List of first women lawyers and judges in Oregon
This is a list of the first women lawyer and judge in Oregon. 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
Lawyers
- Mary Leonard : First female lawyer in Oregon
- Mercedes Deiz : First African American female lawyer in Oregon
Law Clerk
- Helen F. Althaus : First female to serve as a law clerk for a federal judge in Oregon
Judicial Officers
State
Judges
- Ethel Graham: First female to temporarily serve as a judge in Oregon
- Mary Jane Spurlin : First female judge in Oregon
- Janice Wilson: First openly LGBT judge in Oregon
- Youlee You: First Asian American female judge in Oregon
Tax Court
- Jill A. Tanner and Coyreen Weidner: First females appointed as Judges of the Oregon Tax Court
District Court
- Mercedes Deiz : First African American female to serve as a district court judge in Oregon
Circuit Court
- Jean Lagerquist Lewis : First female circuit court judge in Oregon
- Mercedes Deiz : First African American female to serve as an elected county circuit court judge in Oregon
Appellate Court
- Betty Roberts : First female appointed as a Judge of the Oregon Court of Appeals
- Darleen Ortega : First Hispanic American female to become a Judge of the Oregon Court of Appeals
- Adrienne Nelson : First African American female to serve as a appellate court judge
Supreme Court
- Betty Roberts : First female appointed as a Justice of the Oregon Supreme Court
- Virginia Linder : First openly LGBT female appointed as a Justice of the Oregon Supreme Court
- Lynn Nakamoto : First Asian American female appointed as a Justice of the Oregon Supreme Court
- Adrienne Nelson : First African American female to serve as a Justice of the Supreme Court of Oregon
Federal
Bankruptcy Court
- Polly Higden: First female appointed as a Judge of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Oregon
District Court
- Helen Frye : First female appointed as a Judge for the U.S. District Court of Oregon
- Ann Aiken : First female appointed as the Chief Judge of the United States District Court Judge for the District of Oregon
Appellate Court
Susan P. Graber : First female appointed as a Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit Attorney General
- Ellen Rosenblum : First female Attorney General of Oregon
Assistant Attorney General
- Armonica Gilford : First African American female to serve as an Assistant Attorney General for Oregon’s Department of Justice
Solicitor General
- Virginia Linder : First female to serve as the Solicitor General of Oregon
United States Attorney
- Susan P. Graber : First female to serve as a law clerk for the U.S. Attorneys Office for Oregon
Political Office
Kate Brown : First openly LGBT female elected as the Governor of Oregon Bar Association
- Julie Frantz: First female to serve as President of the Oregon State Bar Association
Firsts in local history
Region
- Barb Haslinger and Alta Brady: First female judges respectively in Central Oregon
Coos County
- Paula Bechtold : First female judge in Coos County, Oregon
Deschutes County
- Barbara Haslinger: First female judge in Deschutes County, Oregon
Douglas County
- Diana Wales : First female lawyer in private practice in Roseburg, Oregon
Jackson County
- Jeannette Thatcher Marshall : First female lawyer in Medford, Oregon
- Beth Heckert: First female District Attorney for Jackson County, Oregon
Lane County
- Valerie Love: First Asian American female to become a Judge of the Lane County Superior Court, Oregon
- Clara Rigmaiden: First Hispanic American female to become a Judge of the Lane County Superior Court, Oregon
- Patty Perlow: First female District Attorney for Lane County, Oregon
- Jolie Russo : First female magistrate in Eugene, Oregon
Linn County
- Sharon Cox Stevens : First female lawyer in Linn County, Oregon
Marion County
- Hattie Bratzel Kremen: First female District Attorney for Marion County, Oregon
Multnomah County
- Jean Lagerquist Lewis : First female judge in Multnomah County, Oregon
- Beatrice Morrow Cannady : First African American female lawyer to appear in Portland, Oregon
- Youlee You: First Asian American female to become a Judge of the Multnomah County Superior Court, Oregon
Washington County
- Nancy W. Campbell: First female judge in Washington County, Oregon
Yamhill County
- Carol E. Jones: First female judge appointed to the Yamhill County Circuit Court
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 Oregon