UT College of Law debuts Toledo Women Lawyers History Project

October 10, 2014 | News, UToday, Alumni, Law
By Rachel Phipps



The Toledo Women Lawyers History Project, a joint effort by the Toledo Women’s Bar Association and The University of Toledo College of Law, seeks to discover and preserve the stories of women lawyers in the area.

Posing for a photo in the LaValley Law Library were, from left, Lucas County Prosecutor Julia Bates, Assistant U.S. Attorney Holly Taft Sydlow, who are both graduates of the UT College of Law, and former Ohio Supreme Court Justice Alice Robie Resnick and United States Magistrate Judge Vernelis Armstrong. Their portraits are included on the second floor of the library as part of the Toledo Women Lawyers History Project.

Posing for a photo in the LaValley Law Library were, from left, Lucas County Prosecutor Julia Bates, Assistant U.S. Attorney Holly Taft Sydlow, who are both graduates of the UT College of Law, and former Ohio Supreme Court Justice Alice Robie Resnick and United States Magistrate Judge Vernelis Armstrong. Their portraits are included on the second floor of the library as part of the Toledo Women Lawyers History Project.

A dedication and ribbon-cutting ceremony was held last week in the LaValley Law Library.

Daniel Steinbock, dean of the College of Law, and Lindsay Navarre, president of the Toledo Women’s Bar Association, were on hand to unveil and discuss the project.

“The biggest transformation in the legal profession in the past century is the entry of substantial numbers of women at all levels,” Steinbock said. “We are proud to be a part of this commemoration.”

Twelve portraits depicting courageous and strong-willed women attorneys, created by Paula Mowery, an artist and College of Law graduate, will be permanently displayed on the second floor of the UT College of Law LaValley Law Library. The featured attorneys paved the way for future generations since the Ohio General Assembly first admitted women to the practice of law in the state in 1878.

The display will honor attorneys including Clara Millard, the first woman in Ohio to earn a law degree and to pass the Ohio Bar examination; Florence Hartman Wells, the first woman to be elected to both branches of the Ohio legislature; Alice Robie Resnick, the second woman elected to the Ohio Supreme Court and the founder of the Toledo Women’s Bar Association and the Ohio Women’s Bar Association; and College of Law alumna Julia Bates, the first woman elected Lucas County Prosecutor.

Plans for the second phase of the project include a speaker series and an interactive display.

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