magine going to law school, getting the best grades, passing the bar—doing all
the right things—but still not being able legally to practice law where you live.
In 1911, that’s exactly what happened to Minnie Hale Daniel. Nevertheless, she
persisted, and with 18 other women lawyers, founded the Georgia Association
for Women Lawyers. Together, they wrote a series of bills so that women could
practice law in Georgia.
In 1916, after five years and three appeals to the Georgia Supreme Court, Legis-
lation finally admitted women to the Georgia state bar, leaving only Arkansas and
Virginia as holdouts not admitting women.
Minnie Hale Daniel and the Georgia Association for Women Lawyers blazed a
trail for all Georgia women in law. To date, 39 percent of practicing attorneys in
Georgia are women. In Chatham County, that figure is 35 percent and rising. Here
are a few perspectives from some of Sav.