This is a list of the first women lawyer(s) and judge(s) in New York. It includes the year in which the women were admitted to practice law (in parentheses). Also included are women who achieved other distinctions such becoming the first in their state to graduate from law school or become a political figure.
Firsts in local history
Alphabetized by county name
Regions
New York City (in general)
- Jean H. Norris:[15][16][17] First female magistrate in New York City, New York (1919)
- Clarice Baright (1905):[111] First Jewish female magistrate in New York City, New York (c. 1925)
- Jane Bolin (1932):[20][21][22] First African American female admitted to the New York City Bar Association and to join the New York City Law Department
- Mary Bednar:[31] First openly LGBT female to serve on the New York City Family Court (1986)
- Patricia DiMango:[112][113] First Italian American female to serve as a Judge of the Criminal Court of the City of New York (1995)
- Diccia Pineda-Kirwan:[50] First Hispanic American female to be elected as Judge of the Civil Court (2002)
- Toko Serita:[31] First Japanese American female appointed to the New York City Criminal Court (2005)
- Lillian Wan:[31] First Asian American female to serve on the Family Court in New York City (2012)
- Judy Kim:[114][115] First Korean American female elected judge in New York City, New York (2016)
- Doris Ling-Cohan (1979):[116][117] First Asian American elected in district that includes Manhattan's Chinatown (1995), when elected to Civil Court.
- Barbara Paul Robinson:[118] First female to serve as the President of the New York City Bar Association
- Sheila Boston:[119] First African American female to serve as the President of the New York City Bar Association (2020)
- Georgia Pestana:[120] First female (who is of Latino descent) to lead the New York City Law Department (2021)
Albany County
- Margaret Walsh:[31] First openly LGBT female elected as a Judge of the Albany County Family Court, Third Department (2004)
- Mae D’Agostino:[110] First female from Albany to serve as a Judge of the Northern District Court of New York (2011)
Bronx County (New York City)
- Cira Martinez:[121] First Hispanic female to serve as a Judge of the Bronx Family Court (1992) [Bronx County, New York]
- Doris Gonzalez:[122] First female (and Latino American female) to serve as a Justice of the Bronx Supreme Court, New York (2007)
- Nelida Malave-Gonzales:[31] First Hispanic American female elected as the Surrogate in the Bronx (2012) [Bronx County, New York]
- Darcel Clark:[123] First female District Attorney for Bronx County, New York (2016)
- Edit Shkreli:[46][47] First Albanian American (female) elected as a judge in Bronx County, New York (2023)
Broome County
- Kathryn Grant Madigan:[124] First female President of the Broome County Bar Association (1988)
- Mary Anne Lehmann:[125] First woman elected to a full time judgeship on the Binghamton City Court (1997) and as an Acting Judge of the Broome County Court (2002)
Cattaraugus County
Cayuga County
Chautauqua County
Chemung County
Chenango County
Columbia County
Delaware County
Dutchess County
Erie County
- Helen Z.M. Rodgers and Cecilia Bertha Wiener (1899):[5][136] First women to graduate from the University at Buffalo School [Erie County, New York]
- Helen Z.M. Rodgers (1899):[5] First female lawyer in Buffalo, New York [Erie County, New York]
- Winifred Claire Stanley (1934):[137] First female to serve as the Assistant District Attorney for Erie County, New York (c. 1940)
- Carol McCormick Crosswell Smith (1945):[136] First female lawyer from Erie County to join the United Nations' legal staff (1948)
- Barbara Merriweather Sims (1955):[138] First African American female to graduate from the University of Buffalo [Erie County, New York]
- Madge Taggart:[136] First female to serve as the Buffalo City Court Judge (1952) and an Erie County Family Court Judge (1962)
- Rose LaMendola:[136] First female to become a Judge of the Erie County Court Judge (1974)
- Maryann Saccomando Freedman:[136] First female lawyer to become president of the New York Bar Foundation (1974), the Bar Association of Erie County (1981), and the New York State Bar Association (1987)
- Barbara Howe:[139] First female to serve as a surrogate judge for Erie County, New York (2003)
- Betty Calvo-Torres: First Hispanic female to serve on the Buffalo City Court bench (2007)
Essex County
Franklin County
Genesee County
- Fern Kathleen Acomb:[142][143] First female Public Defender for Genesee County, New York
Herkimer County
Jefferson County
Kings County (New York City)
- Jeanette G. Brill (1910):[148][149] First female magistrate in Brooklyn, New York (Kings County, New York; 1929)
- Elizabeth Holtzman (1965):[150] First female District Attorney for Kings County, New York (1982-1989)
- Patricia DiMango:[112][113] First Italian American female to serve as a Justice of the Supreme Court of Kings County, New York (2002)
- Margarita Lopez-Torres:[31][32] First Latino American female elected to the Civil Court (1992) and serve as the Surrogate in Kings County (2006)
- Betsy Barros:[31] First Hispanic American female elected to the Supreme Court of Kings County, New York (1997)
- Debra Silber:[151] First openly LGBT female elected to the Civil Court in Kings County, New York (1998)
- Lynn Terrelonge:[152] First Black (female) President of the Brooklyn Bar Association (2001)
Livingston County
Monroe County
- Patricia D. Marks [155] First female elected as a Monroe County Court Judge (Monroe County, New York: 1984)
- Ellen Yacknin:[31] First openly LGBT female elected as a Judge of the City Court of Rochester, Fourth Department (Monroe County, New York; 2002)
- Sandra Dooley:[156] First female District Attorney for Monroe County, New York (2011)
- Paula C. Metzler:[157] First female elected as Penfield Town Justice (2019)
- Karen Bailey Turner:[158] First African American (female) to serve as a Judge of the Monroe County Court (2019)
Nassau County
- H. Barteau:[159] First female lawyer in Nassau County, New York
- Grace D. Moran:[160] First female to serve as the President of the Nassau County Bar Association (1994)
- Kathleen Rice:[161] First female District Attorney for Long Island (c. 2010) [Nassau County, New York]
New York County (New York City)
- Joan Lobis:[31] First openly LGBT female elected to the New York City Supreme Court (1992), as well as the Civil Court in New York County
- Rita Mella:[31] First Hispanic American female elected as the Surrogate in New York County (2012)
- Doris Ling-Cohan (1979):[162][117] First Asian American female elected to the New York State Supreme Court (2002) and first Asian American female appointed to a New York State appellate court. First Asian American elected in district that includes Manhattan's Chinatown (1995), when elected to Civil Court.
Niagara County
Oneida County
Onondaga County
- Julie R. Jenny (1894):[107] First female lawyer in Onondaga County, New York
- M. Catherine Richardson:[167] First female to serve as President of the Onondaga County Bar Association (1987)
Ontario County
- Carrie Crane (1901):[168] First female lawyer in Ontario County, New York [specifically Canandaigua, New York]
- Holly Adams:[169] First female appointed as County Attorney for Ontario County, New York (2018) [specifically Canandaigua, New York]
- Kristina "Kitty" Karle:[170] First female to become a Judge of the Ontario County Court in New York (2018)
Orange County
Oswego County
Queens County (New York City)
- Mojgan Lanman:[34] First Iranian American female to serve as a Judge of the New York City Civil Court Queens County (2014)
- Diccia Pineda-Kirwan: First Hispanic American female elected as a Judge of the Civil Court in Queens County, New York (2002)
- Lourdes Ventura:[174] First Latino American female to serve as the President of the Queens County Bar Association, New York (2015)
- Chereé A. Buggs:[175] First African American female judge appointed to an appellate position in Queens County (2023)
Rensselaer County
Richmond County
- Soukaina Sourouri:[178] First Arab American male to serve as President of the Staten Island Women’s Bar Association (2023)
Rockland County
Saratoga County
- Francine Vero:[181] First female to serve as a Judge of the City Court in Saratoga Springs, New York [Saratoga County, New York]
- Dianne N. Freestone:[182][183] First female to serve as an Assistant Public Defender for Saratoga County, New York (1987-1989)
- Jennifer Jensen Bergan:[184] First female elected as Judge of the Saratoga County Family Court Judge (2011)
- Karen Heggen:[185] First female District Attorney for Saratoga County, New York (2015)
Schenectady County
- Teneka Frost:[186] First African American female (and African American in general) to become a Judge of the Schenectady City Court (2018) [Schenectady County, New York]
Schoharie County
Steuben County
- Jennifer Donlon (2000):[188][189] First female lawyer in Hornell, New York (Steuben County, New York)
- Susan B. Florek (1980):[190] First Female Assistant District Attorney in Steuben County, New York
Suffolk County
- Lucy L. Liedtke (1913) and Syrena Stackpole (1919):[191][192] First female lawyers respectively in Suffolk County, New York
- Bertha Rembaugh:[193] First female Justice of the Peace for Huntington, New York (1938-1945) [Suffolk County, New York]
- Catherine T. England (1940):[12] First female Judge of the Suffolk County Family Court and first female Justice of the Suffolk County Supreme Court
- Anne Mead (1951):[12] First female judge of the District Court in Suffolk County, New York
- Marguerite A. Smith (1975):[12] First Native American (Shinnecock Indian Nation) female lawyer in Suffolk County, New York
- Rita Adler (1975):[12] First female Assistant District Attorney in Suffolk County, New York
- Mary M. Werner (1978):[12] First female District Administrative Judge in Suffolk County, New York
- Valerie S. Manzo (1980):[12] Co-founder and first President of Suffolk County Women's Bar Association
- Patricia E. Salkin (1989):[12] First female lawyer to become a school Dean in Suffolk County, New York
- Christine Malafi (1991):[12] First female County Attorney of Suffolk County, New York
- Victoria Gumbs-Moore:[194] First African American (female) elected as a Judge of the Family Court in Suffolk County, New York (2020)
Sullivan County
Tompkins County
- Georgia Hare (1913):[198] First female lawyer in Tompkins County, New York
Ulster County
- Karen Peters:[199] First female to a Judge of the Family Court in Ulster County, New York
- Deborah Schneer:[199] First female to serve as a Judge of the Ulster County Court, New York (2009)
Warren County
Westchester County
Wyoming County