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Books on DC lawyer from 1930s to 1950s. Fiction or nonfiction.

Craig Wheeler

My great-aunt was a DC lawyer from 1930s to 1950s. Can anyone recommend books about law practice or women lawyers from that Era? Not fussy fiction or not. Just trying to get flavor of the times.

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    I found some more information about women lawyers from the 1930's to 1950's 

    There is a free website called Hathi Trust.  On it is a "Survey of the American Legal Profession" published during the 1950's.  Several pages are devoted to the subject of women lawyers.  The authors are Albert P. Blaustein and Charles O. Porter.  I suggest you use an advanced search to find the survey.  You may have to register to use Hathi Trust but it is free.

    Next is a book called "Be Somebody: A Biography of Marguerite Rawalt" by Judith Paterson, Austin,TX: Eakin Press, 1986.  There are 123 copies listed on WorldCat so interlibrary loan is a possibility.  ADDall, the used book website, lists many inexpensive copies.  Marguerite Rawalt started the first bar association for women in D.C.  I am reasonably sure she knew your great aunt Naomi.

    Now the hard part.  I don't know where you live, but if it is anywhere near a law school, the librarians might let you use a website called Hein Online to read a two-part article in the Harvard Law School Record.  The article was written by Barbara L. Armstrong, a lawyer in a private firm in NYC.  The first article includes many of the statistics that Blaustein and Porter used in their survey.  The second article is much more descriptive about women lawyers -- difficulty in getting jobs, no admittance to bar associations, etc.  It's a very informative article.  Here is the full citation: Barbara L. Armstrong, " 2997 Women Practice Law in U.S., Still Find Going Tough, Survey Shows," Harvard Law School Record, Vol. 13 Part 1-12/6/1951; Part 2-12/13/1951.  Each article begins on page 1 and  is continued on page 4.  If you can't use Hein Online,,ask your local library if they will request the article on interlibrary loan.

    According to Barbara Armstrong, of 171,110 lawyers in the U.S. circa 1950, only 1.7% were women.  Harvard Law School did not admit women until 1950.

    Good luck.

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    I found some more information about women lawyers from the 1930's to 1950's 

    There is a free website called Hathi Trust.  On it is a "Survey of the American Legal Profession" published during the 1950's.  Several pages are devoted to the subject of women lawyers.  The authors are Albert P. Blaustein and Charles O. Porter.  I suggest you use an advanced search to find the survey.  You may have to register to use Hathi Trust but it is free.

    Next is a book called "Be Somebody: A Biography of Marguerite Rawalt" by Judith Paterson, Austin,TX: Eakin Press, 1986.  There are 123 copies listed on WorldCat so interlibrary loan is a possibility.  ADDall, the used book website, lists many inexpensive copies.  Marguerite Rawalt started the first bar association for women in D.C.  I am reasonably sure she knew your great aunt Naomi.

    Now the hard part.  I don't know where you live, but if it is anywhere near a law school, the librarians might let you use a website called Hein Online to read a two-part article in the Harvard Law School Record.  The article was written by Barbara L. Armstrong, a lawyer in a private firm in NYC.  The first article includes many of the statistics that Blaustein and Porter used in their survey.  The second article is much more descriptive about women lawyers -- difficulty in getting jobs, no admittance to bar associations, etc.  It's a very informative article.  Here is the full citation: Barbara L. Armstrong, " 2997 Women Practice Law in U.S., Still Find Going Tough, Survey Shows," Harvard Law School Record, Vol. 13 Part 1-12/6/1951; Part 2-12/13/1951.  Each article begins on page 1 and  is continued on page 4.  If you can't use Hein Online,,ask your local library if they will request the article on interlibrary loan.

    According to Barbara Armstrong, of 171,110 lawyers in the U.S. circa 1950, only 1.7% were women.  Harvard Law School did not admit women until 1950.

    Good luck.

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