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

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the Bur ...

. 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 West Virginia's history

Lawyer

*First female: Agnes Westbrook Morrison (1895)

State judges

* First female: Elizabeth Hallanan (1951) in 1959 * First African American female (circuit court):

Irene Berger Irene Cornelia Berger (born September 27, 1954) is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia. Early life and education A native of Faraday in McDowell County, West Virginia ...

(1979) in 1994 * First female (Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals):

Stephanie Thacker Stephanie Dawn Thacker (née Young; born August 22, 1965) is a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. Early life and education Born Stephanie Dawn Young in Huntington, West Virginia, she was ...

(1990)

Federal judges

*First female (U.S. Magistrate Judge): Mary Stanley in 1992 *First African American female ( U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia):

(1979) in 2009 *First female (Chief Judge for Bankruptcy Court; U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia): B. McKay Mignault in 2022

Assistant United States Attorney

* First female: Mary Stanley around 1977 * First female ( Northern District of West Virginia): Betsy C. Jividen in 2009

Deputy Attorney General

* First female: Marianne Stonestreet

Assistant Attorney General

*First female:

Virginia Mae Brown Virginia Mae Brown (November 13, 1923 – February 15, 1991) was an American civil servant, government official, and lawyer. Among her many "firsts", she became West Virginia's first female assistant attorney general by working for Attorney Gene ...

(1947) from 1952 to 1961

West Virginia State Bar Association

* First female (president): Barbara Baxter from 1994 to 1995 * First African American female (president): Meshea Poore in 2017

West Virginia Judicial Association

* First female (president): Jennifer Bailey in 2022

Firsts in local history

* Theresa Cogar Turner: First female to become a Judge of the Family Court Judge for

Lewis Lewis may refer to: Names * Lewis (given name), including a list of people with the given name * Lewis (surname), including a list of people with the surname Music * Lewis (musician), Canadian singer * "Lewis (Mistreated)", a song by Radiohead ...

, Braxton, and Upshur Counties, West Virginia (2016) * Kathi McBee: First female magistrate in

Barbour County, West Virginia Barbour County is a county in North-Central West Virginia West Virginia, United States. At the 2020 census, the population was 15,465. The county seat is Philippi, which was chartered in 1844. Both county and city were named for Philip P. Ba ...

(1996) * Janet Steele (1977): First female judge in

Fayette County, West Virginia Fayette County is a county in the U.S. state of West Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 40,488. Its county seat is Fayetteville. It is part of the Beckley, WV Metropolitan Statistical Area in Southern West Virginia. Histor ...

* Alice Johnson McChesney (1922): First female lawyer in Charleston, West Virginia nowiki/>Kanawha County, West Virginia">Kanawha_County,_West_Virginia.html" ;"title="nowiki/>Kanawha County, West Virginia">nowiki/>Kanawha County, West Virginia* Elizabeth Aileen Hatfield (1933): First female lawyer in Logan County, West Virginia * Marye L. Wright: First African American male to graduate from the West Virginia University College of Law (1976)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:First women lawyers and judges in West Virginia Lawyers, West Virginia, first West Virginia, first Women, West Virginia, first Women, West Virginia, first Women in West Virginia West Virginia lawyers Lists of people from West Virginia