New Books Explore Pioneering Women in U.S. Law: Florence Allen and Dorothy Kenyon
Two new books are shedding light on the lives and contributions of pioneering women in U.S. law: 'The First Woman Judge' by Tracy Thomas, focusing on Florence Allen, and 'Justice Was Her Calling' by Jennifer L. Brinkley, about Dorothy Kenyon. Florence Allen was the first woman judge in the United States, the first woman appointed to a federal appellate court, and the first woman elected to a state supreme court. She was also shortlisted for the U.S. Supreme Court multiple times. Dorothy Kenyon was a New York judge, lawyer, and civil liberties champion whose litigation strategies were instrumental in transforming the Equal Protection Clause into a tool for women's rights, laying groundwork for later figures like Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Both books explore the challenges these women faced in a male-dominated legal system and their efforts to advance justice.
