in Atlanta, Georgia to be appointed to the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
Dooly County
- Denise Fachini: First female appointed as a Judge of the Cordele Judicial Circuit
Fannin County
- Angela DeLorme : First female lawyer in Fannin County, Georgia
Fayette County
- Kathy Valencia: First female appointed as a Judge of the Fayette County Magistrate Court, Georgia
Forsyth County
- Jane Kent Plaginos Mitchell : First female lawyer in Forsyth County, Georgia
Fulton County
- Eleonore Raoul: First female to graduate from Emory University’s School of Law in Atlanta, Georgia
- Sarah Irene Brown, Lucine Milan Dalton, Ann Kimsey and Mrs. Holbrook: First females to graduate from John Marshall Law School
- Mary Welcome : First African American female Court Solicitor in Atlanta, Georgia
- Dorothy Beasley : First female judge in Fulton County, Georgia
- Glenda Hatchett : First African American female to become the Chief Presiding Judge of the Fulton County, Georgia Juvenile Court
- Sharon Mackenzie and Diana McDonald: First females to graduate from the Georgia State University College of Law
- Catharina Haynes : First female graduate from Emory University’s School of Law in Atlanta, Georgia to be appointed to the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
- Tiffany Carter-Sellers: First female to serve as the municipal court judge for South Fulton, Georgia
Glynn County
- Lanelle Rimes Eaves:
First female lawyer in Brunswick, Georgia Gordon County
- Rosemary Greene: First female District Attorney for the Cherokee Judicial Circuit, Georgia
Grady County
- Heather H. Lanier: First female appointed as a Judge of the South Georgia Circuit Superior Court
Greene County
- Hulane E. George: First female appointed as a Judge of the Ocmulgee Judicial Circuit
Gwinnett County
- Ruth Rocker McMullin: First Vietnamese American female judge in Gwinnett County, Georgia
- Ronda Colvin-Leary: First African American female elected as a Judge of the Gwinnett County State Court
- Tiffany Porter: First African American to serve as the Associate Judge of Duluth, Georgia
- Tadia Whitner: First African American appointed as a Judge of the Gwinnett County Superior Court
- Angela D. Duncan: First openly LGBT female to serve as a Judge of the Gwinnett County Superior Court
Hancock County
- Hulane E. George: First female appointed as a Judge of the Ocmulgee Judicial Circuit
Henry County
- Pandora Palmer : First female to serve as a Judge of the State Court of Henry County, Georgia
Jasper County
- Hulane E. George: First female appointed as a Judge of the Ocmulgee Judicial Circuit
Jones County
- Hulane E. George: First female appointed as a Judge of the Ocmulgee Judicial Circuit
Laurens County
- Aretha Miller: First female lawyer in Laurens County, Georgia
- Annie Anderson: First female judge in Laurens County, Georgia
Macon-Bibb County
- Kathryn Pierce: First female to graduate from Mercer University’s Walter F. George School of Law in Macon-Bibb County, Georgia
Mitchell County
- Heather H. Lanier: First female appointed as a Judge of the South Georgia Circuit Superior Court
Morgan County
- Hulane E. George: First female appointed as a Judge of the Ocmulgee Judicial Circuit
Murray County
- Nancy Calhoun : First female lawyer in Murray County, Georgia
Newton County
- Layla Zon: First female District Attorney for the Alcovy Circuit Court, Georgia
Putnam County
- Hulane E. George: First female appointed as a Judge of the Ocmulgee Judicial Circuit
Walton County
- Layla Zon: First female District Attorney for the Alcovy Circuit Court, Georgia
Wilcox County
- Denise Fachini: First female appointed as a Judge of the Cordele Judicial Circuit
Wilkinson County
- Hulane E. George: First female appointed as a Judge of the Ocmulgee Judicial Circuit
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 Georgia