Women Trailblazers
in the Law:
Utah’s First 100 Women Lawyers
A Special Project by the
Women Lawyers of Utah,
the Utah State Bar,
the S.J. Quinney College of Law
and the J. Reuben Clark Law School
The Utah State Bar Commission proudly supports
the Women Lawyers of Utah in celebrating
the First 100 Women Attorneys in Utah.
We thank all of the outstanding women
of the Utah State Bar who devote their
time and energy in service to the legal profession.
Su Chon
3rd Division Representative
MARY KAY GRIFFIN, CPA
Public Member
ANGELINA TSU
Young Lawyers Division
Representative
Lori W. Nelson
3rd Division Representative
Future Bar President
2012–2013
CARMA HARPER
Paralegal Division
Representative
CHARLOTTE L. MILLER
State Delegate to the ABA
Bar President 1997–1998
S. GRACE ACOSTA
Minority Bar Association
Representative
MARGARET D. PLANE
ABA Delegate
M. PEGGY HUNT
Women Lawyers
Representative
WLU Special Projects Committee
Cathleen C. Gilbert, Chair
Allyson Barker
Carrie Boren
Emy Cordano
Katherine E. Judd
Heidi M. Kingman
Lorelei Naegle
Carrie L. Towner
Melanie Vartabedian
~ The Women Lawyers Special Project Committee wishes to thank
the First 100 Women Lawyers admitted to practice law in Utah
for paving the way for all who will follow.
It has been our honor and privilege to organize this special project. ~
Women Trailblazers in the Law
3
With great pride
in their accomplishments
the University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law
pays tribute to the 76 alumnae
among this evening’s honorees
Rebecca Garelick ‘24
Mary Lou Godbe ‘68
Judith F. Leaver ‘75
Camille S. Pembroke ‘26
Eleanor S. VanSciver ‘68
Ellen M. Maycock ‘75
Reva Beck Bosone ‘30
Miriam P. Ellett ‘69
Carol B. Olson ‘75
Dorothy S. Brothers ‘31
Christine O.C. Miller ‘69
Rosemary Richardson ‘75
Mary Alice Arentz ‘32
Coleen W. Ryan ‘69
Jane R. Seymour ‘75
Virginia Seare ‘32
Karen S. Williams ‘69
Mary Ellen Sloan ‘75
Donna Sears ‘32
Margret S. Taylor ‘70
Christine F. Soltis ‘75
Virginia Roberts ‘37
Pamela T. Greenwood ‘72
Harriet E. Styler ‘75
Mary C. Lehmer ‘40
Constance K. Lundberg ‘72
Hydee C. Thompson ‘75
Maxine C. Pace ‘40
Sara G. Zwart ‘72
Judith R. Wolbach ‘75
Margaret F. Spratley ‘46
Eunice S. Chen ‘73
Laura D. Connor ‘76
Mimi B. Mortensen ‘47
Shirlene A. Cutler ‘73
Kathryn S. Denholm ‘76
Lucy Redd ‘48
Patricia J. Marlowe ‘73
Debra Dorfman ‘76
Billy H. Frank ‘50
Linda A. Shepard ‘73
Susan Taylor Hansen ‘76
Sherma Hansen ‘50
Judith A. Boulden ‘74
Robyn O. Heilbrun ‘76
Lucy R. McCullough ‘53
Kathryn Collard ‘74
Eleissa C. Lavelle ‘76
Ruth W. Wilkins Matthies ‘53
Barbara A. Dabney ‘74
Kathlene W. Lowe ‘76
Barbara P. Heaney ‘54
Ginger L. Fletcher ‘74
Catherine C. Meyer ‘76
Mary Jane C. Due ‘56
Connie C. Holbrook ‘74
Anne Milne ‘76
Irene Warr ‘57
Leslie A. Lewis ‘74
Anita T. Mosley ‘76
Judith F. Whitmer ‘57
Cynthia F. Daniels ‘75
Kathleen M. Nelson ‘76
Irene E. Wilson ‘59
Christine S. Decker ‘75
Susan Pixton ‘76
Elaine D. Larson ‘63
Patricia A. DeMichele ‘75
Dorothy C. Pleshe ‘76
Jeanette D. Watkins ‘64
Marlynn B. Lema ‘75
Janet H. Smith ‘76
Janet M. Merrill ‘65
Elizabeth B. Stewart ‘76
Kay A. Lindsay ‘67
Janet H. Wise ‘76
The First 100
Donna Seare Adams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Catherine Hardy Anderson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Mary Alice Meagher Arentz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Vera Callister Badham . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Jean Louise Weaver Barnard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Josephine E. Kellogg Beesley . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Jacque Benson Bell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Lucy Billings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Brigitte M. Bodenheimer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Reva Beck Bosone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Judith A. Boulden . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Patricia Braun . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Dorathy S. Merrill Brothers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Cora Georgiana Snow Carleton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Dorothy Carson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Josephine A. Chase . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Eunice S. Chen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Hydee Clayton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Mary J. Colbath . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Kathryn Collard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Margaret Beall Connell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Laura D. Conner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Edith R. Lawrence Cooper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Phoebe W. Couzins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Shirlene A. Cutler . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Barbara A. Dabney . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Cynthia Feldman Daniels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Christine S. Decker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
Kathryn S. Denholm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Patricia DeMichele . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Debra J. Dorfman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Dorothea Merrill Dryer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Mary Jane Carter Due . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Christine Meaders Durham . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Miriam P. Ellett . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Constance K. Lundberg Erickson . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Deseret Management Corporation
is proud to be a sponsor of this Special Project and
Honors the First 100 Women Lawyers admitted in Utah
Women Trailblazers in the Law
5
Mrs. Frank Evans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Susan M. Flandro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ginger L. Fletcher . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Billy Hulsey Frank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sherma Hansen Fridel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Rebecca Garelick . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mary Lou Godbe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pamela Greenwood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Madge Lee Guard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sherri Rigby Guyon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Susan Taylor Hansen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Barbara P. Heaney . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Robyn O. Heilbrun . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Rita G. (James) Hempen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Connie C. Holbrook . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Rebekah W. Hornbein . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dorothea M. Host . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Katherine C. Meagher Ivers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Elaine D. Larsen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Eleissa Cononelos LaVelle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mary John Condas Lehmer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Marlynn B. Lema . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Judy Lever . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Leslie A. Lewis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kay Aldrich Lindsay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Florence Austin Linsley . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Virginia Hudson Louden . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kathlene W. Lowe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Alice L. Manning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Patricia J. Marlowe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bettie Jean Marsh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ruth Wilkins Matthies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ellen Maycock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lucy R. McCullough . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Janet M. Schutz Merrill . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Catherine C. Meyer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Beryl Mary Bonner Meyers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Hon. Christine O.C. Miller . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Anne Milne . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mimi B. Mortensen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Anita T. Moseley . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Myrna Mae Harris Nebeker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Women Trailblazers in the Law
13
34
50
24
24
12
34
42
14
67
68
25
69
43
50
11
70
17
32
71
18
56
57
51
35
19
45
72
11
46
41
26
58
25
34
72
13
38
73
21
73
40
Kathleen M. Nelson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Margaret Rose Nelson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Carolyn Nichols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Nann Novinski-Durando . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Carol Brockbank Olson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Maxine Charlier Pace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Camille Stohl Pembroke . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Suzan Pixton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dorothy C. Pleshe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Barbara K. Polich . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lucy Redd . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Rosemary Richardson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Virginia Dibblee Roberts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cheryl Anne Russell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Coleen Ward Ryan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Virginia Frances Seare . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jane R. Seymour . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Linda A. Shepard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Elizabeth Berntsen Sherlock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mary Ellen Sloan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Janet Hugie Smith . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Christine Fitzgerald Soltis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ellen P. Spangler . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Margaret K. Spratley . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Agnes Swan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Margret Sidwell Taylor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kathryn A. Sticklen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Joan Beard Thompson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Elizabeth B. Stewart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kristine Strachan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Harriet E. Styler . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Eleanor S. Van Sciver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lyn W. Walden . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Irene Warr . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jeannette D. Watkins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Judith F. Whitmer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Karen S. Williams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Irene Evans Wilson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jane Henroid Wise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Judith Romney Wolbach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sara G. Zwart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
74
75
76
59
19
13
76
77
78
22
60
17
79
39
16
61
46
80
61
81
62
82
19
10
40
83
30
82
63
63
36
33
27
33
29
39
31
70
64
44
cong r at u l at ions
Ss
cong r at u l at ions
to u ta h ’ s f i r s t 10 0 wom e n
l aw y e r s a n d wom e n
l aw y e r s of u ta h f rom
j. r e u be n c l a r k
l aw sc ho ol , br ig h a m
you ng u n i v e r si t y.
J. Reuben Clark
law school
Ss
Cora Georgiana Snow Carleton
1
The Utah Bar admitted Carleton in 1872, at the age of thirty. Before her admission, Carleton studied
the law for three years with her father, Zerubbabel Snow, who was then the Attorney General of
the Utah Territory and later a territorial Utah Supreme Court Judge. A committee appointed by
Chief Justice McKean of the territorial Utah Supreme Court examined and approved Carleton’s
application for admission. Carleton served as territorial librarian and later moved to Wyoming and
entered politics. She served as an alternative delegate to the 1892 presidential convention. Carleton
later moved to San Diego, where she was a member of the Board of Education. She died in 1915.
Phoebe W. Couzins
2
Couzins was born September 8, 1842 in St. Louis, Missouri. Her
father was St. Louis Chief of Police and acting provost marshal of
Missouri. Her mother volunteered for Union Aid Society during the
Civil War. Couzins taught Sunday school after graduating from
public high school, and later volunteered for the Unionists during
the Civil War. She discovered the philosophy of women’s rights
through her wartime associations, and by 1869 she was involved in
the local women’s suffrage society.
At age 27, Couzins applied to Washington University School of Law
and became the school’s first woman graduate in 1871, and the third
woman to graduate from any law school in the United States. She
was admitted to the bar in Missouri and in Arkansas in 1871, and
to the Utah Bar in 1872. She was also subsequently admitted to practice in the Dakota Territory and the Federal
Courts. She focused her activities on her true passion, women’s rights. Couzins was a powerful and popular public
speaker, particularly well-known in the West, and closely allied with Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton.
Couzins became the first woman United States Marshall when she finished her father’s appointed term upon his death.
Unfortunately, her feminist career soured when a more conservative leadership took over the Missouri women’s
suffrage society. Sadly, her lecturing career dwindled and a writing career never materialized. As a woman of
working class origins, she had neither the money nor contacts to develop a law practice. By the age of fifty-one,
Couzins was destitute, and in 1897 renounced her support for women’s rights. In 1913, Couzins died in St. Louis;
a childhood friend paid for her funeral. Five years later, the ABA finally began to accept female members.
Josephine E. Kellogg Beesley
3
8
Born in 1873, Beesley was admitted to the territorial Utah Supreme Court Bar in 1892. Beesley
was also a school teacher. In 1900, an announcement in the Deseret News of her marriage to
Richard H. Beesley described her as “one of Provo’s best school teachers.” Beesley died on January
30, 1903.
Women Trailblazers in the Law
Margaret Beall Connell
Born in Lancaster, Ohio, Connell moved to Utah after finishing high
school and attending an extension course through Chicago University.
Thereafter, she studied abroad for one year at the University of Berlin.
Connell’s father, John McNeill was an attorney, a distinguished Civil
War veteran, and later a State Senator. Her maternal grandfather,
William Cox was a pioneer preacher renowned for his eloquence.
4
Following her studies abroad, Connell returned to Utah and served
as deputy clerk in the United States Courts. She spent several years
reading the law. Connell completed law courses at the University of
Utah, with a supplementary special course in brief making. After
passing an examination before the Utah Supreme Court, she became
a member of the Utah Bar in 1908.
Connell twice had the unique distinction of being the fourth woman admitted to a state bar – in Utah in 1908,
and in Idaho in 1911. Connell returned to the position of deputy clerk after her admission to the Utah Bar. She
also later practiced law in Los Angeles. She was an active member of several literary and historical clubs, and a
member of the Daughters of the American Revolution.
Women Trailblazers in the Law
9
Agnes Swan
5
Born in Kaysville, Utah, Swan attended the University of Utah. She studied the law for two years
under E.M. Bagley, claims attorney for the Oregon Short Line, as a stenographer and later as chief
clerk. Swan was one of seven applicants who successfully passed the written examination for
admission to the Utah Supreme Court Bar in 1912.
After her admission to the Bar, Swan set up practice in the Deseret News Building in Salt Lake City. She was the
first woman in Utah allowed to practice before the United States Supreme Court. She primarily focused on trusts,
estates and probate issues. Swan married Emmett Mellynn Bagley, who was an international lawyer who had
practiced in Canada and was a claims attorney for the Oregon Short Line and American Smelting and Refining
Company. Widowed in 1939, Swan travelled to Japan with her daughter’s family, and was witness to the
devastation there after WWII in 1947. She settled in California with her daughter’s family.
Rebekah W. Hornbein
6
Hornbein is the first female student to attend the University of Utah College of Law and become a lawyer.
She attended the University of Utah School of Law, attending in 1913, 1914, and 1915. She took Contracts,
Torts and Property but there is no record of her receiving a degree from the University of Utah School
of Law. She then studied law at the University of Southern California and was admitted to the State
Bar of California in July of 1915, and became a member of the Utah Supreme Court Bar in 1915. She
married Julius Hornbein, a field inspector in the United States land office in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Josephine A. Chase
7
10
Chase was born in Utah in 1892 and lived in Centerville. She was admitted to the Utah Supreme
Court Bar in 1920.
Women Trailblazers in the Law
Alice L. Manning
8
Manning was born in Idaho in 1878. Upon graduating from the
University of Utah, she started her career as schoolteacher. Thereafter, she worked as secretary to the general attorney of the Union
Pacific Railroad, later becoming the chief law clerk. Her employment as
chief law clerk inspired her to apply for admission to the Bar, and the
Utah Supreme Court Bar admitted Manning in 1923.
Manning served two successive terms as national legislative chair of
the Business and Professional Women’s Club. She also served as the
state vice president of the National Association of Women Lawyers.
She died in 1944, at the age of sixty-seven. Manning’s obituary stated
that she “was an advocate for equal employment rights for women
and was herself considered an outstanding example of the degree of
prominence women are [able] to obtain.”
We honor the
trailblazing
spirit of the
first 100
women lawyers
in Utah.
K&M is committed to the
advancement and retention
of women in the law.
Salt Lake City, UT | 801.328.3600
www.kmclaw.com
KirtonAd.indd 1
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4/29/2011 4:19:13 PM
Women Trailblazers in the Law
11
Rebecca Garelick
9
Born in 1903, Garelick immigrated to the United States as a
toddler with her parents and her siblings from Russia. She grew
up on Edison Street in Salt Lake City, where her father and
brothers opened a salvage company. Garelick graduated from the
University Of Utah College Of Law and was admitted to the
Utah Bar in 1924. She was also a member of the California and
Pennsylvania Bars.
Upon her graduation from law school, the Salt Lake Tribune
reported, “Miss Garelick is very enthusiastic for the profession
that she has chosen, and says that she intends to practice within a
short time after she has looked over the field and decided in which
kind of law work her chances for success appear most likely.” Garelick was in solo practice for a few years
before becoming a clerk to Justice Lester A. Wade, of the Utah Supreme Court, where she worked until she
was in her seventies. She died in 1995 at the age of ninety-two.
Edith R. Lawrence Cooper
10
Cooper was born in 1891 in Bowen, Montana, and moved to Vernal in the early 1920s. She
entered the legal profession as a secretary for attorneys Thomas O’Donnell and Wallace
Calter. The Utah Bar admitted Cooper in 1925. She specialized in probate, title, and some
domestic law.
After her work with O’Donnell and Calder, she worked as a solo practitioner in civil law. Her colleague, Ray
Nash, said that Cooper was an intelligent, thorough, and compassionate attorney, who bent over backwards to
be fair. She was also a prodigious reader. Nash said that Cooper was proud to be a lawyer, and glad to be a
member of the Bar.
Cooper married a local druggist, Rice Clinton Cooper, and helped to raised five children. She also managed the
local movie theater. Cooper invested and loaned money to many people in the community, especially young people
who were unable to get money from a bank to get a home or start a business. Throughout her professional
career, she coped with being hard of hearing, which resulted from a bout with the measles. Cooper died in
1977 in Vernal, Utah.
12
Women Trailblazers in the Law
Mrs. Frank Evans
The Utah Supreme Court Bar admitted Evans in 1925. In 1944, the Salt Lake Tribune
reported that Evans “keeps [] in touch with the profession” by assisting her husband “behind
the scenes.” Evans co-authored, with her husband, a publication entitled the “Law of
Cooperative Marketing.”
11
Beryl Mary Bonner Meyers
Utah Supreme Court Bar admitted Meyers in 1925. She served as attorney for both the Utah
Senate and the House, and later maintained a private practice in Idaho Falls, Idaho.
12
Camille Stohl Pembroke
Born in 1904 in Brigham City, Pembroke was one of the first
women to graduate from the University Of Utah College Of
Law, in 1926. After her graduation, she devoted her time to
raising her family. Although the Utah State Bar admitted
Pembroke shortly after her graduation, she did not start
13
practicing law until 1965, as Corporate Counsel for the A.H.
Pembroke Company, where she remained until 1985.
Pembroke was an enthusiastic patron of the arts, particularly
theater and the symphony. She founded Young Audiences, Inc.,
which brought symphony musicians to public schools. Pembroke
and her husband also traveled extensively. Pembroke maintained her membership in the Utah State Bar until her
death, at the age of eighty, in 1995.
Women Trailblazers in the Law
13
Reva Beck Bosone
14
Born in 1895 in American Fork, Bosone earned her law
degree from the University of Utah in 1930. She was a true
pioneer in Utah’s legal and political circles. Bosone was
elected to the Utah House of Representatives in 1932 and
she became a member of the “progressive bloc” of state
legislators who sponsored the New Deal reform legislation,
including a minimum wage and hour law for women and
children. In 1936, she ran for a Salt Lake City judgeship and
became the first woman elected to the bench in Utah, serving
three terms. During World War II, Bosone served on the Salt
Lake County Welfare Commission. She was also appointed
as an official observer at the 1945 organizing conference of
the United Nations.
In 1948, Bosone was elected to the United States Congress, where she served two terms, and she was the first
woman to sit on the Interior Committee. After leaving Congress, she pursued private legal practice until 1960,
when she became the judicial officer for the United States Post Office, the highest ranking woman in that
department at the time. Bosone retired in 1968, and spent the years until her death in 1983 enjoying her family
and supporting political and community events. The University Of Utah College Of Law has named one of the
most prestigious annual scholarships, awarded to recognize a student committed to the highest ideals of public
service, in Bosone’s honor.
Madge Lee Guard
15
The Utah Supreme Court Bar admitted Guard in 1930. The Salt Lake Tribune reported she
her admittance was “upon motion of A.C. Ellis, Jr., by whom Miss Guard was employed
prior to her departure for Washington [D.C.].”
Durham Jones & Pinegar
proudly supports the
First 100 Women Attorneys in Utah
14
Women Trailblazers in the Law
Dorathy S. Merrill Brothers
16
Born in 1909 in Salt Lake City, Brothers (the only woman in
her graduating class) received an L.L.B. from the University of
Utah in 1931. Thereafter, she attended the University of
Chicago, where she received a J.D., specializing in wills and
trusts. Brothers set up a law office in the Atlas Building in Salt
Lake City, where she practiced with her partner, Fred Dremann.
She also became a stockbroker with her husband, but she
continued to maintain an independent law practice.
Brothers was a member of the Utah State Code Commission,
which revised the State code. She was also active in Phi Delta
Delta, a legal fraternity for women, Phi Chi Theta, a business
fraternity for women, the Business and Professional Women’s Club, and the Ladies Literary Club. She died in
1985 at the age of seventy-six.
Donna Seare Adams
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Born in 1910, Adams graduated from the University of Utah in
1932. The United States Supreme Court admitted Adams in 1935.
Finding jobs scarce in established firms, Adams was a founding
member of Seare, Meagher & Seare, the first female-owned law
firm in Salt Lake City. Adams later worked as a research
attorney for the United States Department of Social Security
Administration in Washington, D.C., and as a law clerk to
Justice Eugene E. Pratt of the Utah Supreme Court.
In addition to her legal work, Adams was a magazine editor for
Phi Delta Delta, a women’s legal fraternity, and a writer for the
Deseret News and the Salt Lake Tribune. She died of cancer in 1962, at the age of fifty-two.
Women Trailblazers in the Law
15
Mary Alice Meagher Arentz
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Born May 12, 1910 in Salt Lake City and raised in Vernal, Arentz attended various educational institutions in California, Indiana, and Washington, D.C. She graduated from University of Utah College of Law in 1932. The Utah State Bar admitted Arentz that same year.
Arentz joined the first female owned law Salt Lake City law firm, Seare, Meagher & Seare,
practicing for eight years with a focus on real estate, oil and gas leases. In a 1937 Salt Lake
Tribune article, Arentz described her first few years of practice: “If all the clients had stayed
who came barging into our office it would have been all right, but as soon as they discovered
we were a firm composed of women – youthful ones at that – out they would scoot again.”
Nevertheless, the article portrayed Arentz as optimistic about her career, having
“achieved the point where her earning capacity has been definitely increased as a
result of her professional training.”
She met her husband, Samuel S. Arentz, on a New Year’s Eve blind date. They
raised five children. She was an active member of the Pi Beta Phi Alumni
Association, the Business and Professional Women’s Association, the Catholic
Women’s League, and the Women’s Auxiliary of the American Institute of Mining
Engineers. She contributed her services to legal aid, the Murray B. Allen Center
for the Blind, and many other community efforts. She died January 13, 1998
in Laguna Hills, California. Her thoughts on the law: “[L]aw is an honorable,
interesting and challenging profession. It will demand the best you have to
give, entails lots of study and your reward is helping people.”
Virginia Frances Seare
19
Born in 1909, Seare graduated from law school in 1932, and
was a founding member of the all-women law firm Seare,
Meagher & Seare, practicing domestic and transactional
law. After the firm dissolved, Seare became Assistant State
Counsel for the Home Owners Loan Corporation, where
her work focused on real property law. After a brief return
to private practice, she worked in the legal department of
the United States Smelting Refining and Mining Company.
16
Women Trailblazers in the Law
Katherine C. Meagher Ivers
20
Born in 1911, Ivers earned an L.L.B. from Stanford University
in 1937. She worked as a law clerk for Justice Martin M.
Larsen of the Utah Supreme Court for several years, then
worked in private practice for a number of years.
Ivers’ daughter states that although Ivers faced some
discrimination and intentional humiliation, it only
strengthened her resolve to succeed. Ivers’ daughter also
remembered her mother stating she was unprepared for the
workplace environment that confronted many women,
particularly after World War II, when many people viewed
working women as unpatriotic for taking work away from
returning soldiers.
Virginia Dibblee Roberts
Born in 1912, Roberts received her law degree from the University of Utah in 1937, and
began her career as a solo practitioner. Eventually, she and her son Thom formed Utah’s first
mother and son law practice, Roberts & Roberts.
Married to a District Attorney and raising two sons, Roberts focused much of her practice on
21
lobbying and political activities, “ignoring obstacles, like the side entrance to the Alta Club.”
While lobbying in the fifties, she dyed her hair blonde and discovered that the legislators were
not taking her seriously. In 1957, however, she was elected to the Salt Lake City Council.
Roberts served as Vice Chair of the Board of Trustees of Utah Legal Services, Chair
of the Board of Directors of the Utah Housing Coalition, and Chair of the Board of
Directors of the Utah State Welfare Department. She served on the Boards of the Salt
Lake Art Center, the Mental Health Association of Utah, the League of Women
Voters of Utah, Salt Lake United Way, Salt Lake Community Services Council, and
the Traveler’s Aid Society. She also served on several committees, including the
Implementation Committee for the Salt Lake City Correctional System Master
Plan, the Utah Air Conservation Committee, and the Governor’s Committee
on the Role and Status of Women.
Women Trailblazers in the Law
17
Dorothea Merrill Dryer
22
Dryer was born in 1915 in Salt Lake City. She attended
Stanford University, and in 1940, received her law degree
from Yale University. The Utah State Bar admitted Dryer in
1941. After a clerkship with Justice James Wolfe of the Utah
Supreme Court, she worked for the U.S. Bureau of Immigration
and Naturalization in Washington, D.C. When Dryer returned
to Utah, she specialized in criminal law, working closely with
Ray McCarty, as pro bono counsel to indigent criminal
defendants. She was one of the first women to appear before
the Utah Supreme Court, and the eighty-eighth woman
admitted to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Dryer also worked as deputy county attorney. Pregnancy failed to slow down her practice; instead, Dryer was
nicknamed the “pregnant prosecutor.” Dryer was interested in the education of gifted children, and the administration
of justice for juveniles. Dryer died in 1990, and was buried in the Arlington national Cemetery.
Mary John Condas Lehmer
23
Born in 1919, Lehmer was not only one of the first women to practice law in Utah; she is
believed to be the youngest admittee at the time of her admission to the Utah Bar in 1941.
After she received her J.D. from the University of Utah in 1940, Lehmer joined the WAVES
(Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service) and served in World War II. Later, she
worked under United States Senator Abe Murdock, and as a review attorney for the National
Labor Relations Board in Washington, D.C.
Eventually she returned to Utah and initiated a private practice that focused on domestic
relations and family law matters. In 1991, the Salt Lake Tribune reported Lehmer was “a
presence to be reckoned with in Park City, anathema to developers, heroine to
old-timers, many of whom owned their property through squatter’s rights.” Lehmer
served her community as a member of the Park City Council from 1972 through
1976, and she was involved in a number of philanthropic causes. Lehmer died in 1987.
John Lehmer, her son, remembered his mother stating, “The practice of law is
hard work. There are easier ways to make money, and in the course of a career,
an attorney will invariably encounter a certain number of unsavory, distasteful
characters, who will make the attorney’s life miserable. But the profession can
present the attorney with the rewarding and gratifying satisfaction that she
has performed a valuable service, which resulted in good and which helped
someone in need.”
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Women Trailblazers in the Law
Maxine Charlier Pace
24
Pace was born in 1918 in Victor, Idaho, and she received
her L.L.B. from the University of Utah in 1940. The Utah
State Bar admitted Pace in 1941, and three years later, in
1944, the United States Supreme Court admitted her to
practice. During World War II, she worked in the General
Counsel’s Office of the Federal Security Agency in Baltimore,
Maryland. In 1946, she returned to Salt Lake City and
married. After starting her family, she dedicated most of
her time to raising her children noting, “My four children
were a lot more fun than practicing law.”
Florence Austin Linsley
Born in 1920 in Tooele, Linsley earned an L.L.B. from the University of Utah in 1943. She
left Utah in 1983, and lived in Long Beach, California.
25
Margaret K. Spratley
Born in 1923, Spratley received her law degree from the University of Utah in 1946. One
year later, the Utah State Bar admitted Spratley in 1947. She initially worked for the Salt
Lake City law firm of Ray, Rawlins, Jones & Henderson, specializing in real estate title work
and banking law. Spratley subsequently became in-house counsel for a major oil company,
where she worked in the exploration and acquisition division.
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Spratley left the practice of law for approximately fifteen years while she raised her children. Thereafter, she
accepted an appointment as Special Commissioner for the Third Judicial District Court. Later, she became the
court’s Mental Health Commissioner, adjudicating involuntary civil commitments and cohabitant abuse civil
protective orders until her retirement in 1990.
Women Trailblazers in the Law
19
Brigitte M. Bodenheimer
27
Born in 1912, Bodenheimer received law degrees from the University of Heidelberg in 1934
and the University of Washington in 1936. She was an Associate Professor of Law at the
University of Utah. While in Utah, she wrote the manual for the Justices of the Peace in the
State of Utah (1956), and was the Chair of the Utah State Bar Committee on Juvenile Courts.
Bodenheimer later became Professor of Law at the University of California at Davis. She
retired there in 1979.
Bodenheimer was the Reporter for the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws, which
drafted the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Act. She also served as the United States delegate to the Hague
Conference on Private International Law, which produced the Convention on the Civil Aspects of International
Child Abduction. She was a member of the International Society of Family Law, the Family Law Section of the
American Bar Association, the National Council of Juvenile Court Judges, the Institute of Judicial Administration,
and the Association of Family Conciliation Courts. She wrote extensively in the area of family law.
Bodenheimer was married to Edgar Bodenheimer, also a Professor of Law at the University of California at Davis.
She died in 1981.
Snell & Wilmer is a proud sponsor of Women Lawyers of Utah.
www.swlaw.com
denver | las vegas | los angeles | los cabos | orange county | phoenix | salt lake city | tucson
20
Women Trailblazers in the Law
Mimi B. Mortensen
Seeking a greater challenge after her first two years of
University education, Mortensen attended law school at
the University of Utah, graduating in 1947. She also
studied law at Denver University. She was a member of the
Phi Delta Delta women’s legal fraternity. She states, “I
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learned to think like a lawyer. My legal education gave me
the background to serve in law related activities, including
acting as a docket clerk for the legislature, chairman of
committees in the Women’s Legislative Council, and
Administrative Director for Utah Advocates for the
Developmentally Disabled.”
On Her Greatest Accomplishment/Contribution As A Woman Lawyer:
“My greatest accomplishment was setting up the Office of Utah Advocates
for the Developmentally Disabled. Gordon Esplin, the legal director of
Utah Advocates for the Developmentally Disabled encouraged me to
handle client problems, but I didn’t have time to do that and my own
job, too.”
On Her Recommendation To Other Women Lawyers During Their Careers:
“I would recommend getting moot court and volunteer experience in law school.”
On Her Favorite Memory/Story Related To Being A Lawyer:
“A former fellow law student saw me in the City and County Building and asked me what I was doing there. I
told him I was handling an adoption case for my sister. He likened me to a hairdresser working out of her
home. He felt I was taking the ‘bread and butter’ from lawyers burdened with a costly law office.” Mortensen
was not always discouraged from her pursuit of a legal education by the law school or other lawyers. “Dean
Leary and Dr. Pomeroy bent over backwards to bring me up to speed when I registered the second quarter and
all the other students had already had one quarter of law school.”
On Advice To Newly Admitted Female Members Of The Utah Bar:
“I would recommend newly admitted female members of the Utah State Bar to follow their own inspiration in
the choices they make.”
Women Trailblazers in the Law
21
Dorothy Carson
29
Carson was born in Ogden. She earned her law degree from Stanford University in 1948. The
Utah State Bar admitted Carson in 1949. After law school, Carson found it difficult to obtain
interviews with firms. A Los Angeles law firm offered Carson a job as a receptionist, which
she accepted. Her first law-related position was with a Los Angeles legal newspaper. Less
than a year later, Carson joined the legal department of a federal agency, where she remained
for four years. Thereafter, she joined a two-person firm specializing in real estate. Eight
months later, she left the firm to begin her family.
Eventually, Carson moved to Arizona practicing with a small firm, and as a solo
practitioner. She left private practice in 1970, when the Phoenix City Court appointed
her as a judge. The Superior Court of the State of Arizona later appointed her as a
Judge, a position from which she retired in 1984.
She states, “Rather than giving new Ms. Attorney advice, let me just mention some
observations [from] my 50 [years] as a ‘lady lawyer’: (1) While we’ve come a long
way, the road ahead is still going to be long and steep; (2) All of my ‘thin skin’ had
to be shed. I had to face ‘responsibilities’ as an attorney as well as any remuneration
or recognition; (3) I found the law a demanding master – work, work, work!;
(4) I found it necessary to set priorities: family, integrity, profession; [and] (5) I
tried to always keep a kindly sense of humor …”
Lucy Redd
30
22
Women Trailblazers in the Law
Born in 1926, Redd received her law degree from the University
of Utah in 1948, and the Utah State Bar admitted her in
1949. Redd maintained a private law practice in Salt Lake
City for several years. She served as Deputy to Salt Lake
County Attorney, Frank E. “Ted” Moss. Redd was elected
as Democratic National Committee Woman serving as
Chairman of Western States Democratic Conference. She
lived in Washington, D.C. for many years, working as an
attorney in the Solicitor’s Office of the U.S. Department of
the Interior.
Jacque Benson Bell
After receiving a J.D. from George Washington University in
1950, Bell gained admittance to both the Washington D.C. Bar
and the Utah Bar. She started a private practice with her husband,
and practiced law with him for almost 50 years. At age 65, Bell
practiced law less, and travelled more, but she found practicing
law part time very difficult, especially in keeping up with changes
in the law. Reluctantly, she eventually “hung the old shingle up,”
which literally hung in her kitchen, “Bell & Bell: Attorneys.”
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“Over the years I thought that the greatest contribution I could
make to the women lawyers was to practice law to the best of
my abilities and show by my actions that women could be
viable attorneys right alongside with the men and would not have
to be treated differently. An attorney is an attorney and we should aspire to do the same work
and as well as the men. With so many women becoming attorneys, the gender problem
should be nil. So many wonderful women have succeeded in the profession today.
If they are married to attorneys, they should know how wonderful it is to practice
with their husband. It’s so great to work together and supplement each other as no
two other attorneys can do. In any case, as you practice law always feel equal to
men as one of them not equal as in a separate group.
My favorite memories related to being a lawyer are numerous. However, I must
admit that the times of winning cases with a jury or making a good settlement are the memories
that are the strongest. One memory that makes me really laugh now was not so laughable at the time. I was
appearing before Judge Ritter for the first time and was 8 months pregnant. He called for all the lawyers to
stand up and when he saw me, he just kept insisting that I sit down. Before I finally got him to look at my
license, he had actually threatened to have the bailiff throw me out.
At the risk of sounding too altruistic, my advice to the new female attorneys would be the same as that to the
new male attorneys: Always remember that our profession is one of service. The joy of practicing law will
always come when you successfully serve your client. Take cases on the basis of how and if you can help your
client, not on the basis of how much money you can make from the cases.”
Kipp & Christian, P.C.
proudly supports the
First 100 Women Attorneys in Utah
Women Trailblazers in the Law
23
Sherma Hansen Fridel
32
Fridel graduated from the University Of Utah College Of
Law in 1950. After her admission to the Utah State Bar, she
accepted employment with a small Salt Lake City law firm.
After a few months, Fridel left her firm to serve a church
mission in Uruguay, South America. Upon her return, Fridel
worked as legal counsel for several years at Husky Oil in
Cody, Wyoming. She eventually returned to Utah, where she
started a law practice in Brigham City. In addition to her
practice, she taught classes in farming law. Ultimately, Fridel
resigned from law practice to raise her children while working
with her husband on their dairy in Deweyville, Utah.
Fridel says that one of her most rewarding experiences as an attorney was serving as a member of the Juvenile Court
Advisory Board, and working with Juvenile Court Judges. “If the young woman were pre law, I would strongly
advise her not to continue the very demanding, often painful pursuit of a career in law, well knowing that if
she has the desire and commitment, and the intellectual and emotional capacity and stamina, she will, and
should, ignore my advice.”
Billy Hulsey Frank
33
Frank was born in Comanche, Texas, and grew up on a small ranch with no electricity or
telephone service. She served in the Women’s Army Corps during World War II and later
attended George Washington University in Washington, D.C. Frank attended the University
of Utah College of Law, graduating with honors in 1951.
After graduation from law school, Frank clerked for the Utah Supreme Court, then opened a solo practice and
took any work that came through the door. Since she was not able to collect a fee for every case, making a living
was her biggest challenge. During her time as a criminal attorney, Frank represented Don Jesse Neal, a prisoner
on death row, and along with the ACLU, took his case to the United States Supreme Court. Frank secured a stay
of execution and served it on a Utah judge, who ordered the prison warden to stop the execution just in time.
After her marriage in 1956 she moved to San Diego, California, where she raised her three children. She
received a Master’s degree in education and then worked to found the Senior Citizens Legal Services Program,
a non-profit organization, which provides free legal services to seniors throughout San Diego and Imperial
Counties. She retired from the practice of law at the age of 75, when she moved to Reno, Nevada to be closer
to her family. She died in January 2009 at the age of 84.
“[I]f you are going to spend fifty years in law, do something meaningful – something more than pursuing
money, for money is talking too loud in the courtroom. Law is becoming too dehumanized, like an assembly
line. Instead of pursuing the dollar, work on making the justice system more just.”
24
Women Trailblazers in the Law
Lucy R. McCullough
McCullough was born in 1911, and educated at home by her parents until she was an early teen.
She obtained a teaching degree from the University of Utah, then taught English, history, and
debate at West High School, Davis High School, and North Davis Junior High.
34
She was vice-chairperson of the Republican Party in Davis County for four years, and was a
member of the Young Republicans State Executive Committee. She attended the Young Republicans National
Convention in Milwaukee and was the only female delegate from Utah at the National G.O.P. convention in
Philadelphia in 1948.
McCullough resigned her teaching position in 1949 to attend the University of Utah College of Law, from
which she received her degree in 1953. She became a naturalization judge for the Federal government, and
spent more than thirty years as the only naturalization examiner for the Immigration Service in Utah.
McCullough loved a well-prepared speech, and taught elocution lessons (fondly known as “Poem Time”) to her
nieces and nephews. The lessons consisted of scriptures, poetry, readings, and plays, and how to present oneself
in front of an audience as well as in everyday living. She died on April 6, 1992.
Barbara P. Heaney
Heaney received her L.L.B. in 1954 from the University of Utah, where she graduated first in
her class and was Editor-in-Chief of the Utah Law Review. She earned her J.D. from the
University of Wisconsin the following year. Upon completing her education, Heaney clerked
for both the Utah Supreme Court and the Federal District Court in Utah, and worked as a
solo practitioner in Utah. She later served for many years as an attorney for the Wisconsin
Legislative Council, where she worked on Wisconsin’s landmark revision of the insurance code.
35
Heaney is a respected authority in the field of insurance law. She edited the Journal of Insurance Regulation for
eight years, taught insurance law at the University of Wisconsin, and served as a consultant and associate project
director for the American Bar Foundation’s Project on Principles of Insurance Regulation. She has published several
articles on insurance issues, and is the co-author, with Spencer L. Kimball, of Federalism and Insurance Regulation:
Basic Source Materials, a book published in 1995 by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.
Heaney currently lives in Madison, Wisconsin, with her husband, Donald Heaney, a trial lawyer. They have
four children.
“I am enthusiastic about legal training for women. The major problem occurs for those who choose to take
time off from practice. They fall behind in experience and then when they resume practice may run into
hard-to-prove age barriers.”
Women Trailblazers in the Law
25
Ruth Wilkins Matthies
36
Born in 1924, Matthies was only one of three women students when she obtained her J.D. from
the University of Utah in 1953. Matthies undertook significant challenges in school and
practice. As Business Editor of the Utah Law Review, Matthies wrote an article on “The
Constitutionality of the Released Time System.” At a time in which law firms politely declined
to interview women, Matthies successfully convinced Utah Supreme Court Chief Justice Roger
McDonough that she was qualified to clerk for him. Matthies also clerked for Justice David
T. Lewis of the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit.
In 1965, Matthies moved on to clerk for Willis W. Ritter of the United States
District Court, District of Utah. Despite her impressive credentials, the only legal
work Matthies could “scare-up” in her neighborhood practice was family law,
real estate advice, and an occasional criminal case. From 1966 to 1989, Matthies
continued to work as Law Librarian and Professor of Law at the University of Utah.
Her advice to women lawyers is, “[B]e brave, stay loose and adjust. Probably the
same for the men!”
Mary Jane Carter Due
37
Born in 1922 in Salt Lake City, Due earned her J.D. from the University of Utah in 1956. She
began taking law classes in 1952 at night and during her lunch hours, while working as a
secretary for the Federal District Court. In 1956, Due went to work for the Bureau of Land
Management where she became Chief Mineral Advisor. She spent ten years as an AttorneyAdvisor for the Office of Regional Solicitor for the United States Department of the Interior. In 1971 she moved to
Washington, D.C. and was the first woman to become Counsel and Chief Clerk for the Senate Interior Committee
on Aeronautical and Space Sciences. Due was also Senior Counsel to the American Mining Congress from
1979 until she retired in 1987.
A long-time Democrat, Due worked as the secretary to the Utah State Central Committee, including administrative
assistant posts with Utah Senator Frank Moss in 1974 and Ohio Senator Howard Metzenbaum in 1977.
Due was always active in civic organizations. She was a charter member of the League of Women Voters, and
the Utah Association for the United Nations. She directed Utah’s efforts for UNICEF and was a commissioner
for the Utah State Library Commission. She also was a Trustee of the University of Utah College of Law
Alumni Association and directed the Utah Transportation Education Foundation in Salt Lake City. Due died in
1991 at the age of 69.
26
Women Trailblazers in the Law
Irene Warr
Warr, a native of Erda, Tooele County, Utah, worked as a legal secretary for the State Tax
Commission of Utah after graduating from Tooele High School and prior to enrolling in
Westminster College in l950, when she also began working in the law office of the late Dan
B. Shields. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in l954, cum laude in biology,
chemistry and pre-med, and then entered the University of Utah College of Law, receiving her
38
Juris Doctor in l957. For the last fifty three years she has been engaged in private
practice in Salt Lake City, with an emphasis on motor carrier law and estate planning.
Warr has served the Utah Bar Association in several capacities, including terms on the
Fee Arbitration Committee and Discipline Committee. She has maintained membership
in the Utah State Bar, Salt Lake County Bar, and the American Bar Association,
belonging to several sections. Within the community, Warr has a more than fifty year
membership in the Gateway League and Utah Federation of Business and Professional
Women. She served as State President of BPW, and during her tenure was responsible
for the organization of the BPW/Utah Foundation, a charitable corporation which
provides grants and scholarships to women who need to improve skills to re-enter
the labor market. For approximately fifty years Warr has been a member of the
National Transportation Law, Logistics and Policy Association, where she has
served as Regional Vice President.
Warr has served as a Trustee and President of the Legal Aid Society and as a Trustee and President of the Sarah
Daft Home. She has served as a volunteer for the American Heart Association, and has served the State of Utah on
both the State Library Commission and the Physician Assistant Licensing Board by gubernatorial appointment.
Over the years she has donated her time to numerous causes, including the American Red Cross, the Salt Lake
Council of Women, the Women’s Legislative Council, and the Community Nursing Service. She was among those
instrumental in the creation of the Meals on Wheel Program for seniors. After the death of her parents, she
incorporated and qualified a 50l(c)(3) Family Foundation, The Allen B. Warr Memorial Park, which she helps
fund, and which owns and operates a well-known and much enjoyed community softball park at Erda, Utah.
Warr was an incorporator and member of the Board of Trustees of the Utah Women’s Lobby, and was also a
member of the Board of Trustees of the Utah Health Care Institute, which was formerly known as St. Marks
Health Care Foundation. She is currently a Member of the Murray Rotary Club, where she served as their first
female sergeant at arms, as a Trustee and as the bulletin editor. In December of 2002 the Murray Rotary Club
named Warr as its Paul Harris Fellow for the year in recognition of her contributions to the International
Rotary Foundation’s Polio Plus program.
Upon the College’s initiation of that program, in l998 she received the first Distinguished Alumni Award
presented by Westminster College. She holds the oldest active license among Utah’s women lawyers. In July
Women Trailblazers in the Law
27
of l999, the Utah State Bar designated Warr the “Distinguished Lawyer of the Year” for the State of Utah
and in 2007 she was awarded the Dorathy Merrill Brothers Award for the Advancement of Women in the
legal profession.
On Her Greatest Accomplishment As An Attorney:
“The law gave me the ability and resources to give back extensive service through charitable and humanitarian
activities in a wide ranging number of activities, from the Business and Professional Women, the State and National
Bar Associations, affiliations such as Rotary, etc., and the privilege of creating and supporting two 501 (c)(3)
private Foundations to further community and educational services. I believe that we have an allocated life
span on planet earth for the purpose of being of service to others.”
Advice To Other Lawyers (Men Or Women) During Their Careers:
“Humanitarian service, and if it must be done within the context of practicing law, then the answer would be
pro bono service to those who cannot access the justice system.”
On Her Favorite Memory As A Lawyer:
“Pounding the table at the old Court House in Kanab, Utah to make a point to Judge Tebbs, causing the table
to collapse, dumping all files and law books to the floor, immediately before the wind coming through an open
window (no air conditioning, of course, in the old court houses) blew over the flag pole and very nearly decapitated
the Judge! Read about it in the Judge’s biography. His version is a wonderfully well told story.”
Advice To Newly Admitted Attorneys:
“Lower any expectations of great wealth. If you intend to engage in private practice, realize that the law is
hard work, long and many times difficult and challenging hours and not for the faint of heart. Know that you
must find gratification and satisfaction in service, with or without recompense. Try to give up the billable hour
in favor of providing service to and meeting the needs of clients, with or without the ability to pay.”
28
Women Trailblazers in the Law
Judith F. Whitmer
Born in 1931 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Whitmer received her J.D. from the University of
Utah in 1957. Whitmer immediately established a general civil litigation solo practice in Salt
Lake City and practiced until 1971. She was a reference attorney for the Utah State Senate in
1965 and 1966, and served as a Trustee in the United States Bankruptcy Court from 1965 through
1971. Whitmer sat as a Juvenile Court Judge in the Second District Juvenile Court in Salt Lake
39
City from 1971 to 1983. From 1986 to 1996 Whitmer was a partner in the Southwest Shop.
Whitmer served on the Governor’s Committee on the Status of Women, the Governor’s Committee on Man
Power, the committee on Handicapped Children, the Institutional Council College of Eastern Utah, the Board
of the Utah Girl Scout Council, the Salt Lake Junior League, the Utah Mental Health Association, the Community
Services Council, the Board of the University of Utah Alumni Association, the Board of the Salvation Army, the
Board of the Community Crisis Center, the Board of Trustees of the Salt Lake Art Center, and the Board of the
Sarah Daft Home.
Gilbert Law Office acknowledges and thanks the
First 100 Utah Women Attorneys for their courage, tenacity and
for blazing the trail for those following their invaluable legacy.
Thank you!
Gilbert Law Office
(801) 295-4001
Corporate Counsel
|
|
www.cgilbertlaw.com
Estate, Trust & Probate
|
Domestic Representation
Women Trailblazers in the Law
29
Joan Beard Thompson
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Born in Utah in October 1935, Thompson received her BA in
Political Science in 1956 from the University of Utah. She
then received her J.D. from Stanford University Law School
in 1959 at age 23, one of the youngest in her graduating
class. She was admitted to the Utah Bar in 1959 and the
California bar in 1960.
Law firms and other employers would not interview the five
women in her class, which was the largest number of women
at Stanford Law School for many years before her class and
afterwards as well. She moved to Washington, D.C. and from
1960 to 1980 she was employed by the U.S. Department of the
Interior, primarily in the Solicitor’s Office and later for eight
years as an Administrative Judge (AJ) with the Interior Board of Land Appeals
(IBLA), reviewing appeals from decisions of Administrative Law Judges and agency
officials for public land and natural resources.
In October 1980 she became an AJ in the U.S. Postal Services’s Board of Contract
Appeals (USPS BCA). Federal BCAs are unique in the Federal judiciary as AJ’s
both preside at hearings and render final decisions with appeals only to the
Federal Circuit Court of Appeals. She heard cases mainly involving disputes
between private contractors and the USPS regarding construction contracts,
transportation contracts, and a few other matters.
While a member of the USPS BCA, Judge Thompson served as an officer and a director of the National Association
of BCAs. She also served as Co-Chairman of the National Administrative Law Committee of the National
Association of Women Judges (NAWJ). She lived in the D.C. area for 40 years, and following the death of her
husband, Noel H. Thompson, an attorney who practiced law in Northern Virginia and the District of Columbia,
she returned to Utah in November 1999. She now lives in South Jordan.
On Her Greatest Accomplishment/Contribution As A Woman Lawyer:
“I was an AJ when there were only a few women in the high level Federal Administrative Judiciary. Thus I
served as an example and role model to many women who wanted to become lawyers. As an AJ I was involved
in and wrote the decision in some of the most significant cases before the IBLA at that time. I also heard and
decided important cases before the USPS BCA.”
Recommendation That Women Lawyers To Seek During Their Career:
“Today there are many more varied opportunities for women than there were when I sought employment as a
lawyer. I suggest a woman evaluate her own assets (and liabilities) and try to decide what field of law she
would like to pursue and then seek mentors and make efforts to get into that field of law; try to educate herself
in the substantive law in that field, but also seek to gain experience in as many other areas of the law or related
job opportunities.”
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Women Trailblazers in the Law
On Her Favorite Memory/Story Related To Being A Lawyer:
“My experience in the Federal administrative judiciary was very different from most attorneys and judges in
Utah. Both the IBLA and the USPS BCA had nationwide jurisdiction. Therefore in the course of my duties,
especially with the BCA, I had to travel quite often. I presided over hearings in many different locales and sites.
Many of my favorite memories concern the facilities where I presided at hearings. These varied from state and
Federal court rooms, jury rooms, even conference rooms. The largest facility was the very large city hall in
New Haven, Connecticut; the loveliest were several ceremonial court rooms; the most scenic were a state court
overlooking the capital building in Albany, New York, and a U.S. Tax Court in Cleveland, Ohio with a great
view of Lake Erie and the city. My best memory in seeing the very puzzled expression on the face of an old
gentleman regular court watcher in San Francisco Federal District Court room. He was undoubtedly wondering
what that woman was doing in the judge’s chair and also administering oaths to the witnesses. We did not
have clerks to perform that function when we traveled.”
Advice to Newly Admitted Female Members of the Utah Bar:
“Try to keep your ‘cool’ when someone is trying to make you lose it. Be civil to all with whom you come in
contact regardless of their stature. Keep up with technology advancements. Find reliable and helpful mentors.”
Irene Evans Wilson
Wilson was born in 1926 and graduated from the University of Utah College of Law in 1959.
Before attending law school, Wilson worked for the Department of the Army at Fort Douglas,
and in Korea as a shorthand reporter for the lawyers instrumental in drafting the constitution
for the Republic of Korea. Wilson also worked for the State Department in the Office of the
United States Ambassador to Korea. After graduating from college, she entered the Women’s
Army Corps where she worked at the Office of the Provost Marshal General in Washington,
D.C. and in Germany.
41
Wilson was drawn to the legal profession by her work experience in the military. Following her military service,
she returned to Salt Lake City and attended law school. After law school graduation,
she married Donald R. Wilson, who was a classmate, and they formed the law firm of
Wilson & Wilson in the Holladay-Cottonwood area, where they still practice.
Advice to Newly Admitted Female Members of the Utah Bar:
“I would encourage her to search her soul and be sure that she had the stamina to
stand up under the pressures, both from time and financial constraints, which she
would undoubtedly face, especially if she were to try to practice on her own. I would
recommend that she cultivate legal activities while still in law school and make
contacts with practicing attorneys whenever possible.… Although women have come
a long way in gaining acceptance in the legal field, there is still a recognized gender
bias which has to be dealt with.”
Women Trailblazers in the Law
31
Vera Callister Badham
42
Born in 1931 in Utah, Badham graduated from the University of Utah College of Law and
was admitted to practice in 1963. Badham devotes her time to the legal needs of her primary
client, and is semi-retired.
Elaine D. Larsen
43
Larsen received both a Bachelor of Arts (1958) and her J.D. (1963) from the University of Utah.
She was admitted to the Utah State Bar in 1963 and was admitted in California in 1965. When she
first began practicing law, many firms refused to hire women, and women attorneys were expressly
excluded from a number of organizations such as the FBI and the Judge Advocate General Corps.
Larsen also felt some resistance from women who had entered practice before her.
Larsen clerked at the Utah Supreme Court for Justice Crocket from June 1963 to June 1964. Then she became an
associate at an Los Angeles law firm, Latham and Watkins from 1964 to 1971. Larsen then had a solo practice from 1971
to 1979, before clerking for Justice D. Frank Wilkins from 1979 to 1982. In 1982, she became Central Staff Attorney
at the Utah Supreme Court. Afterwards she worked in private practice from 2001 until she became inactive in 2005.
During her 20 years with the court, Larsen worked on many committees, including the
Supreme Court’s Advisory Committee on the Rules of Appellate Procedure and the
Utah Judicial Council’s Committee on Information, Automation, and Records.
On Her Greatest Accomplishment/Contribution As A Woman Lawyer:
“I mentored other women lawyers. In California I, with other women lawyers,
was instrumental in getting the ‘Young Barristers’ section of the California Bar to
change its charter to allow women in 1970. This section was exclusively male
until that change occurred.”
On Her Recommendation To Other Women Lawyers During Their Careers:
“To be the best lawyer they can be. Mentor other young lawyers whether they be
men or women.”
Favorite Memory/Story Related To Being A Lawyer:
“Probably my interview at Gallo Winery. The second in command of their legal department was given the job
of finding a third member of the team. He called me long distance, sent me an airplane ticket and arranged for
me to rent a car in San Francisco. He interviewed me, arranged for a real estate agent to take me to see available
houses, and finally introduced me to the head of the legal department. He took one look at me and said, ‘Earnest
and Julio Gallo are old country Italians who keep their wives behind high walls in gated estates.’ I knew instantly
I was not going to be hired, but the young man didn’t even understand.”
On Advice To Newly Admitted Female Members Of The Bar:
“Get yourself an experienced mentor. Your legal education is not totally complete just because you graduated
from law school and were admitted to the Bar. Your mentor can be a man, or a woman, or a series of older
lawyers who can teach you.”
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Women Trailblazers in the Law
Lyn W. Walden
Born in 1939 in Long Beach, California, Walden received an L.L.B. from the University of Utah in
1963. She later left Utah and lived in New York. Walden was a member of the Phi Delta Delta
women’s legal fraternity.
44
Jeannette D. Watkins
Born in New Zealand, Watkins immigrated to the United States by herself at the age of
seventeen in 1951. She earned a Bachelor’s degree in accounting and became the state’s
second woman C.P.A. in 1959. In 1960, Watkins was the first woman to earn an M.B.A.
from the University of Utah.
45
Watkins was among three women admitted to the University College of Law in 1964, but the only one of the
three to graduate. Watkins graduated first in her class, served as a Utah Law Review editor, and was awarded
the Order of the Coif. Watkins clerked for Judge David T. Lewis of the United States Circuit Court of Appeals.
Upon leaving law school, Watkins went to work for the law firm Fabian & Clendenin until 1965, when she left
to join her husband’s firm, Watkins, Pace & Watkins. In 1979, Watkins joined the CPA firm Hansen, Barnett
& Maxwell.
Watkins and her husband frequently travel to New Zealand, and Watkins enjoys
gardening, music, and spending time with her grandchildren in what she euphemistically
refers to as her “spare time.”
“While women professionals still may not have an easy time breaking through the
‘glass ceiling,’ there [are] an increasing number of good opportunities for women in
most professions, including law. Since attitudes toward women vary from firm to
firm, it is essential during the interview process to watch for indications of what
that attitude might be, e.g., what percent of women lawyers do they have, and
to what level have they risen, etc.”
Mary J. Colbath
Colbath was born in 1941 in Kansas City, Missouri. She received an L.L.B. from the University of
Utah in 1965, and was admitted to the Utah State Bar the same year. She later left Utah, and lived in
Charlottesville, Virginia.
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Women Trailblazers in the Law
33
Janet M. Schutz Merrill
47
Born in Salt Lake City in 1941, Merrill received her J.D. from the University of Utah in 1965.
Merrill was admitted to both the Utah and Nevada State Bars, and served as a deputy legislative
counsel for the Nevada and Oregon legislatures. In those capacities, she drafted legislation
(including revisions of the criminal and probate codes), served as counsel for legislative interim
committees, wrote digests and annotations of judicial decisions, and reviewed administrative regulations. Merrill
held the position of Principal Deputy Legislative Counsel in Nevada, but later left the practice of law so she
could devote her time to assisting her husband in operating a retail grocery business. Merrill has seven children.
“[A prospective woman attorney] will have some hard decisions to make. I was told by a Justice of the Nevada
Supreme Court that I was the only woman he knew that ‘had it all’ – a successful career and a great family. I
don’t believe anyone can ‘have it all.’ One thing will have to be sacrificed for the other.”
Susan M. Flandro
48
Born in 1940 in Salt Lake City, Flandro received a J.D. from the University of Utah in 1968.
She left Utah in 1969, for Boise, Idaho and subsequently moved to Fullerton, California.
Mary Lou Godbe
49
Born in 1943, Godbe attended the University of Utah College of Law, where she was the
Articles Editor for the Utah Law Review and graduated Order of the Coif in 1968. She
decided to go to law school because both her grandfather and uncle were lawyers.
Godbe clerked for the Honorable A. Sherman Christensen, and then worked for Dan Berman, concentrating
on antitrust and commercial litigation. She then entered an office-sharing arrangement with Parker Nielson
and other attorneys handling primarily antitrust, commercial, and domestic work. During this time, she also
taught Trial Advocacy at the University of Utah. Later, she opened a solo practice, during which time she also
did a great deal of pro bono work.
“A legal education is a beautiful thing that will stand anyone in good stead forever, but think long and hard
before you decide to practice law.”
34
Women Trailblazers in the Law
Kay Aldrich Lindsay
Born in 1943, Lindsay received her law degree from University of Utah in 1967 and was the only
female graduate in her class. In 1971, Lindsay began working at the Deputy County Attorney’s
office. In 1975, Lindsay left Utah with her husband while he served in the Army and received
further training as a physician. In 1987, Lindsay joined a small firm until she became a Juvenile
Court Judge in 1992.
50
Lindsay is a member of the Utah Judicial Council and the Judicial Council Liaison Committee. She has been a
member and chair of the Utah Board of Juvenile Court Judges. In addition, Lindsay is very active in the community,
serving as a member or chair of numerous community service committees. Lindsay has six children, including
two sets of twins.
On Her Greatest Accomplishment Or Contribution As A Woman Lawyer:
“I have had the opportunity over the years to help establish a climate of collaboration
between all of the agencies working with children in the Fourth District. It started in 1999
when I first met with the Directors of Substance Abuse, DCFS, Public Defenders,
Attorney General, and the Guardian ad Litem to talk about establishing a Family
Drug Court. Since that initial collaboration, we have included Juvenile Justice Services,
mental health, and the three school districts in the Fourth District. We meet
consistently to deal with issues concerning ‘our children.’ The new programs and services
that have been established as a result of community players working together are a
testament of that collaboration.”
Recommendation To Women Lawyers During Their Careers:
“Focus your career on something that you are passionate about. We don’t always know
what our passion is going to be when we first start practicing law, and sometimes our experience leads us in an
unanticipated direction. If you are like me, you will start out practicing law without a clear direction of where
you want to go, but I believe that in order to be truly happy and fulfilled, you need to end up in a field where
you really care about what you are doing and the lives of the people you are in a position to help.”
On Her Favorite Memory As A Lawyer:
“I first started practicing in Utah Valley in 1970. At that time there were no female attorneys around. I started
as a Deputy Utah County Attorney. Soon after the Daily Herald ran a series of articles about women stepping
into traditional male careers. They ran an article of me next to a female mechanic.”
Advice To Newly Admitted Female Attorneys:
“I was the first woman south of Salt Lake County to be appointed to the bench. When I was first took the
bench, the attorneys were not used to dealing with a woman judge. The evaluations I received from the male
attorneys who appeared in my court prior to my first retention election advised me to act more like a man.
They did not want me to project my personality from the bench. I had to learn that it was all right to be me
and to be a woman! My advice is to always remain true to who you are. Each one of us can make a difference
in our own special way with our individual talents and skills.
[N]ext to marrying my husband, the best decision I ever made was to pursue a career in law. The field of law is
wide open to women now – more so than ever before. When I started to practice in Utah County in 1971, the
newspaper ran an article about me fashioned after Ripley’s ‘Believe It or Not.’ We’ve come a long way.”
Women Trailblazers in the Law
35
Eleanor S. Van Sciver
51
Born in Salt Lake City, Van Sciver received her law degree
from the University of Utah in 1967. She was admitted to the
Utah State Bar, as well as the United States District Court, the
Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals, and the United States Supreme
Court. She served in the Office of the Solicitor, United States
Department of Interior; Administrative Law Judge, Department
of Social Services State of Utah, and the Board of Directors of
Parents United, the Governor’s Commission on the Status of
Women, and several legislative subcommittees.
Greatest Accomplishment Or Contributions:
“Providing a role model as the first woman appointed to the trial
court bench for the state of Utah. Being a mentor for young women lawyers
embarking on the practice of law.”
Recommendation To Other Women Lawyers:
“Conduct yourself in an ethical and above-board manner in all your dealings
within and without the profession.”
One Of My Favorite Memories As A Lawyer:
“Shortly following the creation of the National Association of Women Judges, we
held one of our conferences in Washington D.C. We were all invited to the Supreme Court as guests of the then
Chief Justice Warren Burger... When he entered the room in which we had assembled he looked around in jaw
dropping amazement and asked if we were all judges. This was a time when the burgeoning ranks of women
judges were just beginning but we filled the large conference room almost to overflowing. It was so satisfying
to be with my sister judges and to astonish the then all male Supreme Court. Later during that same conference
we were all invited to lunch at the White House with President Jimmy Carter. I will always have a special
memory of that conference.”
“My advice to all lawyers is to look to a special code of conduct for yourself and as a representative of your
profession. I fear the ethics of this country and this profession are not as they used to be. Look to collegial
respect for your colleagues and maintain a respect for the profession.”
36
Women Trailblazers in the Law
Miriam P. Ellett
Born in Blenheim, South Carolina in 1919, Ellett received her law degree from the University
of Utah in 1969. Friends who were lawyers encouraged Ellett to enter law school, and she
attended classes part-time while working full-time as a court reporter. After her admission to
the Utah State Bar in 1969, Ellett worked as a law clerk and handled small legal matters.
52
Before law school, Ellet received her court reporter training at LDS Business College, where
she won top honors in shorthand at the International Commercial Schools Contest in Chicago.
In 1941, she began as an official court reporter at the Third District Court, working for the
Honorable Albert H. Ellett until his appointment to the Utah Supreme Court in 1967. She
was the court reporter for the Honorable Jay E. Banks from 1973 to 1976.
Because Ellett’s mother died when she was fourteen, she assisted in raising her four
youngest brothers. She was married to Justice Ellett of the Utah Supreme Court from
1975 until his death in 1986. In her retirement, Ellett enjoys traveling and is active in
church and civic organizations.
“[I would tell a prospective woman attorney] to follow her dream and go for it.”
Women Trailblazers in the Law
37
Hon. Christine Odell Cook Miller
53
Upon her graduation from the University of Utah College of Law
in 1969, Miller worked as a law clerk for the Honorable David
Lewis on the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals. She was an Honors
Program trial attorney in the Civil Division of the United States
Department of Justice; a trial attorney with the Federal Trade
Commission Bureau of Consumer Protection; a litigation associate
with Hogan & Hartson (now Hogan Lovells); Special Counsel
to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation; Assistant General
Counsel for the U.S. Railway Association; and a partner with
Shack & Kimball, P.C. In 1982, President Reagan appointed
Miller to her current position as an Article I judge on the United
States Court of Federal Claims. President Clinton reappointed
Judge Miller in 1998.
On Her Greatest Accomplishment Or Contribution As A Woman Lawyer:
“I would point to my legal writing – evolving from recognition during law school to
law-review proficiency to effective advocacy to cogent and readable opinion-writing.
Frankly, nothing makes a greater impression on other members of the legal
profession (one’s colleagues, opponents, and judges) than the written presentation
of legal work.”
Recommendation To Other Women Lawyers To Do Or Seek During Their Career:
“One is not an attorney until one has appeared before a judge and argued on behalf of a client. No matter what
aspect of law one practices, that is the crucible, and the lessons learned from having to focus and advocate
carry over to all other legal endeavors, although no other one imparts this particular skill set. Or, so my
former law clerks tell me.”
Favorite Memory Or Story Relating To Being A Lawyer:
“Coleen Ward Ryan, ‘no. 54 of the First 100,’ died in 2002 at age fifty-eight. She was a career state prosecutor
and a California Superior Court judge. She took no prisoners and called my bluffs from the first day of law
school throughout our life-long friendship. She was smart and engaging and had an infectious laugh. When
one thinks of ‘woman’ and ‘lawyer,’ I think of Coleen.”
To Newly Admitted Female Members Of The Utah State Bar:
“Look at my neck at age twenty-four. Enjoy your neck while it lasts, because at my age you will not. The larger
lesson, of course, is that remaining physically fit helps one to continue whatever one is accomplishing with legal
skills. Regular exercise is de rigeur for surviving stress in the legal profession. The body that one works on in
one’s forties and fifties will determine how long and effectively one practices law. Appearances do count. The
view from the bench is that an attorney who presents herself as alert and lively has an edge.”
38
Women Trailblazers in the Law
Coleen Ward Ryan
Following graduation from the University of Utah College of Law in 1969, Ryan worked for the
Securities and Exchange Commission for five years in its Washington D.C. and California offices.
Thereafter, she served as a prosecutor in Bakersfield, California for sixteen years. In 1990, Ryan
left the prosecutor’s office to become a Superior Court Commissioner, and in October 1997,
she was appointed to the bench of the Superior Court of California. Ward died in 2002.
54
To Young Women Considering Law:
“Go for it!”
Karen S. Williams
Williams received a BA in English in 1966 from the University of
Utah, and a J.D. from the University of Utah College of Law
in 1969. She was admitted to the state bars of Utah, Arizona,
Colorado, and Ohio between 1969 and 1978. Between 1969
and 1977 she worked as a Claims Examiner for the Veteran’s
Administration in Salt Lake City; as a legal consultant for the
Veteran’s Administration in Washington, D.C.; a legal researcher
and lobbyist for Washington State Association of Counties in
Olympia, Washington; as both a private practitioner and a
part-time City prosecutor in Provo, Utah; a legal researcher for
a firm in Porterville, California; an associate attorney in
general trial practice at a firm in Arizona; and a legal researcher
at a firm in Colorado Springs, CO. Williams then worked part-time as an attorney
from 1978 to 1985 while a full-time homemaker and part-time piano instructor.
Then from 1986 to 2005, Williams worked as a sole practitioner handling legal
matters in various fields including criminal defense, family law, business and
corporations, probate, and bankruptcy. She has since retired.
55
“I feel that my greatest accomplishment as a lawyer was to help individual clients
solve their particular legal problems. It was a good feeling when people left my
office with one or two of their concerns having been resolved. I believe that I
achieved a reasonable balance between career and family. If the two areas were
in conflict, I chose my family.
I don’t feel qualified to give advice to new women lawyers. Each individual’s resources and circumstances are
so different that each person should ponder and pray about her own situation and follow her best instincts
about all of her decisions.
A legal education is a wonderful experience. The education continues to be valuable throughout an entire lifetime.
There are always situations which require legal analysis and research.”
Women Trailblazers in the Law
39
Myrna Mae Harris Nebeker
56
Born in 1930 in Chicago, Illinois, Nebeker moved to Salt Lake City as a child, and overcame
a speech impediment to take debate honors in high school. Nebeker was a real estate agent
and broker before she attended law school. She received a J.D. from the University of Utah in
1969, and then engaged in private practice, primarily in the areas of real estate and criminal
law. Nebeker died tragically in an auto accident in 1973.
Margret Sidwell Taylor
57
Born in 1944, Taylor received her law degree in 1970 from the University of Utah, and began her
career as the first woman lawyer on the staff of the Salt Lake County Public Defender Office. As
a teenager, Taylor was inspired to become an attorney when she read To Kill a Mockingbird.
Taylor took a five-year sabbatical working part-time, temporary service jobs in San Diego, Los Angeles, and Denver,
primarily for lawyers, but also for an architect, a contractor, a food distributor, and others. She called this her
“Graduate School in the Streets.”
In 1977, Taylor opened a law office in Helper, Utah, where she has conducted a
criminal defense practice for more than twenty years. “I would ask [a prospective
woman attorney]: 1) Are you ready for a fight? The ‘practice of law’ is practice
by the rules of civilized fighting, the object being to win. The study of war, chess,
and football are instructive. 2) Do you have a good command of the language?
A lawyer is a ‘hired gun’ and our words are your bullets, whether written on
paper or spoken in the courtroom.… 3) Are you passionate about it? If not,
40
Women Trailblazers in the Law
forget it. If so, follow your passion.”
Bettie Jean Marsh
Marsh graduated from the University of Wisconsin, Madison College of Law in 1966, and
attended graduate school at the University of Wisconsin on a Russell Sage Foundation Fellowship
from 1966 to 1967. She was admitted to the Wisconsin State Bar in 1968, and worked for the
Milwaukee Legal Services Program as the Law Reform Coordinator for two years. After a
brief stint at the National Legal Aid & Defender Association in Chicago, Marsh moved to
58
Ogden in 1971 where she opened a private practice and was admitted to the Utah State Bar.
Marsh served both in the Utah Attorney General’s Office and the Salt Lake County Attorney’s
Office. Marsh moved to Ponca City, Oklahoma, where she served as an Assistant
District Attorney for the Eighth Judicial District, supervising the Child Support
Division for North Central Oklahoma.
Marsh’s career highlights include co-authoring an amicus curiae brief in Boddie v.
Connecticut (a landmark civil rights case decided by the United States Supreme
Court), and helping to draft Utah legislation to implement Title IV-D of the Social
Security Act. Throughout her career, Marsh has been active in the Bar and in
numerous community service organizations.
“[W]ork at developing as much depth as possible within a specialized or narrow
area of the law to develop an area of expertise, rather than having a general law
practice. It will be of greater benefit to [her], the legal community, and society
in general.”
Ballard Spahr supports the
Women Trailblazers in the Law:
Utah’s First 100 Women Lawyers.
We salute Melanie J. Vartabedian, President of Women Lawyers of Utah, 2010-2011.
Atlanta | Baltimore | Bethesda | Denver | Las Vegas | Los Angeles | New Jersey | Philadelphia | Phoenix | Salt Lake City | San Diego | Washington, DC
Wilmington | www.ballardspahr.com
Women Trailblazers in the Law
41
Pamela Greenwood
59
Before attending law school, Greenwood was a member of
the Utah Symphony and taught high school orchestra in
Ithaca, New York. After receiving her J.D. from the University of Utah in 1972, Greenwood worked as in-house
counsel for a land development corporation. She was an
adjunct law professor at the University of Utah from 1972
to 1977. She continued in private practice until 1977 when
she became Bar Counsel for the Utah State Bar. Greenwood
then became General Counsel and Vice President for First
Interstate Bank of Utah from 1980 to 1986.
From 1987 to 2010, Greenwood served two terms as a presiding
judge on the Utah Court of Appeals. She has served as President of both the Salt
Lake County Bar and the Utah State Bar, and has received many awards including
Woman Lawyer of the Year, the Dorathy S. Merrill Brothers Award, Outstanding
Service Award, and the Outstanding Judicial Service Award.
Although she often sensed a “general discomfort… about having women
actively engaged in practicing law,” she was fortunate in meeting many
attorneys, including her husband David A. Greenwood, who supported her
professional endeavors and numerous Bar activities.
On Her Greatest Accomplishment As A Woman Lawyer:
Greenwood cites “opening doors of opportunity for future women lawyers [and] developing positive professional
and personal relationships with others in the legal profession.”
Advice To Women Lawyers During Their Careers:
“Take advantage of opportunities to become known, such as bar activities and pro bono work.”
On Her Favorite Story As A Lawyer:
“Apologizing to a judge for missing a hearing when I gave birth to my second child earlier than expected.”
Advice To Newly Admitted Female Attorneys:
“Act with integrity.”
42
Women Trailblazers in the Law
Rita G. (James) Hempen
Born in Erie, Pennsylvania in 1947, Hempen received her law degree from the University of
Georgia and was admitted to the Georgia Bar in 1970. She was then employed as a staff
attorney for the University of Georgia School of Law Legal Aid and Defender Society. After
her admission to the Utah Bar in 1972, Hempen maintained a solo practice in Ogden, where
she specialized in criminal law, domestic relations, and general civil practice.
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Although Hempen eventually discontinued her law practice, she pursued a variety of other interests, including
living for several years on a sailboat and cruising the west coast of Mexico, the cost of Central America, and
parts of the Carribbean. Hempen resides in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
“[T]he legal profession offers many opportunities for women who want to work part-time or take time off because
of the ability to be independent – and thus represents a good career choice for reasons that apply fewer to men.”
Constance K. Lundberg Erickson
Lundberg received her law degree from the University of Utah
in 1972, and her masters in library science from Brigham Young
University in 1993. She began her career at Parsons, Behle & Latimer,
where she worked as an environmental and natural resources
lawyer. She served as counsel to the Council on Environmental
Quality during a leave from the firm. In addition to holding
appointments as an adjunct professor at the University of Utah
College of Law and Utah State University College of Natural
Resources, Lundberg has written books, sections of books, and
articles in the resources and environmental law fields. Lundberg
serves as the Associate Dean for Writing and Research at the
J. Rueben Clark Law School at Brigham Young University,
where she supervised the Hunter Law Library, lawyering skills
instruction, and co-curricular programs at the law school. She has served at the law
school as associate professor, professor, and law librarian.
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“Gender differences are real. Learn to overcome communication differences and to
be more task oriented. Your relationship skills are a long term asset, but it will take
time for that appreciation to show in your paycheck. Be tough about insults.”
On Her Greatest Accomplishment:
Lundberg was the first woman partner in an established Utah law firm.
She Recommends That Other Women Lawyers:
“Prepare well, [and] speak in as few words as possible.”
Favorite Story As An Attorney:
“Holding my one year old baby son on my lap while conducting a press conference at Geneva Steel.”
One Piece Of Advice To Newly Admitted Female Bar Members:
“Over prepare.”
Women Trailblazers in the Law
43
Sara G. Zwart
62
Having a law degree from Amsterdam, and earlier experience as an in-house counsel for a
Dutch investment bank, Zwart joined her husband in Salt Lake City in 1968. Eager to renew
her law career, Zwart started school at the University of Utah. Being on of three women in her
first class, Zwart nevertheless was surprised to hear of her “suffragette status” as the Utah
State Bar, to which she was admitted in 1972.
Zwart became a part-time research assistant at a Salt Lake City firm in February
1973. In June of that year, her family moved to Dayton, Ohio, where she joined
another firm. At first, Zwart was the only woman attorney on staff. But Zwart
found a mentor in a senior partner, who taught her the nuts and bolts of legal
practice.
Eventually, Zwart turned to academics. She held several teaching positions in
New York while earning an L.L.M. at New York University, conferred in 1983.
Zwart now works as a mediator, arbitrator and counselor.
Jean Louise Weaver Barnard
63
Born in 1948, in Pasadena, California, Barnard received her J.D. from the University of Utah
in 1973. She subsequently moved to Phoenix, Arizona.
Eunice S. Chen
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44
Women Trailblazers in the Law
Chen was born in 1946 in Hong Kong, and received a J.D.
from the University of Utah in 1973.
Shirlene A. Cutler
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Cutler was born in 1934 in Salt Lake City and earned her law
degree from the University of Utah in 1972. After law school,
she rented an office in the University Club Building, establishing
a solo practice, initially focusing on discrimination suits.
Later she concentrated on child custody cases.
Reva Beck Bosone inspired Cutler to become a lawyer. She
also was inspired by the film “How Green Was My Valley,”
which concerned the oppression of mine workers. When Cutler
was in law school, she was one of two women students, and
such an oddity that the Salt Lake Tribune printed a lengthy
article about her. The following year, thirty women enrolled
in the freshman class. Cutler considers the publicity surrounding
her law school attendance to be her greatest contribution to the profession.
“The study and practice of law is the best thing that happened to me … and to my family.
My children learned about the law along with me.”
Virginia Hudson Louden
Louden received a J.D. from the University of Colorado in 1971, and is a member of the Bar
in Colorado and Utah. In Colorado, she served as an editor for the Rocky Mountain Mineral
Law Institute and as a Deputy District Attorney. Louden then maintained a solo private
practice in both Colorado and Utah, focusing on real estate and mineral law, after which she
joined the law firm Parsons, Behle & Latimer. She also served as General Counsel for Bear
Creek Mining Company, an exploration division of Kennecott Copper Corporation, and as
an arbitration lawyer with the Directors Guild of America in Los Angeles, California.
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Before entering law school, Louden spent two years in the Peace Corps, teaching English at a girls school near
Tehran, Iran, where she learned to speak Farsi. She also traveled extensively in Africa and Asia, and spent two
months studying Berber tribes in Morocco, and a month in Algeria studying the Sahara Desert and the Subsaharan
peoples. Louden currently resides in Trinidad, Colorado.
“[T]he world needs a feminine approach to solving legal problems but…[a prospective woman attorney] should
be careful about the economics involved. To survive, she’ll need to find a niche that affords her an income but
is also an area of interest to her. I also hope that she’ll consider trial work, because in the end, it’s winning cases
that involve issues crucial to females and children that will make a difference in this world. Emotionally, it’s the
most difficult area, but the thrill of winning a case involving a point dear to your heart causes immense joy.”
Women Trailblazers in the Law
45
Patricia J. Marlowe
67
Marlowe was born in 1948 in Weston, West Virginia and received her J.D. from the University
of Utah in 1973. She was hired by the Salt Lake County Attorney’s Office as a prosecutor.
After 6 months of prosecuting misdemeanors, she switched to felony prosecution. Marlowe
later moved to the Civil Division of the Salt Lake County Attorney’s Office where she served
as legal counsel for the health department, mental health, the sheriff’s office and the jail.
Once Salt Lake County became self-insured, she moved to the newly created Litigation Division
where she defended Salt Lake County and its employees in state tort action and in 42 USC 1983
civil rights action. Her practice focused on 1983 and Title VII actions in U.S. District Court
and cases involving injuries to or the death of jail inmates and false arrest complaints
against sheriff deputies. Marlowe also litigated the constitutionality of forcibly medicating
mental health patients and mentally ill jail inmates with antipsychotic medication, and
brought sexual harassment cases against both a county attorney and the fire chief and
fire department. In 1999 Marlowe served as legal counsel for the sheriff’s department
prosecuting misdemeanors and felonies until she retired in 2000.
On Her Greatest Accomplishment As A Woman Lawyer:
“I was the first female Salt Lake Deputy County Attorney and was successful
as a prosecutor and defense attorney. I was successful because male attorneys
were prone to underestimate my tenacity, my subject matter knowledge and
my trial ability.”
On Advice To Women Lawyers During Their Careers:
“Always act in a timely manner, be courteous to opposing counsel, the Court & court personnel.
If opposing counsel is not civil, ignore counsel and don’t whine to the Court about incivility.
Make sure you know the law, the rules of procedure & practice, as well as, the rule of evidence.”
On Her Favorite Story As A Lawyer:
“In a false arrest 1983 action, plaintiff’s attorney had filed a motion complaining about my objections to
discovery requests. During the hearing, plaintiff’s attorney constantly complained about ‘Ms. Marlowe did
this, Ms. Marlowe did that’ and when he finished his argument, the Court told him that ‘unfortunately for
you, Ms. Marlowe is right and your motion is denied.’”
Advice To Newly Admitted Women Attorneys:
“Discuss your legal issues and problems with an experienced attorney, so that you can hopefully avoid making mistakes.”
Linda A. Shepard
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46
Born in 1937, Shepard received a J.D. from the University of Utah in 1973. She subsequently
lived in Sacramento, California.
Women Trailblazers in the Law
Judith A. Boulden
Born in 1948 in Salt Lake City, Boulden received her J.D. in
1974 from the University of Utah as one of eight women in
that graduating class. While she was in law school, Boulden
was an officer in the Women’s Law Association and a teaching
assistant to Professor Owen Olpin. Boulden served as a
law clerk for A. Sherman Christensen, Senior United States
District Judge for the District of Utah. In 1975, Boulden
joined the medium-sized Salt Lake City law firm of Roe &
Fowler, where she specialized in corporate reorganization
and served as a Chapter 7 Trustee for the United States
Bankruptcy Court. Four years later, Boulden was appointed
the Standing Chapter 13 Trustee for Utah and in 1987 the
Standing Chapter 12 Trustee. In 1981, she joined the firm of McKay, Burton,
Thurman & Condie. A year later, Boulden formed her own law firm, Boulden
& Gillman, specializing in reorganization and trustee proceedings.
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In 1988, she was appointed to the United States Bankruptcy Court for the
District of Utah as Utah’s first female federal judge. Boulden has been active in
the National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges and in 1996 was appointed as
one of the founding judges of the Bankruptcy Appellate Panel for the Tenth
Circuit, where she served until 2005. She initiated the Utah Bankruptcy Lawyers
Forum to promote civility and increase trial advocacy skills among the bankruptcy
bar. She served on the bankruptcy bench for over 21 years and retired in June
of 2010.
On Her Greatest Accomplishment/Contribution As A Woman Lawyer:
“My greatest accomplishment was being the first women appointed to the Federal Bench in Utah.”
Recommendation To Other Women Lawyers During Their Career:
“To achieve, like any lawyer, you must be willing to work very hard. But it is also important to develop your
own style as a lawyer and not try to change your personality or try to become someone you are not.”
On Her Favorite Memory Related To Being A Lawyer:
“My husband and I attended a bar association dinner event and were seated with other attorneys at a large
round table. As a colleague was making introductions and gestured generally in our direction, indicating that
Judge Boulden was seated at the table, one prominent elder member of the bar stood up to shake my husband’s
hand, saying what a great pleasure [it was] to meet the judge.”
Advice To Newly Admitted Female Members Of The Utah State Bar:
“Maintain a sense of self and identity apart from the practice.”
Women Trailblazers in the Law
47
Kathryn Collard
70
Born in 1948 in Salt Lake City, Collard received her J.D. from the University of Utah in
1974. She is a member of a small Salt Lake City law firm and practices in the areas of civil
rights, products liability, medical malpractice, personal injury, employment discrimination
and Indian law.
Barbara A. Dabney
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Dabney received her J.D. from the University of Utah College of Law in 1974 and worked initially
as a hearing assistant and later as a staff attorney for the Social Security Administration.
While taking time out from practicing law in order to raise four children, she earned a Master’s
Degree in Art from the University of Utah and produced an award winning documentary
about Rosemary Cosby, a Pentacostal leader in Salt Lake City.
From 1995 to the present, she has practiced Social Security disability law with her husband in their firm, Dabney
& Dabney, in St. George, Utah. She also currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Red Rock Center for
Independent Living, a charitable organization that advocates for and provides resources to the disabled.
After receiving her B.A. degree, she worked for a time in Washington, D.C., during the 60’s.
“That experience led me to believe that a legal education would enable me to accomplish
my goals and more meaningfully contribute to society. I realize what a great privilege
it was to attend law school – and I highly recommend it to anyone who is seeking
the resources for an exciting, fulfilling life.”
On Her Greatest Accomplishment As A Woman Attorney:
“My work in Social Security disability law provides the opportunity to assist
people with serious impairments who otherwise might not receive the disability
benefits they need.”
Advice To Women Attorneys During Their Careers:
“Define your goals and interests. Obtain as much knowledge and experience
as possible but try to specialize in an area of law that you enjoy and that will allow you to
realize your goals.”
Favorite Story As An Attorney:
“One client, a young man living in a small Utah town, could not use his arms due to the residuals of surgery.
His wife cried when she described his inability to pick up his children or do almost anything that required the
use of his arms. The ALJ denied the case; we appealed and the case was remanded. At the second hearing, the
same judge again denied the case and it was again appealed and remanded. Upon review by a different judge,
the client was awarded benefits without a hearing. Many other cases involving disabled individuals had favorable
outcomes and were challenging and enjoyable.”
Advice To Newly Admitted Women Attorneys:
“Never give up!”
48
Women Trailblazers in the Law
Christine Meaders Durham
72
Justice Christine Durham was appointed to Utah Supreme Court
in1982, and has served as Chief Justice and Chair of the Utah
Judicial Council since 2002. She previously served on the state
trial court after a number of years in private practice. She received
her A.B. with honors from Wellesley College and a J.D. from
Duke University, where she is an emeritus member of the Board
of Trustees. She is the Past-President of the Conference of
Chief Justices of the United States, and also serves on the
American Bar Association’s Council on Legal Education and
Admissions to the Bar, the entity that accredits American law
schools. She is a member of the Council of the American Law
Institute, and is a Fellow of the American Bar Association.
Past professional service includes the governing boards of the American Inns of Court
Foundation, the Appellate Judges Conference of the ABA, the Rand Corporation’s
Institute for Civil Justice, the ABA’s Commission on Women in the Profession, and the
Federal Judicial Conference’s Advisory Committee on the Rules of Civil Procedure.
She is also a Past-President of the National Association of Women Judges, and was
that organization’s Honoree of the Year in 1997. Justice Durham has been active in
judicial education, and was a founder of the Leadership Institute in Judicial Education.
She helped create and lead the Utah Coalition for Civic Character and Service
Education and serves on the Utah Commission on Civic Education.
She was an adjunct professor for many years at the University of Utah College of Law, teaching State Constitutional
Law, and served for twelve years on the Utah Constitutional Revision Commission. She has received honorary
degrees from four Utah universities and has been recognized nationally for her work in judicial education and
efforts to improve the administration of justice. In 2007 she received the William H. Rehnquist Award for Judicial
Excellence; and in 2008 she received the “Transparent Courthouse” Award for contributions to judicial accountability
and administration from the Institute for the Advancement of the Legal System at the University of Denver.
On Her Greatest Accomplishment As A Woman Lawyer:
“Helping to found WLU (Women Lawyers of Utah) and becoming the first woman on the District Court and
Supreme Court in Utah.”
Recommendation To Women Lawyers To Seek During Their Career:
“Personal and professional satisfaction in your work. Nurturing your personal life as well.”
On Her Favorite Memory/Story As A Lawyer:
“An occasion in Federal District Court when Judge Willis Ritter asked me (in an appearance for plaintiffs in a
sex-discrimination case) if ‘this [was] a g__ d___, bra-burning womens’ libber case?’ I said ‘yes.’”
Advice To Newly Admitted Female Members Of The Utah State Bar:
“Work hard, be professional and civil, take pride and joy in what you do.”
Women Trailblazers in the Law
49
Ginger L. Fletcher
73
Fletcher was born in Pasadena, California, in 1948. She received a J.D. in 1974 from the
University of Utah. Fletcher was inspired to finish law school when she was told by a stranger,
that she did not belong there because she was a woman. She apprenticed for a year with
Brian Barnard, a solo practitioner. There, she learned the fundamentals of practice and
became committed to doing the best work she could, regardless of her fee.
She joined the Salt Lake County Attorney as a prosecutor the following year, but moved to the Legal Defender
Association as a felony defense attorney in 1978. Five years later she embarked upon a solo practice focusing
on criminal law, including parole issues. Her practice also included appellate work and a small recreational
business practice. After leaving the practice of law in 1988, she worked for a time in recreational marketing
and distribution. In 1989, Fletcher began working for Pretrial Services, a multi-service agency that supervises
pending trials for defendants. In the late 1990s she became a full-time case manager for Utah’s “drug court,”
supervising felony drug offenders and working with attorneys and the judiciary to offer drug addicts potentially
life-changing opportunities.
Connie C. Holbrook
74
Holbrook graduated from the University of Utah in 1974. She worked for almost 30 years
for Questar Corporation. She retired in 2005. At the time she was Senior Vice President,
General Counsel and Corporate Secretary.
On Her Greatest Accomplishment As A Woman Lawyer:
“When I was hired by Chevron following my law school graduation in 1974 and when I was hired by Mountain
Fuel Supply Company (now Questar Corporation) in 1975, I was known as the ‘first female’ lawyer for Chevron
(in Denver) and for Mountain Fuel. By the time I retired, gender was almost
irrelevant when describing an attorney. I’m proud that I was part of the generation
that made this transition from notoriety to ‘not a big deal.’”
Advice To Women Lawyers During Their Careers:
“Although I do believe that gender is increasingly irrelevant, I still find that a
disproportionate percentage of female attorneys have tunnel vision, which
means that too many are so wrapped up in details that they fail to see bigger
pictures and broader connections. I’d recommend that female attorneys
acknowledge this problem and seek to expand their perspectives. Read broadly.”
On Her Favorite Story As A Lawyer:
“
Early in my career, I had a preliminary meeting with counsel for several different
parties. I rode up in the elevator with two attorneys representing the primary
defendant. I knew who they were, but they didn’t know who I was. They openly discussed their case in the elevator
and were a bit bashed when introductions were made. One of them blurted, ‘You can’t be an attorney.’ I loved
this, but I also learned something about maintaining private conversations.”
Advice To Newly Admitted Women Lawyers:
“Be selective in the hills you choose to climb. Maintain a network of friends who aren’t attorneys.”
50
Women Trailblazers in the Law
Leslie A. Lewis
Born in 1948, Lewis earned her J.D. from the University of Utah in 1974. She began her career
at Biele, Haslam & Hatch, and later served as a prosecutor in the Salt Lake County Attorney’s
Office. She was a partner with Jones, Waldo, Holbrook & McDonough before her appointment
to the Third District Court in 1991. She was elected Presiding District Judge in 1995, and
continues in that capacity today. In 1996, Lewis was selected “Judge of the Year” by the
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Utah State Bar, and in 1995 she was chosen as “Woman Lawyer of the Year” by Women Lawyers of Utah.
Lewis is a member and past president of the Sutherland II Inns of Court. She has also served on the Sentencing
Commission, the Salt Lake County Bar Executive Committee, the Standing Committee for the Model Utah
Jury Instructions, and as Co-Chair of the Gender and Justice Implementation Task
Force. Despite many professional awards and accomplishments, Lewis’s greatest
pride is being the mother of her daughter, whom she raised as a single parent.
“If you’re lucky enough to be a member of this profession, you have a duty to
always do your best, to evince civility and professionalism and to contribute to
our community…Watch the good lawyers when they’re in court. Ask questions,
including asking judges for critiques (after it’s all over)…you can do it all; Family
and career are possible to blend effectively. It’s the people who matter – the friends
you make in the Bar, your clients, etc., who make it worthwhile.”
Richards Brandt Miller Nelson
Women Lawyers Group is
proud to support the
WLU special project honoring
the first 100 women attorneys.
Women Trailblazers in the Law
51
Hydee Clayton
76
Clayton graduated from the University of Utah College of Law
in 1975. She moved immediately to Washington, D.C, where
she practiced administrative law for two years with the
Interstate Commerce Commission. After returning to Utah,
she made a brief venture into private practice and then put
her career on hold for nine years to be a full-time mother.
When she went back to work, Clayton chose not to return
to the practice of law but ventured instead into technical
writing. She has worked 23 years at 3M, writing technical
documents, online help, and training materials for medical
software products.
Thoughts On Being A Woman Lawyer:
“I don’t pretend to have accomplished much as a woman lawyer, other than
clawing through the 1970s with the few women who were my classmates and
colleagues. Though I tried to find my niche, the legal profession was a bad fit
for me and would have been in any decade.
Even so, I wouldn’t trade my brief legal career for anything. Apart from
providing challenging intellectual calisthenics, it also uncloaked a previously
mysterious, inaccessible world where men were powerful and women were secretaries. I found
that I could be just as powerful and just as valuable as anyone else.
Sometimes I am concerned that many young women do not understand the significance of that power. I worry
that they might have forgotten how hard we worked to be integrated into professions like the law. We had to
be more assertive and more visible than men. We had to speak up when a professor told a sexist joke. We
sometimes had to rely on quotas just to get an interview – and what interviews they could be: ‘What kind of
birth control do you use? Do you plan on getting married? What makes you think our wives would put up
with girls working as associates in the firm?’ No one will ask those questions now. But only because we made
them stop.
I see the fruits of our efforts not only in the legal profession but in the Country as a whole. I also see the
remnants of that old world – few female faces on the Board of Directors, women still clawing to hold their
places, often battling against what’s best in themselves. So my only advice to young women lawyers, whether
you stay with the law or take another direction as I did, is to wield wisely and respectfully the power you have,
and never take it for granted.”
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Women Trailblazers in the Law
Cynthia Feldman Daniels
77
Born in 1949 in Lafayette, Indiana, Daniels received her J.D.
from the University of Utah in 1975. Daniels immediately
established a general civil litigation practice in Salt Lake City,
in partnership with J. Wayne Gillman, a law school classmate.
To supplement her income during the first two years, Daniels
worked the night shift in the Admitting Department of a local
hospital, sometimes leaving the hospital at 7:00 a.m., showering, and heading straight to her law office. From 1975 to
1977 and 1982 to 1984 Daniels was engaged in a general
civil practice both as a solo practitioner and as a partner. She
represented a mortgage company, in a twelve state area, as a
Business Development Supervisor from 1977 to 1982. She
worked as in-house attorney for Tracy Collins Bank and Trust from 1984 to 1988.
Then in 1988, Daniels joined Workers Compensation Fund’s legal department
going on to become Assistant General Counsel. In that capacity, her work has
included policyholder issues and litigation, regulatory issues, investment committee
support including land acquisition and loan participations.
Daniels is an avid trail runner and finished the Wasatch 100 Mile Trail Run five
consecutive times.
On Her Greatest Accomplishment Or Contribution As A Woman Lawyer:
“I tried to provide competent and sometimes innovative representation for my clients.”
Recommendation To Other Women Attorneys During Their Careers:
“I recommend that all lawyers seek balance in their lives.”
On Her Favorite Memory Related To Being A Lawyer:
“I enjoyed my career immensely, but do not point to any specific memory or story. The opportunity to be
exposed to so many different legal issues has made the years pass quickly.”
Advice To Newly Admitted Female Attorneys:
“Do a competent job in a pleasant manner, is the best advice I can give any newly admitted lawyer.”
Women Trailblazers in the Law
53
Christine S. Decker
78
Born in 1949 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Decker graduated
cum laude from Georgetown University School of Foreign
Service in 1971. She received her J.D. from the University of
Utah in 1975. Decker served as Deputy Salt Lake County
Attorney, prosecuting DUI cases and other misdemeanor traffic
offenses. In 1993, after a hiatus of fourteen years during
which she raised her children, Decker embarked on a private
practice emphasizing family law and general litigation. She
has been active in the West Community Council, serving as
Chair in 1994-95. Then she practiced as a Juvenile Court
Guardian ad Litem from 1997-2002, and as an Assistant
Attorney General in Child Protection from 2002-2004. Governor Olene Walker
appointed Decker to the Third District Juvenile Court in 2004.
On Her Greatest Accomplishment As A Woman Lawyer:
“Serving the children and families of Utah as a Juvenile Court Judge is my
greatest accomplishment.”
Recommendation To Other Women Lawyers During Their Careers:
“Try to become involved in public interest law either as a volunteer or a
career change. While not as economically rewarding as other areas of the law,
the benefits of helping others are truly fulfilling.”
On Her Favorite Memory/Story As A Lawyer:
“When I was a new lawyer at the County Attorney’s Office, a defense lawyer asked me, ‘Are you the prosecutor,
honey?’ Well, this ‘honey’ prevailed at trial.”
Advice To Newly Admitted Female Members Of The Utah State Bar:
“Support and encourage one another. It really helps.”
Fabian Law
proudly supports the
First 100 Women Attorneys in Utah
54
Women Trailblazers in the Law
Patricia DeMichele
DeMichele graduated from the University of Utah College of
Law in 1975. Her career centered on public service. Her first
job was as Staff Attorney for Utah Legal Services doing general
litigation. She moved up, becoming the Managing Attorney for
the Salt Lake Legal Services office, and then State Executive
Director. She practiced general litigation at Moyle & Draper,
and then at Sessions & Moore. She taught Trial Advocacy at the
University of Utah, College of Law and was the Legal Director
of the Disability Law Center. DeMichele was also a National
Field Director, organizing the International Peace Walk across
the United States and the Ukraine in support of banning nuclear
testing. DeMichele later worked as an attorney for AARP in
Washington, DC, focusing on law reform, community organizing
and state-based legislation and regulatory advocacy in more than 25 states. She
also served as the Executive Director of the Louisiana Health Care Campaign
and retired as State Director of AARP Louisiana.
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“After retiring in 2005, I joined the Board of Directors of the Advocacy Center of
Louisiana, a statewide nonprofit organization that protects, empowers and advocates
for people with disabilities and older Louisianians and I just began a two-year term
as President. The choice to volunteer in this capacity reflects my 31-year career in
public interest law and public policy. My practice addressed the particular problems
confronting vulnerable populations – low-income children and families, older persons,
those with physical and mental impairments, the growing numbers of uninsured – in
myriad issue areas – access to affordable, high-quality health care, affordable housing, livable
communities, institutional reform and access to public supports. In those 31 years I had the opportunity to
design and provide advocacy skills and substantive law training to both paid and volunteer advocates across
the country, as well as to use the courts, legislatures and regulatory agencies on behalf of groups who seldom
have a voice. I even had the chance to advocate for nuclear disarmament through joint American-Soviet Peace
Walks in both countries – a bit of a stretch but advocacy nonetheless. And I am sure retirement will bring more
adventures in tilting at windmills!”
On Her Greatest Accomplishment Or Contribution As A Woman Lawyer:
“Participating in the Women Lawyers of Utah and serving as its first President.”
Recommendation To Other Women Lawyers To Do Or Seek During Their Careers:
“Know your heart, follow your passions and never be afraid to try something new.”
On Her Favorite Memory Or Story Relating To Being A Lawyer:
“As a young lawyer arguing my first case before the Utah Supreme Court, I was gathering my papers after my
time expired when an elderly (he was probably younger than I am now, but I was twenty-something then!) and
very bald Chief Justice leaned across the bench and said, ‘Well, my dear. You argue very well considering you
have no facts in your favor.’ After what seemed like several minutes, I heard myself reply, ‘Thank you, Your
Honor – I think!’”
Advice To Newly Admitted Female Attorneys:
“Think of yourself as a lawyer who happens to be a woman rather than as a ‘woman’ lawyer. It’s liberating.”
Women Trailblazers in the Law
55
Marlynn B. Lema
80
Lema was born in Kenilworth, Utah in 1937. She attended
the University of Utah, where she received a law degree in
1975. After briefly practicing general law with the small firm
of Gale, Havas & Lema in Price, she conducted a solo practice
for twelve years. From 1985 until 1988, I also served as a
public defender in Carbon County. In 1988, she was appointed
Court Commissioner for Fifth Judicial District Court, a
position that she held until 1996. After a year as Deputy
Washington County Attorney, she established a solo practice
in St. George. Her practice primarily consisted of domestic
and criminal law, and civil and appellate work.
On Her Greatest Accomplishment As A Woman Lawyer:
“I represented an elderly crippled man in Carbon County, State v. Heber J.
Norton. There was no one else who would take the case. He was convicted
and only wanted to spend his remaining years in prison. The State wanted
him to receive the death penalty. I kept him from getting the death penalty.”
Recommendation To Women Lawyers During Their Careers:
“Set your goals and follow them through to completion.”
Favorite Memory As A Lawyer:
“My mentor was CC Patterson, Esq. I was employed by him and one day he advised me that I was sitting on
the wrong side of his desk. [Eventually,] I was admitted to, and completed, law school. When Mr. Patterson
heard that I was admitted to the Bar, he walked up to me in open court and said ‘Congratulations, Madam
Attorney.’ This was a very proud moment for me.”
Advice To Newly Admitted Female Members Of The Utah State Bar:
“Do not lose your femininity.”
Holland & Hart proudly supports
the First 100 Women Attorneys in Utah
56
Women Trailblazers in the Law
Judy Lever
81
Lever earned her J.D. from the University of Utah in 1975. After graduation, she joined the small
firm of Johnson, Lienbaugh & Dunn, first as a clerk and then as an associate. She specialized
in estate planning and real estate matters, and was appointed to serve as the only woman
bankruptcy trustee at the time. Lever worked with the firm of Finlinson & Finlinson until her
appointment as Assistant Salt Lake City Attorney. During her nine year tenure at the Salt Lake
City Attorney’s Office, Lever had primary responsibilities for the Planning and Zoning and Building Departments.
After the birth of her fourth child, she left the City Attorney’s office and became involved in her children’s
school activities and in community service working with the Utah Board of Oil, Gas and Mining, the Utah
Solid and Hazardous Waste Board, and the Advisory Board of the Utah Division of Fire, Forestry and State
Lands, as well as the Region and State Boards of the Utah State P.T.A.
Lever then worked as a solo practitioner from 1986 through 2005 when she became a legal coordinator in Arizona
for a Salt Lake collection firm. During 2006 to 2009 she also worked as a consultant to a computer hardware
business of which she was formerly an owner, and as a manager for the leasing and management of commercial
building for Lever Auto Sports, LLC. In 2009 Lever returned to the practice of law, first as a law clerk and
then as an associate with Holman & Walker, which is located in Sandy, Utah and specializes in family law.
On Her Greatest Accomplishment As A Woman Lawyer:
“I hope that it was by providing an example that women could effectively be good lawyers without having to act like
men. We had few examples of women practicing, and even fewer women balancing the practice and the competing
demands of having and raising a family. I may have been the first woman lawyer to work with my employer but I
certainly was not the last. I hope that my experience may have made it a little easier for those who followed.”
Recommendation To Women Lawyers During Their Careers:
“It has been my experience that careers, like life, have different stages. However, working hard, doing your best,
offering service, and making friends all along the way, always enriches the journey. In my own career, after more
than a decade where I had developed experience and expertise, I elected to spend full-time with my family. In
retrospect, my ability to continue professional associations by community service helped maintain my thinking,
skills, and friends in the profession, making reentry over twenty years later possible and less painful. My legal
background has been helpful in every role and helped me to be a better advocate and problem solver.”
On Her Favorite Memory/Story Related To Being A Lawyer:
“One of the early fun memories was pleasure that came in 1975 from walking in the front door to the Alta
Club following the swearing in ceremony, instead of going around to the ‘womens’ door.’ I could hardly
believe anyone would still expect any women to do that, let alone the members’ wives or guests. It was great
fun when women finally were allowed to become members!!”
Advice To Newly Admitted Female Members Of The Utah State Bar:
“I echo my earlier statement: Work hard, strive for excellence and invest in yourself. Make friends all along the
way and build networks. Give back by service to your community and pay kindness back by paying it forward.
You don’t have to be all things at the same time, for there really are seasons to life. The challenge is figuring
what is most important for you to be doing in the season of life you are in, prioritizing and then balancing all
of the desires of your heart with the demands on your heart and time. AND, 6 things you didn’t learn in law
school: keep your license current; dress to inspire confidence; learn how to pick up/divide the check graciously;
don’t take yourself too seriously, learn how to tell a story or joke; treat others with respect and kindness; and
high ground is always safer and better in the long term.”
Women Trailblazers in the Law
57
Ellen Maycock
82
Born in 1948 in Provo, Maycock received her J.D. from the
University of Utah in 1975. She distinguished herself in law
school, serving as the first woman Editor-in-Chief of the Utah
Law Review and graduating Order of the Coif. In 1975, Maycock
joined the Salt Lake City law firm of Snow, Christensen &
Martineau. In 1978, she joined Kruse, Landa Maycock & Ricks,
where she became a partner and currently practices civil litigation.
Maycock also served as an adjunct professor at Westminster
College and at the University of Utah College of Law. Maycock
has been active in the Utah State Bar, a Fellow of the American
Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, Fellow of the American
College of Trial Lawyers, President of the Utah Bar Foundation, President of the
A. Sherman Christensen American Inn of Court I, a member of the Executive
Committee of Women Lawyers of Utah, Chair of the Utah Supreme Court Advisory
Committee on the Rules of Evidence, Chair of the Family Law Section of the Utah
State Bar, and a Member of the Professionalism Counseling Board. She has been
the recipient of several awards including the Distinguished Lawyer for Service to
the Bar Award 1988, Family Law Lawyer of the Year Award 1995, Woman
Lawyer of the Year Award for 1998, and has received the Professionalism Award
from Utah State Bar.
“I think my greatest accomplishment as a woman lawyer has been to be a member of a law firm that has existed
for 32 years and has allowed my partners and me to practice law in a manner that we could be proud of.
I would recommend to other woman lawyers that they be conscious about developing a good reputation. It is
important to keep in mind the long term when making decisions about how to pursue a particular case or project
or about ethical dilemmas. You are going to have a reputation if you practice law for any length of time. Having
a good reputation is a huge advantage.”
A Favorite Story Related To Being A Lawyer:
“When my 3 year old daughter asked me if men could be lawyers, too.”
Recommendation To Newly Admitted Female Members Of The Utah State Bar:
“Develop and maintain relationships with your fellow lawyers and keep in touch with your law school colleagues.
Not only are such relationships professionally useful, they provide a huge source of enjoyment during your practice.”
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Women Trailblazers in the Law
Carol Brockbank Olson
Olson started her law career as a clerk for the Fourth District Court. She then went to Roe &
Fowler, practicing in litigation, corporate and family law. She enjoyed her practice more once
she got into estate planning, probate, and trusts with Dave Robinson. She served as legal
counsel and trust officer at First Security Bank and also as Secretary of the board, Legal
Counsel and Trust Officer at Deseret Trust Company.
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On Her Greatest Accomplishment As A Woman Lawyer:
“I was age 41 entering law school. I was a ‘dare-to-do-it’ in 1971. Many women came to me
as they contemplated going back to school or entering the work force, hesitating
because, ‘I’ll be 45 years old when I finish.’ Hey, we’ll be 45 anyway, even if we don’t
forge ahead. So I was a brave example.”
Recommendation To Other Women Lawyers During Their Career:
“It is still to ‘Go for it!’ Try new areas of law. It’s all rewarding.”
On Her Favorite Memory Related To Being A Lawyer:
“Dave Robinson sent me to trial lawyer school. I came back and faced an arrogant
young whippersnapper, and it was fun to wipe up the floor with him.”
Advice For Newly Admitted Female Members Of The Utah State Bar:
“Be courteous. Use correct English in all your pleadings, memos and briefs.
(One judge in Fourth District won’t even read it, if it’s not correct grammar.)”
Cannon & Match wishes to recognize
the First 100 Women Lawyers in Utah,
congratulate them on their many significant
accomplishments in the practice of law,
and thank them for providing a standard
to which all attorneys should aspire.
Women Trailblazers in the Law
59
Rosemary Richardson
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Born in Albany, California, Richardson earned her J.D. from
the University of Utah in 1975. She spent twenty-five years
as in-house counsel for PacifiCorp/UP&L specializing in
energy transmission, real property, environmental and
regulatory matters. She also spent eleven years as part-time
sole-practitioner. As a corporate attorney, her work entailed
analyzing legal issues, preparing documents, researching,
writing, advising staff and management, overseeing compliance
with federal and state agency rules and regulations, litigating
property-related matters, negotiating transactions, and
managing other attorneys. Since retiring from UP&L, she
takes pro bono cases involving mostly family and contract
matters, and writes scholarly papers with a colleague from the U.K.
“As my English friend and I both have a long-standing interest in Spain and Portugal
(since we were in graduate school together), and we want to improve conditions for
women and the poor on the Iberian Peninsula, we have published and presented
papers concerning such subjects as ‘Spanish Women and Entrepreneurial Ventures’
and ‘Immigration in Portugal,’ making comparisons to matters in the US.”
On Her Greatest Accomplishment Or Contribution As A Woman Lawyer:
“I was the first woman to join the all-male legal department at Utah Power & Light in 1975, when I graduated
from law school. But I don’t consider that an ‘accomplishment’ really; it was more like a lucky fact, because
affirmative action had just started.”
Recommendation To Other Women Lawyers During Their Careers:
“Think of ‘success’ as being satisfied with your work, not something measured by the final tally of ’wins’ or
‘losses’ in court. Focus on the quality of your work.”
Favorite Memory Or Story Related To Being A Woman Lawyer:
“Although it is not related to being a woman lawyer, in particular, my favorite memory as corporate counsel is
working with small groups of professional engineers, as a team. We prepared cases together. Their practical insights
contributed greatly to the legal aspects, and our mutual enthusiasm and interest made the projects enjoyable.”
Advice To Newly Admitted Female Members Of The Bar:
“Be prepared. Be thorough in understanding the issues, finding facts, interviewing witnesses, and researching
the law. Good preparation is more important than trying to develop tricky legal strategies. Be ready to think
about the solution, not [just] the angle. Give all your cases – big or small – the attention they deserve.”
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Women Trailblazers in the Law
Jane R. Seymour
Seymour was born in 1951 in Kannapolis, North Carolina, and received a J.D. from the
University of Utah in 1975. She subsequently moved to Washington, D.C.
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Mary Ellen Sloan
Sloan earned her J.D. from the University of Utah in 1972, and worked as a staff attorney at
South Dakota Legal Services, then Utah Legal Services during the 1970s. In 1978, she joined
a civil and criminal litigation firm, where she practiced for the next two years. From 1980 to
1983, Sloan was a solo practitioner, then joined a law firm where she focused her practice
upon criminal defense and appellate work. In 1988, Sloan became a Deputy County Attorney,
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and continues to practice in that capacity.
Sloan has been active in community and civic affairs, including serving as co-chair of the San
Juan Project, a project promoting bilingual-bicultural education for Navajo children in San
Juan County from 1993 to present.
Parsons Behle & Latimer
Proudly Supports the First One Hundred Women
Attorneys in Utah and All Women Trailblazers.
201 South Main Street, Suite 1800, Salt Lake City, UT 84111
|
801-532-1234
|
parsonsbehlelaw.com
Women Trailblazers in the Law
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Christine Fitzgerald Soltis
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Soltis was born in Fargo, North Dakota, in 1951 and received
her law degree from the University of Utah in 1975. After law
school, she got “the perfect beginning job” as trial counsel for
the Salt Lake Legal Defenders Association. In 1978, Soltis was
hired as Assistant United States Attorney for the District of Utah.
Beginning in 1981, Soltis maintained a part-time private practice
for approximately 6 years. She has practiced as Assistant Attorney
General in the Criminal Appeals Division of the Utah Attorney
General’s Office since 1989. She served as the Director of
Statewide Assistance, Narcotics Enforcement in 1990; Section
Chief, Criminal Appeals Division, 1991 to 1993; and Division
Chief, Criminal Appeals Division, 1993 to 1999.
Soltis has taught Trial Advocacy at the University of Utah, and has served as
Vice-President of the Criminal Law Section of the Utah State Bar, as an officer of the
Federal Bar Association of Utah, on the Governor’s Commission on the Status of
Women, and as Chair of the committee that developed and published the Utah Women
and the Law Handbook. She was awarded Appellate Attorney of the Year (1998-99)
by the Utah State Bar Appellate Section, and received the 2010 Christine M. Durham
Utah Women Lawyer of the Year from the Women Lawyers of Utah.
On Her Greatest Accomplishment Or Contribution As A Woman Lawyer:
“I joined the Salt Lake Legal Defenders Office in 1975, when there were no other women lawyers in that
office. I joined the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Utah in 1978, again when there were no
other women federal prosecutors in Utah. I later served as the first female president of the Federal Bar Association.
I hope that I helped pave the way for the many excellent women lawyers who have since worked and served in
these organizations.”
Recommendation To Other Women Lawyers During Their Careers:
“Develop a respectful camaraderie with the attorneys you work with and those you oppose.”
On Her Favorite Memory Related To Being A Lawyer:
“It was 1975 and a friend’s father arranged an interview for me with a major law firm that had never interviewed
a woman for an attorney position. During the interview, my male interviewers asked how fast I could type (I
denied knowing how); where I bought my clothes (I said in a store); and what method of birth control I used (I
claimed to have had a vasectomy). They did not hire me. A few months later, I argued my first case before the
Utah Supreme Court. One of the interviewers was the opposing counsel. I won – and none of the justices asked
where I bought my clothes.”
Advice To Newly Admitted Female Members Of The Utah State Bar:
“Do the best you can at the moment and then let go and move on. There will be other moments. And by the
end of your career, you will have forgotten the bad ones and embellished the good ones.”
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Women Trailblazers in the Law
Kristine Strachan
Born in Winchester, Virginia, in 1943, Strachan graduated Order of the Coif in 1968 from
the University of California at Berkeley where she was a law review editor. Strachan’s varied
legal career began on Wall Street in corporate and banking law at Sullivan & Cromwell. She
then worked at the State Department in Washington D.C., concentrating on Southeast Asian
matters and human rights.
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Strachan joined the faculty at the University of Utah College of Law in 1973. Sixteen years
later, she was appointed Dean of the University of San Diego School of Law, and held that
post until June 1997. Strachan received distinguished teaching awards from both Universities,
and continues to hold a professorship at the University of San Diego.
A widely published legal scholar, Strachan is recognized as an expert in judicial
procedure and administration, federal courts, trial and appellate procedure, and
evidence and remedies. Among her many honors, Strachan is a twenty-year member
of the American Law Institute and has held many leadership positions in the ABA.
She speaks frequently on subjects such as women’s rights, the judicial process,
Supreme Court jurisprudence, and issues in legal education.
“I think it’s a great career for women – better than in the 60s and 70s: but I’d
counsel both women and men strongly to make sure there’s a fit with the practice.
It’s changed so much and it’s a much harder, more hostile place for those interested
in a balanced life with children and community service (men and women).”
Harriet E. Styler
Born in 1945 in Oakland, California, Styler received her J.D. from the University of Utah in
1975. Upon graduation, she established a law firm with two of her classmates, focusing her
practice on bankruptcy and business reorganization. Early in her career, Styler was appointed
as a Chapter 7 panel trustee for the District of Utah. When she resigned her position as a
panel trustee, she pursued her passion for fly fishing more regularly from her home near
Flaming Gorge Reservoir.
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“I would encourage [a prospective woman attorney] to pursue [a legal career] and tell her it will become what
she makes of it. I would tell her the many ways my career has been rewarding and I believe the legal profession
has been good to me. And, I hope I have given something back.”
Women Trailblazers in the Law
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Judith Romney Wolbach
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Wolbach was born in 1934 and received her B.A. in English
literature from the University of California at Berkeley in
1957, and her M.A. in anthropology from the University of
Utah in 1969. She taught English at South High School,
anthropology at the College of Southern Utah, and worked
as a technical editor at Sperry Rand. Wolbach became
interested in going to law school in the 1960s through her
service on the Utah and national boards of the ACLU, her
work in the peace movement and for the McCarthy for
President campaign. She graduated from the University of
Utah College of Law in 1975.
Wolbach spent most of her career as a full time sole practitioner specializing
in family law. In 1994, she joined the Office of the Guardian Ad Litem full
time, having previously worked as a contract Guardian Ad Litem. Says Wolbach,
“It is quite a remarkable experience to work as an attorney knowing that your
client is always, by definition, in the right.” In 1997, Wolbach received the
Family Law Lawyer of the Year Award.
“This is a wonderful profession for women, offering many options and flexibility.”
Catherine Hardy Anderson
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Born in 1951 in Phoenix, Arizona, Anderson received her J.D. from Brigham Young University
in 1976. She subsequently lived in Iowa City, Iowa.
Orange Legal Technologies proudly supports the
First 100 Women Attorneys in Utah
64
Women Trailblazers in the Law
Lucy Billings
Billings received her law degree from Boalt Hall in 1973. She began her career as an attorney
for Vermont Legal Aid and then practiced at Utah Legal Services, Legal Services for New
York, and the ACLU Children’s Rights Project. After twenty-five years as a public interest
attorney representing low income, children, elderly, and disabled clients, she was elected as a
state court judge in New York City, presiding over criminal matters.
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Billings co-authored the Federal Practice Manual for Legal Services Attorneys and has published several other
manuals and articles in law journals and law reviews. She also coached and umpired youth soccer and softball
for many years.
“Find a need and do something to address that need, and contribute to making the legal system the best it can
be through hard work and high standards.”
Patricia Braun
Born in 1928 in Portland, Oregon, Braun received her J.D. from the University of Oregon in
1952. She was admitted to the Oregon Bar and immediately began practicing with a large
Portland firm. Braun then clerked for Judge James Alger Fee on the United States District
Court for Oregon and on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. She practiced for approximately
twenty-five years in Oregon, then moved to Utah and became a member of the Utah State
Bar in 1976. She then practiced with the United States Department of Agriculture, working
primarily with farm credit agencies.
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After retiring from government service, Braun volunteered more than 2000 hours at the Family Legal Services
Program of Your Community Connection of Ogden and Northern Utah, providing free legal services to women
and other low income clients.
Braun was the only woman in her law school class, which was comprised mostly of World War II veterans.
While looking for her first job after law school, Braun was offered secretarial jobs. But in the first years of her
practice, Braun found that judges and opposing attorneys were unusually easy on her, which she took full
advantage of for the benefit of her clients.
“I have a daughter and a daughter-in-law who are lawyers. Circumstances have changed so much, however,
since I embarked on my career, that I don’t feel competent to offer advice!”
Women Trailblazers in the Law
65
Laura D. Conner
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Born in 1946 in Oregon City, Oregon, Conner received a J.D. from the University of Utah
in 1976.
Kathryn S. Denholm
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Denholm received her J.D. from the University of Utah in 1976. Following admission to the
Utah State Bar, she entered solo practice. When Denholm encountered people who told her
that she could not be successful in the law, she simply ignored them.
“Law is a very rewarding and stimulating career. It owns you. Be prepared for long hours
and try not to get full of yourself.”
Debra J. Dorfman
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Born in 1952 in Merrick, New York, Dorfman studied law at Fordham Law School and the
University of Utah, where she received her J.D. in 1976. She subsequently lived in Princeton,
New Jersey.
Parr Brown Gee & Loveless
proudly supports the
First 100 Women
Attorneys in Utah
66
Women Trailblazers in the Law
Sherri Rigby Guyon
Born in 1950, Guyon attended Brigham Young University
where she received a B.A. in English, an M.A. in Humanities
and Comparative Literature, and then her J.D. in 1976. After
graduating from law school, Guyon worked as a Trust
Officer for Commercial Security Bank (now Key Bank) in
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the areas of personal trusts, profit-sharing and pension
plans, wills and probate, and escrows and stock transfers.
She then worked as an Administrative Hearing Officer for
Salt Lake County Career Service, Co. (1983 – 1991) and the
Utah Career Service Review Office (1985 to Present). Guyon
is also an adjunct English Faculty Instructor at Brigham
Young University, Salt Lake Center (1992 to Present).
Guyon has also served as a member of the Utah State Bar, the Labor &
Employment Section, President (1985) of the Utah Association of Civil Service
Commissioners and Career Service Councils, Treasurer in the Trust Division
of the Utah Bankers Association, and as an Executive Committee Member on
the Salt Lake Estate Planning Council.
On Her Greatest Accomplishment As A Woman Lawyer:
“Serving as a hearing officer in the area of employee/employer relations.”
Advice To Women Attorneys During Their Careers:
“Seek ways to contribute experience gained from law training to society.”
On Her Favorite Memory As A Woman Lawyer:
“Learning to interact with a variety of people from all walks of life.”
Advice to newly admitted women lawyers:
“Work hard to become a competent professional.”
Women Trailblazers in the Law
67
Susan Taylor Hansen
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Hansen grew up in Spanish Fork, and worked part-time in
her father’s law practice. Because of her “rotten secretarial
skills and bad attitude,” Hansen’s father and his partner
encouraged her to go to law school. Hansen attended the
University of Utah (BA, 1974) and the University of Utah
and American University Schools of Law (J.D. 1976). She
practiced law in Washington, D.C., Rochester, Minnesota
and Baltimore, Maryland, before moving to Portsmouth,
Virginia in 1987, where she practices environmental law with
the firm of Cooper, Spong and Davis, P.C. Hansen represents
housing and redevelopment authorities, developers, lenders,
property owners and manufacturers in environmental matters
related to acquisition, financing and development of real property, environmental
compliance and enforcement matters, and in litigation involving environmental
liabilities. Her primary client, the Portsmouth Redevelopment and Housing Authority,
is the owner and former operator of a public housing community located with the
lead contaminated Abex Superfund Site. For over twenty years, Ms. Hansen has
represented the Authority in private cost recovery, civil rights and toxic tort
suits related to the Site.
Hansen has served as member and Chair of the Portsmouth Planning Commission
and recently completed nine years service as an officer and member of the Board of Visitors for the Eastern
Virginia Medical School. She is a member of the Environmental Council of the Virginia State Bar Association, and
was appointed by Governor Warner as the member at large of the Virginia Board of Soil and Water Conservation
Board. Ms. Hansen recently completed a second term as Trustee of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation and
currently serves on the President’s Advisory Council for the Foundation. She completed two terms as a board
member and Virginia Vice President of the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay. She was a member of the founding
Board of Directors for the Portsmouth General Hospital Foundation, and is active in many other civic groups.
Ms. Hansen was an instructor in Environmental Law at Tidewater Community College for ten years, and has
served as faculty in numerous continuing legal education seminars for attorneys and judges. Hansen is married
to physician Robert B. Hansen and is the mother of four grown daughters. In 1998, a fifth daughter, who is a
refugee from Sierra Leone, joined the family. Hansen is an avid skier, cyclist, and aspiring ceramicist.
On Her Motivation To Become A Lawyer:
“Everywhere I looked, growing up in the 50s and 60s, I saw that most women worked for men – female
teachers working for male principals, female nurses working for male doctors, female secretaries, working for
male lawyers and businessmen. And for that matter, little girls cross stitching and boys in scouting. It just plain
ticked me off. I really liked the thought of breaking out of that mold.
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Women Trailblazers in the Law
I read ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ in the early sixties and was deeply affected. I saw my father, a small town
lawyer, as my personal Atticus Finch. I thought his work was important and interesting.
And finally, it helped that my parents were the sort who thought there was nothing their daughter couldn’t do.
If I wanted to be a lawyer and there weren’t any women lawyers, well, it was time there were some.”
On Obstacles Encountered As A Woman Lawyer:
“Obstacles? It didn’t help that I was 23 and looked it, I guess. I recall that when I interviewed in Utah for
summer clerkships the summer after I was married, I was asked if I was on an effective form of birth control.
In another interview, I was advised that they were looking for someone who could ‘piss with the troops.’ I took
my first paid maternity leave when I had my fourth child, and that firm actually proposed that their new
maternity leave would be available for a first and second child only. They just didn’t understand how few
women lawyers are crazy enough to have four children!”
On Her Favorite Memory As A Lawyer:
“I represented a public housing authority who operated a housing facility built on a lead contaminated superfund
site. EPA did not feel it was necessary to relocate the residents during a planned remediation. One day, about
40 residents, EPA and I were having an on-site meeting to reassure the residents about the safety of their
surroundings. The EPA representative was smoking and tossed his cigarette on a bare spot of dirt. There was a
hiss and then a minor, but startling, explosion where the cigarette landed. That was the day we learned there
was explosive phosphorus as well as lead in the surface soils and the residents’ concerns were well founded!”
Advice To Newly Admitted Women Lawyers:
“Don’t even think about giving up having a whole life – family, if you want one, other pleasures, for a career in
the law. Your skill as a lawyer will only be less if you narrow yourself as a human being.”
Robyn O. Heilbrun
Born in Atlanta, Georgia 1948, Heilbrun received her J.D. in 1976 from the University of
Utah, where she was a member of the Order of the Coif and an associate editor of the Utah
Law Review. Heilbrun practiced with the Salt Lake City law firm Jones, Waldo, Holbrook
& McDonough. She is now a law clerk to Judge Stephen H. Anderson on the United States
Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit.
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Women Trailblazers in the Law
69
Jane Henroid Wise
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Born and raised in Salt Lake City, Wise received her
JD from the University of Utah and was admitted to
practice in 1976. She clerked at the Utah Supreme
Court, was in private practice with Nielsen & Senior
in Salt Lake City, and was an Administrative Hearing
Judge for Salt Lake County Career Service Council.
Currently she is teaching legal writing at BYU and
Concord Law Schools, edits the Clark Memorandum,
BYU Law School’s alumni magazine, is a writer/
commentator for PRI and National Public Radio for
Utah, a featured columnist for Salt Lake Tribune, and
Utah Valley Magazine, and an essayist for “Music and
the Spoken Word” with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. She has edited two books
of essays, Life in the Law: Service & Integrity (Provo, UT: Brigham Young
University Press, 2009) and Life in the Law: Answering God’s Interrogatories
(Provo, UT: Brigham Young University Press, 2003). She is married to Stuart
R. Wise; they are the parents of a son and three daughters.
“I tell my students in law school that there are a thousand ways to structure
a life in the law and not to be too wedded to just one way of doing things.”
NOTE: The list of First 100 Women admitted to practice law in Utah includes twenty-eight (28)
women who passed the 1976 Bar Examination. By including all 28, there are 119 women referred
to as the “First 100”.
Dorothea M. Host
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70
Host was born in 1949 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She received her J.D. from
Marquette University in 1976. She was a Reginald Heber Smith Fellow with Salt
Lake County Bar Legal Services.
Women Trailblazers in the Law
Eleissa Cononelos LaVelle
LaVelle was born in 1951 in Salt Lake City, Utah. She earned a J.D. from the University
of Utah in 1976 and was admitted to the Utah State Bar in 1976, and to the State Bar
of Nevada in 1977. LaVelle is a partner in the Las Vegas, Nevada office of the law firm
of Duane Morris, LLP. Her practice focuses on construction, real estate and arbitration
and mediation. Previously, LaVelle was a partner with the law firm of Watt Teider,
Hoffar & Fitzgerald. She also served as Nevada’s first Bar Counsel and started her own
firm, LaVelle-Stubberud & Associates. She is active in numerous state bar, community
and professional boards and committees, including appointments to the Nevada Law
Foundation and the Clark County School District Construction Bond Oversight
Committee. She is also pursuing an LLM in Dispute Resolution from Pepperdine
University Law School’s Straus Institute.
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On Her Greatest Accomplishment As A Woman Lawyer:
“I have been fortunate to have had numerous opportunities and many successes
throughout my career, including but not limited to establishing Nevada’s Office of
Bar Counsel, opening and running my own firm for many years and drafting and
lobbying to passage legislation involving community associations, although none
of those activities really had anything to do with being a ‘woman lawyer.’ I also
co-founded with other women attorneys, the ‘Southern Nevada Association of
Women Attorneys,’ of which I am a past president. SNAWA was originally formed
as a service organization to provide education and outreach to groups in the community on
legal issues affecting women, in addition to professional enrichment for its members.”
Advice To Women Lawyers During Their Careers:
“My chief recommendation would be to closely observe those who are successful in the practice of law and as
people (both men and women) and to try to emulate what makes them effective, but within the parameters of
one’s own personality, values and style. As an example, as a young lawyer I had the privilege and opportunity
to work with and study some of the best lawyers in the country. Without exception, the finest lawyers (in my
opinion, at least) are always respectful, professional and polite with opposing counsel and parties and do not
find it necessary to be rude, devious, or obnoxious in order to be successful.”
On Her Favorite Memory As A Lawyer:
“A favorite memory is of my first jury trial. I was told by one of the partners in the firm upon my return from
maternity leave after having given birth to my oldest child that I was going to trial in four weeks. I was still
nursing the baby and had to drive to the baby sitter’s home at noon each day of the trial to feed the baby, once
in a pouring rain that flooded the streets. The trial was exhilarating; leaving to feeding the baby every day at
noon put it all in perspective.”
Advice To Newly Admitted Female Attorneys:
“Speak up and don’t be afraid to say what’s on your mind – you know more than you think and deserve to be heard.”
Women Trailblazers in the Law
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Kathlene W. Lowe
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Lowe received her law degree from the University of
Utah in 1976. She began her career at Parsons, Behle
& Latimer, where she specialized in litigation and
employment law. She practices in Newport Beach,
California. She admits to having encountered some
obstacles breaking into the predominantly-male legal
network in California, but she noticed no such
difficulties in Utah.
Advice To A New Women Lawyer:
“[P]racticing law can remain challenging, rewarding
and lucrative, but…she should not continue to pursue
it if it does not offer those rewards because it is also very demanding.”
Catherine C. Meyer
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Born in 1951, Meyer received her J.D. in 1976 from the University of Utah. She
began her legal career at the Division of Public Defender Services for Connecticut.
Although she sometimes encountered obstacles as a woman in a male-dominated
field, Meyer was inspired to become a lawyer because she wanted to help people
without power. Meyer resides in Connecticut.
Advice to A New Women Lawyer:
“She should pursue whatever type of practice she wants and not be steered to an area that is more typical for
women unless that is what she wants.”
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Women Trailblazers in the Law
Anne Milne
Milne received her J.D. from the University of Utah in 1976 and then joined Utah
Legal Services, a state-wide public interest law firm serving low-income clients in civil
matters. Following her service as Deputy Director and as Director of the Senior
Citizens Law Project, Milne has served as Executive Director of Utah Legal Services
since 1985.
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Milne is a board member of the YWCA and serves on the state Domestic Violence
Advisory Council. She is a former member and president of the Foster Grandparent
Advisory Board. Milne has been active in the Utah State Bar, serving as Chair for the
Mandatory Continuing Legal Education Board and as a member of the Needs of the
Elderly Committee from 1982-1989. She also served on the Access to Justice Task
Force, and is a member of the Bar’s Delivery of Legal Services Committee.
In 1991, Milne was named “Woman Lawyer of the Year,” and in 1997 the Utah
State Bar awarded her the Advancement of Women in the Profession Award
(now the Dorathy Merrill Brothers Award).
Anita T. Moseley
Born in 1952 in New York, New York, Moseley received a J.D. from the University of
Utah in 1976. She lives in Castle Rock, Colorado.
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O. C. Tanner is pleased to join in appreciating and celebrating
The Utah Women Lawyer Trailblazers.
Their hard work in paving the way for others has inspired many.
O. C. Tanner helps organizations appreciate and celebrate people who do great work so that employees are engaged and inspired.
Women Trailblazers in the Law
73
Kathleen M. Nelson
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Born October 8, 1951 in Price, Utah, Nelson grew up in Southern California. She was
the oldest of Jack and Peggy McInally’s five children. She was known from a young
age to have a strong sense of direction and independence. As a small child, Nelson
walked home two miles after not being able to find her mother in the grocery store
(her dismayed mother was still at the store!).
Nelson received a bachelor’s degree in history from the University of Redlands and then earned her juris doctorate
from the University of Utah in 1976. She met and married her husband, Aaron Alma Nelson while in law school
in 1974. She began her career in a small firm in Davis County, focusing on family law, estate planning and criminal
defense from 1976 to 1985. Then Nelson practiced as a solo practitioner until 1994
when she was employed at the Guardian Ad Litem Office in the Second District,
eventually becoming the managing attorney. Then in November 1998, Nelson was
appointed to the Second District Juvenile Court by Governor Michael O. Leavitt.
“Nelson has spent years in the trenches dealing with difficult legal issues relating to
children. I am confident she will draw upon that experience as she serves the people
of the Second District with fairness, respect and decisiveness,” said Leavitt. Nelson
also served as a member of the Board of Juvenile Court Judges, on the Court
Facilities Planning Committee, Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee and
the Children and Family Law Committee. She was instrumental in the development
of the Drug Courts in the Second District Juvenile Court and presided over the
Weber County Family Drug Court and Delinquency Court. Her colleagues
described her as a classy woman who cared deeply for her staff and made a point to know them
well enough to tailor small gifts to appeal to them individually – such as specialty teas and coffees, and even
veggie tamales.
In addition to her professional experiences, Nelson served on the Weber-Morgan County Children’s Justice
Center board of directors and the advisory board for the Department of Child and Family Studies at Weber
State University. She also volunteered over many years with the Good Samaritan Program and the Guadalupe
Center. Nelson served on the Utah State Textbook Commission, the Utah Adoption Service board of directors,
and the Governor’s Task Force on Adoption Recodification. She was known for her love of the cultural arts
and fishing, teaching her daughters how to use a spinner before they were three years old. She had a unique
sense of humor and was known to say “I don’t tell jokes, I tell stories.”
Nelson died in a heart-related accident on August 31, 2010.
“I would tell [a prospective woman attorney] to try to get a job at the Guardian Ad Litem Office. I find my job
very challenging, exciting, and fulfilling. I love to go to work every day!”
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Women Trailblazers in the Law
Margaret Rose Nelson
Nelson was born in 1952 and earned her law degree from Brigham Young University
in 1975 where she received the Best Brief Award in the First Annual Moot Court
Competition, the Outstanding Oral Argument and Outstanding Brief Awards in the
Second Year Moot Court Competition, and was a regional semi-finalist in the Twenty-
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Sixth Annual National Moot Court Competition.
Nelson practiced in Utah County, first in private practice, then as a Deputy Utah County Attorney and then as
an Assistant United States Attorney for the District of Utah. Always active in the community, Nelson served as
a member of the Utah State Board of Education, the Education Commission of the
States, Vice President of the Provo/Orem Chamber of Commerce, President of the
Utah Valley State College Alumni Association, and on committees working to
revise Title 53 of the Utah Code and the Juvenile Court Rules of Practice and
Procedure. Nelson also served her profession as a member of the Utah Legal
Services Board and the Utah Bar Journal Committee. Nelson died in 1992.
Women Trailblazers in the Law
75
Carolyn Nichols
109
Nichols spent time in private practice, as an administrative
law judge, as an in-house counsel for a not-for-profit
association and a Fortune 500 company, in a small law
firm, and an assistant attorney general with the Attorney
General’s office. Her greatest love was helping people (but
she hated having to collect fees.) She found that working for
the Attorney General allowed her to use her knowledge
and experience without having to worry about collecting
fees. It also made her recognize the immense amount of
power that the State has.
On Her Greatest Accomplishment As A Woman Lawyer:
“I always entertain the opportunity to have interns. I enjoy showing interns how the
system works and getting them excited and passionate about the practice of law.
My past interns have become accomplished citizens and lawyers in their own right.
The ability of one individual to contribute is magnified exponentially when each
person who is helped then turns around and helps another.
In 1990, I was the chair of the Annual Meeting, that we held in Beaver Creek,
Colorado. I spent 6 weeks in the hospital in March and April prior to giving
birth to triplets. The children were born 2 months premature, and they made their first
public appearance at the Bar Convention. It was clear to me from that time, I would never be known for my
legal skills, but always remembered for my reproductive capabilities. Those three children, and their older
brother, have grown up to be adults that I am proud to be around. They will contribute to the betterment of
society far more than I ever could.”
Advice To Women Lawyers During Their Career:
“Always try to look at the problem or issue from the opposite perspective than yours. Fix the problem, not the
blame. And don’t waste time worrying about things you don’t have control over. And it is imperative that you
are trustworthy and maintain your integrity in all dealings with others.”
On Her Favorite Memory Or Story As Lawyer:
“I moved to Utah in 1976. After I took the bar, I was a victim of the scandal that involved the lowering the bar
exam grades of dozens of out of state law school graduates. There was a concern by members of the bar, that
there would be too many lawyers in the state. Someone tried to keep those from out of state from becoming
members of the bar by changing their grades. During the appeal process of the bar exam, I received a call from
an anonymous caller asking me to meet on the corner of Second South and State at 2 am. I was told to be
alone. I showed up and was handed the evidence of the scandal, i.e. the grading sheets, showing that the grades
had been lowered. I provided that evidence to D. Frank Wilkins, who then helped those out of state students
get admitted. It was the beginning of a life of always willing to question authority.”
Advice to newly admitted female attorneys:
“Never assume malice. Recognize that fatuousness and inexperience explain a lot of behavior.”
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Women Trailblazers in the Law
Nann Novinski-Durando
Novinski-Durando was born in 1944 in New Orleans, Louisiana. She studied law at
Loyola University in Los Angeles, California and at the University of Utah. She received
a J.D. from Loyola in 1976 and was admitted to the Utah State Bar the same year.
Novinski-Durando practices with the Tucson, Arizona firm Grabb & Durando, where
she specializes in personal injury law.
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Suzan Pixton
Pixton was born in 1950 in Seldovia, Alaska, and received a J.D. from the University
of Utah in 1976. She is an active member of the Utah State Bar, residing in Salt
Lake City.
111
The Utah Minority Bar Association
proudly promotes the First 100 Women Attorneys in Utah
Women Trailblazers in the Law
77
Dorothy C. Pleshe
112
Born in 1953 in Ishpeming, Michigan, Pleshe received her
law degree from the University of Utah in 1976 and went
to work for the law firm Callister, Nebeker & McCullough
where she maintained a corporate and transactional law
practice for 27 years. Since 2002, Pleshe splits her time
between serving as in-house counsel for the Jerry Seiner
Dealerships and with the law firm of Lewis Hansen Waldo
Pleshe & Flanders.
Pleshe served on the Salt Lake City Board of Zoning
Adjustments from 1985 to 1993, including 4 years as its
chair and as a member of the Salt Lake City Ordinance
Rewrite Steering Committee. Her community service includes the Board and
Executive Committee of Discovery Gateway Children’s Museum of Utah,
Utah Arts Festival (Board), Catholic Community Service, and Helping Hand
Association.
Pleshe says, “Most importantly, adopted daughter Caili from China in 1996.
She has kept all in perspective for me, and focused on what is truly important.”
On Her Greatest Accomplishment As A Woman Lawyer:
“Being an early presence as a woman lawyer and establishing respect in the
profession – enabling doors to open for those who followed.”
Recommendation To Women Attorneys During Their Careers:
“Charitable work in areas outside of the law but where legal background is helpful. This broadens one’s scope,
expands contacts outside of the profession and helps one maintain perspective.”
On Her Favorite Memory As A Lawyer:
“Having to use the side entrance at the Alta Club and being asked to ‘remove myself from the main floor.’”
Advice To Newly Admitted Female Lawyers:
“Expect to work hard and maintain your integrity and sense of humor.”
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Women Trailblazers in the Law
Barbara K. Polich
Polich grew up in a small farm community hoping to have
a career where she could make a positive contribution
to the community. She chose law, and time proved that
in fact it offered her that opportunity. In 1976, Polich
received her J.D. from the University of Wisconsin in
Madison. As a student, Polich worked for the Council
of Environmental Equality in Washington, D.C. In 1977,
Polich moved to Salt Lake City where she joined Parsons
Behle & Latimer. Coming from Madison, where a third
of her law class were women, Polich found it difficult
adjusting to practice in Salt Lake City, where women
lawyers were a bit of an oddity.
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On Her Greatest Accomplishment As A Woman Lawyer:
“Still being in the profession after all these years, and hopefully having contributed
to the profession when I was a litigation partner in major firms, I take some
satisfaction in knowing that I helped to pave the way a bit.”
Recommendation To Women Lawyers During Their Career:
“I’d encourage women lawyers to keep the long-term future in mind, and to
make thoughtful decisions that will be to their benefit.”
On Her Favorite Memory As A Lawyer:
“It’s been (and continues to be) an incredible profession and it’s been a magnificent journey. I have many
wonderful memories. Perhaps a particularly treasured one is having been featured on the cover of a Utah
magazine along with six men in the profession – men whom I highly respect as some of the best in the profession,
including my mentor. For years, I was introduced as ‘one of Utah’s most feared lawyers.’ Whether it was true
or not, what a wonderful recognition that was. Beyond that, there were some amazing experiences and field
trips. Two of my favorites were going miles underground at a West Virginia coal mine, lying on my back in a
steel-roofed car to travel miles underground, and also leaving a client site above the Artic Circle, flying above
the ice road in a DC-3, headed to Yellow Knife.”
Advice to newly admitted women lawyers:
“Remember that there will be good days and bad days (or months) – it may not always be easy, but if you love
it (and hopefully you do), it will be worth it.”
Women Trailblazers in the Law
79
Cheryl Anne Russell
114
Born in 1952, Russell received her law degree from Brigham Young University in
1976. Immediately after graduating from law school, she became a Justice of the
Peace Pro Tem handling misdemeanor trials.
As the first woman lawyer to practice in Logan, Russell had an interesting and varied
career. She worked for Utah Legal Services, as a Public Defender for Cache and
Rich Counties, as a County Attorney for Rich and Cache Counties, and as a
prosecutor for Logan City. From 1987 to 1992, Russell was a Guardian Ad Litem
for children in Cache, Rich, and Box Elder Counties. From 1976 to 1992, she also
had her own practice handling “nearly everything that walked in the door.”
Russell was appointed in 1992 to establish Logan’s first municipal court and serve
as the city’s only judge presiding over small claims, misdemeanors and infractions.
She also served as a Magistrate for the State of Utah. Well-liked and well-respected,
several of Judge Russell’s former defendants returned to her courtroom to say
hello, thank-you, or even to ask her to perform marriage ceremonies.
Judge Russell died on August 8, 2010 at the age of 57.
Elizabeth Berntsen Sherlock
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Sherlock grew up in Provo and attended Brigham Young
University, receiving her B.S. in Sociology (1967) and J.D.
as part of the charter class of 1976. Sherlock thereafter
became a Judge Advocate in the United States Navy
(1976 – 1980) and then served as Assistant Attorney
General of the Social Services Division of the Utah
Attorney General’s office (1981 – 1982).
In 1984, Sherlock was commissioned as an officer in the
United States Air Force and pursued a career in psychology,
receiving a PhD in counseling psychology from the
University of Utah in 1986. Between 1984 and 2001,
her work as an Air Force Psychologist took her around the globe to fill positions in Turkey , Spain, England,
Panama, and Utah. Sherlock retired from the Air Force in 2001 as a Lieutenant Colonel. She is semi-retired,
living in Moab, Utah and working on starting a new mental health clinic there in Moab.
On Her Greatest Accomplishment As A Lawyer:
“Becoming lawyer at all. Nothing in my background would have predicted it and many obstacles stood in my way.
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Women Trailblazers in the Law
Looking back it is amazing that I ever walked into the front doors of the St. Francis building to become one of the
seven women of the charter class at BYU.”
Recommendation To Women Lawyers During Their Careers:
“I would recommend to women lawyers that they be encouraging to other women who may be extremely tentative
about their dreams and aspirations. Once you are in law school and everyone you meet is in law school or a lawyer,
it is easy to forget how big a step it is for some women to leave behind societal expectations and move into a
professional world. Often women’s psychological world is surprisingly small, and their self-confidence undeveloped.”
On Her Favorite Memory As A Lawyer:
“I was a depressed housewife in Provo with a failing marriage (my husband had medical problems and had
become a prescription drug abuser). I would never have considered law school except I went to church in the
building where they were going to house the law school and each week I saw the books go onto the shelves
and the school begin to take shape. I had worked with my dad in his real estate business, so I had a little
exposure to law and business, but as a ‘B’ student with a Sociology degree, law school seemed an impossibility.
However, my high school boyfriend had gone to law school and I always thought I was smarter than he was,
so that gave me some comfort. One day I called him and asked him if he thought I could make it in law school.
He said yes and told me I would have to take a test called the LSAT, and where to get the application at BYU. I
went down to the administration building to get the application and also went over to the law school admission office (on the same floor) to get an application for law school. The secretary there looked up, surprised,
because she knew me from church. I asked for an application and she asked if it were for my husband. I said,
‘no, it is for me.’ She looked horrified and said, ‘YOU? What are you thinking, law school’s no picnic.’ I slunk
out of the office feeling low and defeated. I almost didn’t go take the LSAT, but I had looked through the booklet they sent and my then-husband encouraged me to go. (I had no idea there were study books or classes!) I
took the test and to my astonishment, I did extremely well on the test. Two days later the assistant dean at
BYU called me to come down for a meeting. When I walked in, the secretary looked at me like I was some
kind of major celebrity with rose petals at my feet and said, ‘We saw your score.’ They offered me a scholarship, I went to law school, spent 3 years in Navy JAG afterward. I got divorced while in law school, later
reassessed my life, and decided I would rather be a psychologist than a lawyer. I used my GI bill to go back to
school and get my Ph.D. and spent a career as an Air Force psychologist. (I met my current husband in Navy
JAG, we have now been married for 31 years.)”
Advice To Newly Admitted Female Lawyers:
“Find an area of practice that is compatible with your interests and temperament. Make your stress management
and mental health a priority. Finally, if you discover that you don’t like the legal profession, law isn’t a life sentence and you can change careers if you really want to.”
Women Trailblazers in the Law
81
Janet Hugie Smith
116
Smith received her law degree from the University of Utah
in 1976 and entered practice with the Salt Lake City firm
Ray, Quinney & Nebeker, where she is a shareholder and
President, and serves on the Firm’s Executive Committee.
Smith specializes in employment and labor law, including
federal and state discrimination law, affirmative action,
wrongful termination and related claims, covenants not to
compete, employment agreements, employee handbooks
and policies, and unemployment claims.
Smith received the 2008 Dorathy Merrill Brothers Award
for the Advancement of Women in the Legal Profession
from the Utah State Bar. She is recognized in Chambers
USA in Labor & Employment Law and is listed in The Best Lawyers in America,
1989 to present. She maintains and AV Preeminent (5.0) rating with Martindale Hubbell, which is the highest rating awarded to attorney for professional competence
and ethics. She has been selected for inclusion in Mountain States Super Lawyers
in the category of Employment Litigation, Defense; and listed more than once in
their Top 40 Women lawyers ranking. Smith has also been voted by her peers as
one of Utah’s “Legal Elite” for Labor and Employment Law, which is published
in the Utah Business Magazine.
Smith is a frequent lecturer on employment and discrimination law topics. She has also
published several articles in the employment law area. Smith also served as State Chair of the American College
of Trial Lawyers from 2008-2010, and is the Chair of the Committee for the U.S. District Court Advisory
Committee for the Local Rules of Practice, District of Utah.
Smith holds a Bachelor’s degree in History (magna cum laude) from Utah State University, a Master of Arts degree
in African History from Stanford University, and has done graduate studies in Anthropology and Archaeology
at the University of Utah. While doing graduate work in anthropology and archeology, Smith decided to pursue a
law degree as a means of making a living. As a lawyer and a single parent, she hasn’t had a day off since.
On Her Greatest Accomplishment As A Lawyer:
“I started at Ray Quinney & Nebeker as the first full-time attorney who was a woman. I am now President.”
Recommendation To Women Lawyers During Their Careers:
“Keep a balance and maintain a variety of interests.”
On Her Favorite Memory As A Lawyer:
“When I was a young associate, I was working on the weekend, got hungry and found bags of potato chips in
an office, one of which I ate. It was a trial exhibit.”
Advice To Newly Admitted Female Lawyers:
“Develop a good sense of humor.”
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Women Trailblazers in the Law
Ellen P. Spangler
Spangler received her law degree from the University of Southern California in 1976
and went to work for the Salt lake City law firm VanCott Bagley Cornwall & McCarthy
in the corporate section. Spangler then joined Tele-Communications, Inc., a large domestic
cable television company. She is currently Senior Vice President of Business and Legal
Affairs at United International Holdings, Inc., a public company which owns and
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operates cable television systems internationally.
“I would tell [a prospective woman attorney that] becoming a lawyer is not an
irreversible decision. You can always do another career if you want, but I think
law school is valuable for teaching you a though process and confidence. It is a
good stepping stone to other careers and gives you credibility.”
Prince, Yeates & Geldzahler proudly honors
women lawyers in Utah, particularly those in our own firm:
Sally B. McMinimee, Jennifer R. Korb, Erin M. Stone, Kate M. Noel and Callie Buys.
Congratulations on a job well done.
Women Trailblazers in the Law
83
Elizabeth B. Stewart
118
Born in Pocatello, Idaho, Stewart was the first in her family
to receive a college degree. She attended the University
of Utah where she received a B.A., M.A. and Ph.D. in
Psychology in 1953, 1954 and 1958, respectively. From
1962 to 1964, Stewart completed a post-doctoral residency
in psychology and was as a staff member at St. Elizabeth’s
Hospital in Washington, D.C. where she worked with
criminally insane male inmates in the maximum security
unit. In 1964, Stewart was awarded a Diplomat in Clinical
Psychology of the American Board of Professional
Psychology. In the late 1960s, Stewart began private
practice in clinical and forensic psychology.
At age 40, Stewart entered law school, taking five years to graduate in 1976. During
that time, Stewart also served as president of the Utah Psychological Association
where she brought focus to the development of criteria for the professional licensing
of Utah psychologists and served as a member of the first Utah State Psychological
Licensing Board. Active in the American Psychological Association, Stewart
served on the Committee on Legal Issues for 14 years, which refined the Ethical
Principles for Psychologists. She also served on a number of committees of the
Utah State Bar.
Stewart’s career in psychology included evaluations of head injuries and other neurological disorders,
court-ordered child custody evaluations, and expert testimony in litigation involving those issues.
In 1959, Stewart married I. Daniel Stewart, Jr., Utah Supreme Court Justice from 1978-2002. They have two
daughters, Elizabeth S. Whitney and Shannon Stewart, who are also attorneys.
Recommendations for other women lawyers:
“Develop and nurture personal and professional relationships with your female colleagues. We have something
uniquely in common with each other. Other women lawyers can be a wonderful source of support, joy and
professional contacts and development.”
Advice to new women lawyers:
“Go for it and enjoy the variety of ways legal education can enrich your life and is not just a career. (Why do
women have ‘careers’ and men have jobs, professions, positions?)”
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Women Trailblazers in the Law
Kathryn A. Sticklen
Sticklen was born and raised in Salt Lake City, received her law degree from the University
of Utah in 1976, and was admitted to practice in Utah and Idaho. Sticklen then moved
to Boise, where she engaged in general civil practice, on her own and with large and
small firms. She then served as a Deputy Attorney General for the State of Idaho,
assigned to the Idaho State Insurance Fund handling worker’s compensation claims.
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In November 1998 Sticklen was elected District Judge of the Fourth Judicial District of the State of Idaho (the
highest level trial court in the state) with chambers in Boise. She served in both Ada and Boise Counties.
Sticklen was the second judge to preside over the Ada County drug court, the first such court implemented in
Idaho; and was the president of the Idaho District Judges Association. She continued
to serve on several court and bar committees. She retired from active service at the
end of 2009, and now works as a retired judge handling administrative and
administrative appeals, as well as some trial work. She is a member emeritus of
American Inns of Court and of the Advocate Editorial Advisory Board, which
oversees the publication of the Idaho State Bar monthly magazine.
On Her Greatest Contribution As A Woman Lawyer:
“… I would say my greatest contribution was leading by example, since I
was one of the earliest. I was also only the second woman to be elected judge
in the first instance in a contested election. I would highly recommend that other
women lawyers seek judicial positions. Here in Idaho, we have very few woman judges: none on
the Idaho Supreme Court, one on the Court of Appeals, five on the district bench statewide, and a few more
woman magistrates. I assume the situation in Utah isn’t much better.”
On Her Favorite Memory As A Lawyer:
“Off the top of my head I would say my favorite memory (or memories) that are printable would be the drug
court graduations, when those who successfully completed the program had their felony drug charges dismissed.
One of the graduates was the first person in his family to graduate from anything!”
Advice To Newly Admitted Women Lawyers:
“As far as advice, I think I’d stick with what I said before. Quoting one of our former Idaho supreme court
justices (a woman), no man (or woman) on a deathbed ever said ‘Gee, I wish I’d spent more time at the office.’”
Women Trailblazers in the Law
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Utah State Bar
Women Attorneys by Year
Year
# of Women
Admitted
Year
# of Women
Admitted
Year
# of Women
Admitted
Year
# of Women
Admitted
1931
1
1964
1
1982
37
1998
91
1932
2
1965
1
1983
64
1999
87
1938
1
1968
3
1984
56
2000
87
1941
3
1969
4
1985
56
2001
95
1943
1
1970
2
1986
50
2002
113
1947
1
1971
1
1987
64
2003
106
1948
1
1972
4
1988
53
2004
81
1949
2
1973
5
1989
52
2005
121
1950
2
1974
7
1990
71
2006
119
1951
1
1975
15
1991
73
2007
104
1953
1
1976
27
1992
72
2008
119
1954
2
1977
30
1993
87
2009
128
1956
1
1978
26
1994
106
2010
118
1957
2
1979
32
1995
109
2011
9
1959
2
1980
52
1996
91
1963
3
1981
36
1997
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Current Status*
Active
Active Emeritus
Active Under 3 years
Deceased
*Statistics provided by the Utah State Bar.
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Women Trailblazers in the Law
1373
Inactive Emeritus
11
5
Inactive Full Service
221
292
Inactive No Service
518
46
Inactive No Service
518
Thank You to Our Sponsors
Co-Sponsors
Brigham Young University
J. Reuben Clark Law School
University of Utah
S.J. Quinney College of Law
Utah State Bar
Women Lawyers of Utah
Sponsors
Anonymous
Deseret Management Corporation
Kirton & McConkie
Ray Quinney & Nebeker
Other Contributors
Ballard Spahr, LLP
Dorsey & Whitney, LLP
Orange Legal Technologies
Parsons Behle & Latimer
Snell & Wilmer, LLP
Cannon & Match
Durham Jones & Pinegar
Fabian Law
Holland & Hart, LLP
Kipp & Christian, P.C.
O.C. Tanner
Parr Brown Gee & Loveless
Prince Yeates & Geldzahler
Richards Brandt Miller & Nelson
Utah Minority Bar Association
Women Trailblazers in the Law
87

Women Lawyers of Utah is a Proud Sponsor of
the Women Trailblazers In the Law Project and thanks the
First One Hundred Women Attorneys in Utah for Paving the Way

WLU Board Members 2010-2011
Melanie Vartabedian
President
Peggy Hunt
Nicole Skolout
Stephanie Wilkins Pugsley
Past President
Treasurer
Secretary
Susan Motscheidler
Cheryl Mori
Laurie Gilliland
Career Advancement
Community Outreach
CLE Commitee Chair
Commitee Chair
Commitee Chair
Adelaide Maudsley
Hon. Sandra Peuler
Lisa Yerkovich
Work-Life Balance
Judicial Representative
Senior Bar Representative
Commitee Chair
Heather Farnsworth
President-Elect
Aida Neimarlija
Membership/Publicity
Commitee Chair
Cathleen C. Gilbert
Special Projects/Utah Women
Trailblazers in the Law Project
Commitee Chair
Noella Sudbury
Young Lawyer
Bar Representative