This is a list of the first minority male lawyer(s) and judge(s) in

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

. It includes the year in which the men were admitted to practice law (in parentheses). Also included are men who achieved other distinctions such becoming the first in their state to graduate from law school or become a political figure.

Firsts in state history

Law School

* First African American male law graduate:

George Lewis Ruffin George Lewis Ruffin (December 16, 1834 – November 19, 1886) was a barber, attorney, politician and judge. In 1869 he graduated from Harvard Law School, the first African American to do so. He was also the first African American elected to the ...

(1869) in 1869

Lawyers

* First African American male:

Macon Bolling Allen Macon Bolling Allen (born Allen Macon Bolling; August 4, 1816 – October 15, 1894) is believed to be the first African American to become a lawyer and to argue before a jury, and the second to hold a judicial position in the United States. Allen ...

in 1845)Hornby, D. Brock (Spring 2020)
"History Lessons: Instructive Legal Episodes From Maine's Early Years — Episode 1: Becoming a Lawyer."
''Green Bag 2d''. 23: 195. * First Chinese American male: Harry Dow in 1929 * First Greek-born male: James Liacos * First undocumented male: Antonio Massa Viana around 2014

State judges

* First African American male (justice of the peace):

in 1847 * First African American male (judge):

(1869) in 1883 * First African American male (superior court): Edward Gourdin in 1958 * First Syrian Lebanese American male: Elias Shamon during the 1960s * First

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...

American male (Cuban American): Charles A. Grabau (1974) from 1979-1985 * First

Asian American Asian Americans are Americans of Asian ancestry (including naturalized Americans who are immigrants from specific regions in Asia and descendants of such immigrants). Although this term had historically been used for all the indigenous people ...

male: Richard J. Chin (1974) from 1989-1993 * First openly LGBT male: Dermot Meagher from 1989-2006Chuck Colbert
A Judicial Orientation
, ''Boston Spirit Magazine'' (November 18, 2008).Loren King
Retired Judge Dermot Meagher shares tales from the inner sanctum in his new book, "Judge Sentences."
''Provincetown Banner'' (September 18, 2010). * First African American male (Presiding Judge; district court): Elwood S. McKenney * First Greek American male (Chief Justice; Supreme Judicial Court of

Paul J. Liacos Paul Julian Liacos (November 20, 1929 – May 6, 1999) was the chief justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court from 1989 to 1996. Biography He was born in Peabody, Massachusetts to James and Pitsa Liacos, Greeks, Greek immigrants. ...

in 1989 * First African American male (Justice; Chief Justice of the Supreme Judicial Court of

): Roderick L. Ireland (1975) in 1997 and 2000 respectively * First Portuguese American male (

Massachusetts Appeals Court The Massachusetts Appeals Court is the intermediate appellate court of Massachusetts. It was created in 1972 as a court of general appellate jurisdiction. The court is located at the John Adams Courthouse at Pemberton Square in Boston, the same ...

Phillip Rapoza Phillip Rapoza is a retired American judge. He was chief justice of the Massachusetts Appeals Court until his retirement in 2015. He was appointed to this court in 1998 and became the Chief Justice in 2006. He has worked internationally, serving o ...

in 1998 * First Albanian American male: Robert N. Tochka in 2014 * First Armenian American male (Massachusetts Superior Court): Raffi Yessayan in 2015 * First Indian American male (

Massachusetts Housing Court The Massachusetts Housing Court (also known as the Housing Court Department of the Trial Court) is a trial court in Massachusetts that hears eviction cases, small claims cases, and civil actions involving personal injury, property damage, breach of ...

): Neil Sherring in 2018

Attorney General of Massachusetts The Massachusetts Attorney General is an elected constitutionally defined executive officer of the Massachusetts Government. The officeholder is the chief lawyer and law enforcement officer of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The officeholder a ...

* First African American male:

Edward Brooke Edward William Brooke III (October 26, 1919 – January 3, 2015) was an American politician of the Republican Party, who represented Massachusetts in the United States Senate from 1967 until 1979. Prior to serving in the Senate, he served as t ...

(1948) in 1962

Assistant Attorney General of Massachusetts

* First African American male: David S. Nelson in 1971

Assistant District Attorney

* First African American male: John W. Schenck in 1922

Massachusetts Bar Association The Massachusetts Bar Association (MBA) is a voluntary, non-profit bar association in Massachusetts with a headquarters on West Street in Boston's Downtown Crossing. The MBA also has a Western Massachusetts office. The purpose of the MBA is t ...

*First African American male (president):

Wayne Budd Wayne Budd (born November 18, 1941 in Springfield, Massachusetts) is senior counsel at Goodwin Procter, in the firm's Litigation Department, where he specializes in advising clients on business and commercial litigation matters. Past senior exec ...

from 1979-1980 *First openly LGBT male (president): Mark Mason in 2006 *First Hispanic American male (president): Robert Harnais in 2015

Firsts in local history

* Isaac Borenstein: First Latino American male to serve as a Judge of the

Lawrence Lawrence may refer to: Education Colleges and universities * Lawrence Technological University, a university in Southfield, Michigan, United States * Lawrence University, a liberal arts university in Appleton, Wisconsin, United States Preparator ...

District Court (1986) nowiki/>Essex County, Massachusetts">Essex_County,_Massachusetts.html" ;"title="nowiki/>Essex County, Massachusetts">nowiki/>Essex County, Massachusetts* José Ángel Navarro III: First Latino male to graduate from

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each class ...

[Middlesex County, Massachusetts] *

(1869): First African American male to graduate from

iddlesex County, Massachusetts*John Ward: First openly LGBT male lawyer in Boston, Massachusetts (1977) nowiki/>Suffolk County, Massachusetts">Suffolk_County,_Massachusetts.html" ;"title="nowiki/>Suffolk County, Massachusetts">nowiki/>Suffolk County, Massachusetts*Ronald S. Sullivan Jr.">Ronald S. Sullivan, Jr. (1994): First African American male to serve as a faculty dean at Harvard University iddlesex County, Massachusetts*Ralph C. Martin, Jr.: First African American male to serve as the District Attorney for Middlesex County, Massachusetts (1992-2002) *Andrew Manual Crespo: First Latino American male to serve as the President of the ''Harvard Law Review'' [Cambridge, Massachusetts, Cambridge, Middlesex County, Massachusetts] *Takeo Kikuchi (1877): First Japanese male to graduate from the Boston University School of Law. He would later co-found Chuo University in Tokyo, Japan. uffolk County, Massachusetts* Emanuel Hewlett (1877): First African American male to graduate from the Boston University School of Law uffolk County, Massachusetts*Harry Elam (1951): First African American male appointed as a Judge of the Boston Municipal Court (1971) uffolk County, Massachusetts*David Hall: First African American male to serve as the Dean of

Northeastern University School of Law Northeastern University School of Law (NUSL) is the law school of Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts. Founded as an evening program to meet the needs of its local community, NUSL is nationally recognized for its cooperative legal ed ...

(1993) *Luis G. Perez: First Hispanic American male judge in

Worcester County, Massachusetts Worcester County is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 862,111, making it the second-most populous county in Massachusetts while also b ...

(1987)

References

{{Reflist Minority, Massachusetts, first Minority, Massachusetts, first Legal history of Massachusetts Lists of people from Massachusetts Massachusetts lawyers Lists of firsts