This is a list of the first women lawyer(s) and judge(s) in New Hampshire. 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 New Hampshire's history
Lawyers
First female: Marilla Ricker (1890) First female litigator: Laura J. Kahn (1968)
State judges First female (municipal court): Idella Jenness in 1935 First female: Jean K. Burling (1973) in 1979 First female (superior court): Linda S. Dalianis (1970) in 1980 First female (Supreme Court of New Hampshire): Linda S. Dalianis (1970) in 2000 First female (Chief Justice; Supreme Court of New Hampshire): Linda S. Dalianis (1970) in 2010 First Black female: Talesha Saint-Marc (2009) in 2023Although she was appointed at the federal level, Saint-Marc is considered the first female judge in New Hampshire's history.
Federal judges First female (U.S. District Court for the District of New Hampshire): Landya B. McCafferty (1991) in 2013 First Black (female) (magistrate) (U.S. District Court for the District of New Hampshire): Talesha Saint-Marc (2009) in 2023 Kimberly Bacher: First female to serve as the Chief Judge of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Hampshire (2024)
Attorney General of New Hampshire First female law clerk: Jennie Blanche Newhall (1920) First female: Kelly Ayotte (1993) from 2004-2009
Deputy Attorney General of New Hampshire
First female: Deborah Jones Cooper in 1981
United States Attorney First female: Emily Gray Rice (1984) in 2016
Bar associations First female admitted (New Hampshire Bar Association): Agnes Winifred "Winnie" McLaughlin (1917) First female presidents (New Hampshire Bar Association): Patti Blanchette and Susan B. Carbon from 1992-1993 and 1993-1994 respectively First female president (New Hampshire Women's Bar Association): Maureen Raiche Manning in 1998
First 100 women admitted to practice law in New Hampshire Source:
Agnes Winifred McLaughlin Jennie Blanche Newhall Margaret Sheehan Blodgett Charlotte Helen George Sara T. Knox Esther Gottesfeld Lublin Miriam G. Rosenblum Pauline Swain Merrill Harriet E. Mansfield Paula Ladday Florence T. Cavanaugh Nina N. Frankman Marguerita M. Hurley Evelyn C. Earley Emily Marx Beatrice F. Little Beryle M. Aldrich Mary Alice Fountain Celia D.R. Novins Evangeline V. Tallman Doris Louise Bennett Mary E. Perkins Pauline B. Barnard Mabelle Fellows Murphy Leila L. Maynard Ida V. C. Milligan Ruth I. Moses Margaret Quill Flynn Lucille Kozlowski Irma A. Matthews Catharine B. Sage Anne M. Howorth Rachel Hallett Johnson Caroline R. Grey Constance M. Mehegan Winnifred M. Moran Constance J. Betley Helen White Judith Dunlop Ransmeier Mary Susan Stein Leahy Laura Jane Kahn Martha Margaret Davis Eleanor S. Krasnow Susan B. Monson Julia N. Nelson Dorothy R. Sullivan Jean K. Burling Donna W. Economou Alexandra T. Breed Linda Stewart Dalianis Claudia Cords Damon Georgia C. Griffin Barbara Sard Bruce Earman Viles Joyce Ann Wilder Joan L. Carroll Anne Swift Almy Sharon Ann Coughlin Anne M. Goggin J. Campbell Harvey Judith Miller Kasper Patricia McKee Ellen J. Musinsky Brenda T. Piampiano Janina Stodolski Elizabeth B. Sullivan Priscilla B. Fox Micki B. Stiller Mae C. Bradshaw Anne Cagwin Hagstrom Deborah J. Cooper Lynne M. Dennis Nancy E. Ebb Abigail Elias Alice S. Love Stephanie T. Nute Elaine R. Warshell Catherine Ravinski Carolyn W. Baldwin Dorothy Bickford-Desmond Charlotte Crane Pamela D. Kelly Janine Gawryl Cathy J. Green Jody D. Handy Dona L. Heller Carolyn H. Henneman Constance G. Jackson Barbara R. Keshen Karin Kramer Jane R. Lawrence Ellen L. Arnold Lizbeth Lyons Elizabeth Marean Mueller Marilyn Billings McNamara Margaret B. Morin Nancy V. Sisemoore Susan Vercillo Duprey Lanea A. Witkus Nancy O. Dodge
Firsts in local history
Martha Crocker: First female lawyer in Cheshire County, New Hampshire
See also List of first women lawyers and judges in the United States Timeline of women lawyers in the United States Women in law
Other topics of interest
List of first minority male lawyers and judges in the United States List of first minority male lawyers and judges in New Hampshire
References