This is a list of the first women lawyer(s) and judge(s) in Maine. 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 state history

Law School

* First female law graduate: Velma Peabody in 1938

Lawyers

*First female:

Clara Hapgood Nash Clara Holmes Hapgood Nash (January 15, 1839 – March 18, 1921) was an American lawyer who was the first woman admitted to the bar in New England ( Maine). Family and education Born Clara Holmes Hapgood in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, she was th ...

(1872) *First female (employed by Maine legislature): Gail Laughlin in 1913 *First female to argue case before Law Court: Alice Parker in 1932 *First female prosecutor: Suzanne E.K. Smith in 1972 *First Penobscot female: Jill E. Tompkins (1989) *First Passamaquoddy female: Tina M. Farrenkopf (1997) *First Wabanaki female:

Sherri Mitchell Sherri L. Mitchell - Weh'na Ha'mu Kwasset (born 1969) is a Native American lawyer, author, teacher and activist from Maine. Mitchell is the author of ''Sacred Instructions; Indigenous Wisdom for Living Spirit-Based Change,'' a narrative of 'Indig ...

State judges

* First female (district court): Harriet Henry in 1973 * First female (superior court): Jessie Briggs Gunther in 1976 * First female (law court

Maine Supreme Judicial Court The Maine Supreme Judicial Court is the highest court in the state of Maine's judicial system. It is composed of seven justices, who are appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Maine Senate. From 1820 until 1839, justices served lifetime a ...

Caroline Duby Glassman Caroline Duby Glassman (September 13, 1922 – July 10, 2013) was an American attorney and former jurist in the state of Maine. A native of Oregon, she completed college and law school in that state before moving to Portland, Maine, where she ...

in 1983 for the latter court * First female (Chief Justice;

Leigh Saufley Leigh Ingalls Saufley (born June 21, 1954) is the dean of the University of Maine School of Law and former Chief Justice of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court. Saufley grew up in South Portland, Maine and attended the University of Maine and the U ...

in 2001

Federal judges

*First female (federal judge): Margaret “Peggy” Kravchuk *First female (U.S. District Court for the District of Maine):

Nancy Torresen Nancy Torresen (born October 7, 1959) is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Maine. She is the first female judge to serve in the District of Maine. Early life and education Torresen received ...

(1987) in 2011

Attorney General of Maine The Maine Attorney General is the chief legal advisor and prosecutor of the State of Maine. The constitutional basis of the office is Article IX, Section 11 of the Maine Constitution, and the holder of the position is chosen biennially by the Main ...

* First female: Janet Mills (c. 1976) in 2008

Deputy Attorney General

* First female (Chief Deputy Attorney General of Maine): Vendean Vafiades

District Attorney

* First female: Janet Mills (c. 1976) in 1980

Political Office

*First female ( Governor of Maine): Janet Mills (c. 1976) in 2018 *First Latino American female (Deputy Secretary of State for Maine): Joann Bautista in 2021

United States Attorney

* First female (interim):

Paula D. Silsby Paula Diane Silsby (born June 1, 1951 in Bangor, Maine) is a former U.S. Attorney for the District of Maine. Both her father and her grandfather have been Superior Court justices. Her father, Judge Herbert T. Silsby, is a Superior Court justice ...

in 2001 * First female (permanent):

Darcie N. McElwee Darcie N. McElwee (born 1973) is an American lawyer who is the United States Attorney for the District of Maine. Education McElwee received her Bachelor of Arts from Bowdoin College in 1995 and her Juris Doctor from the University of Maine ...

in 2021

Maine State Bar Association The Maine State Bar Association (MSBA) is a voluntary bar association for the state of Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to t ...

* First female: Phyllis Givertz (1974) around 1983

Firsts in local history

* Janet Mills (c. 1976): First female to serve as a District Attorney in Androscoggin, Franklin and Oxford Counties, Maine (1980) * Natasha Irving: First female District Attorney for Knox, Lincoln, Sagadahoc and Waldo Counties, Maine (2019) * Jessie Briggs Gunther: First female to serve as a Judge of the

Androscoggin County Androscoggin County (French: ''Comté d'Androscoggin'') is a county in the U.S. state of Maine. As of the 2020 census, the county's population was 111,139. Its county seat is Auburn and its largest city is Lewiston. Androscoggin County compris ...

Superior Court, Maine * Adeline Bond Rines (1914): First female lawyer in Cumberland County, Maine *Sigrid E. Tompkins: First female to serve as the President of the Cumberland County Bar Association, Maine (1974) *Stephanie Anderson: First female District Attorney for Cumberland County, Maine *Paula Sawyer: First female to graduate from the University of Maine School of Law (1968) Cumberland County, Maine">nowiki/> Cumberland County, Maine*Agnes Robinson (1900): First female lawyer in Franklin County, Maine *Iola S. Kearney (1920): First female lawyer in Augusta, Maine ennebec County, Maine/nowiki> *Shirley Cogswell: First female to serve as the Chief Justice of the Pleasant Point – Passamaquoddy Tribal Court (1980) nowiki/>Washington County, Maine">Washington_County,_Maine.html" ;"title="nowiki/>Washington County, Maine">nowiki/>Washington County, Maine

References

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