Women's Bar Association of Illinois

1936

The WBAI lobbies for the appointment of a female public defender.  Zita Stone is appointed.

1937

Women attorneys debate careers and motherhood.  The WBAI seeks the appointment of women judges and establishes a Placement Committee as a clearinghouse for employers and women seeking jobs in the law.

1938

The WBAI letter writing campaign begins; letters for jobs are sent to large corporations, insurance companies, banks, and railroads.  764 letters were individually typed and sent to the Chicago Real Estate Board.

1940

The WBAI sends 585 letters to large businesses, department stores, insurance companies, mortgage bankers, railroad and credit organizations and 50 law firms seeking jobs.

1945

The WBAI sends letters to the Governor of Illinois and the Mayor of Chicago urging women as judicial candidates.

1954

The WBAI continues its efforts to have women slated for judge.

1955

The WBAI organizes a Placement Committee which sends out many letters.

1966

The WBAI Committee on Opportunity for Employment for Women Lawyers sends a questionnaire to all members as well as reviews law firms to determine whether they hire women.

1970

Charlotte Adelman and Sheribel Rothenberg lead the WBAI’s support of a federal lawsuit filed by ALCU/NOW which challenged a major Chicago newspapers’ practice of running sex segregated help wanted ads, stating that when they did so they acted as employment agencies and thus violated Title 7 of the Civil Rights Act.

1972

The suit, Greenfield v. Field Enterprises, was filed; it urged that sex-segregated newspaper employment ads be integrated.  The suit was dismissed, but the newspapers did end the classification of “help wanted” ads by sex.  The WBAI filed an amicus brief.

1983

Hishon v. Spaulding was before the United States Supreme Court in support of Plaintiffs opposing sex discrimination in law firm partnerships.  Judge Paddy McNamara and Jacqueline Lustig of the WBAI filed an amicus brief.  The Plaintiff won.  The WBAI followed this as a friend of the court in Kamberos v. G.T.E. Automatic in the United States Court of Appeals (7^th Cir.) joining others in challenging sex discrimination in the hiring of a woman lawyer.

1984

The question of women becoming partners, the most difficult hurdle faced by women lawyers, was addressed by the United States Supreme Court.  In Hishon v. King and Spaulding, the Court decided that partnerships, including law firms, must obey federal anti-discrimination law in promoting women to partners or co-owners.  The WBAI filed an amicus brief in the USSC.  It was authored by Paddy Harris McNamara and Jacqueline Lustig, it opposed sex discrimination in partnerships. 

1985

The WBAI joined 46 other groups in an amicus brief opposing the Justice Department’s effort to abolish affirmative action.  The WBAI also created an UMPA Task Force and in furtherance of its opposition, debated the proposed law at various forums and spoke in opposition to it at a special Citizen’s Council on Women’s hearing in Springfield.

1986

The WBAI UMPA task force debated the issue at Leagues of Women Voters forums.  It presented testimony in opposition to the proposed bill and lobbied against its passage.  The WBAI’s board voted to send letters to all state legislators and all women’s organizations in opposition to UMPA.  Eventually, WBAI was successful in forcing UMPA proponents to substantiate their sweeping philosophical claims with practical answers.  When required to do this, they came up short.  Due in great measure to WBAI pressure and persistence, UMPA proponents backed off, at least temporarily.

1987-88

The WBAI strengthened its working relationships with the Leglislature by holding its First Annual Legislative Reception which thereby increased its visibility in the political arena by appearing before and writing slatemakers and lobbying for the appointment of women to governmental boards.  The WBAI sent a letter to the Illinois Supreme Court advocating that a woman be appointed to the vacancy left by Justice Simon.  That letter was followed by a second letter to the Court urging the appointment of Justice Mary Ann G. McMorrow.  Moreover, the WBAI sent a letter to the Chicago Housing Authority protesting the proposed termination of four women attorneys after they filed sex discrimination suit.

1990

Cornelia Tuite and Jewel Klein of the WBAI authored an amicus brief before the ARDC arguing its opposition to one attorney threatening another attorney with sexual and physical harm.   A case was before the Illinois Attorney Registration Disciplinary Commission (this year was the first year that the ARDC allowed an amicus brief) involving a male lawyer writing to a female lawyer threatening to have somebody perform a “clitorectomy” on her if she did not go along with a proposed discovery delay.  The WBAI wrote an amicus brief.

1991

The WBAI debates the “Glass Ceiling.”  That same year, an appeal of an order holding attorney Kristen Fischer in contempt of failing to reveal a client confidence was before the court in the case of In re Marriage of Decker.  Ironically, one reason given for denying Myra Bradwell the right to practice law was that women could not keep a confidence.  Fischer was vindicated in the Illinois Supreme Court.

2003

Challenges remain for women lawyers.  The WBAI co-sponsors a symposium on challenges facing working women as they age.