A History of the Women Lawyers Section
By Mary Muehlen Maring
I entered the legal profession at a time when few women were even attending law school. In 1972, there were no women in the thirdyear class at the University of North Dakota School of Law and six each in the first- and second-year classes. Women at the law school recognized the need for an organization to promote the advancement of women in the law and the civil rights of all persons. Consequently, the Law Women’ s Caucus formed in 1973. Similarly, in 1972, women lawyers in Minnesota created a forum for support and action called Minnesota Women Lawyers.
There were only a handful of women lawyers in law firms in the late 1970s and early 1980s in Fargo-Moorhead, where I practiced. We started gathering informally Saturday mornings to talk about the challenges we faced as lawyers and parents. Gradually, we grew in numbers and began to get together for a monthly luncheon.
Formation of a New SBAND Section
Sometime in 1986, Sarah Andrews Herman, Patricia Monson, and I met and talked about the success of the Minnesota Women Lawyers. We discussed the formation of a similar group in North Dakota. Maureen Holman joined our conversations.
Our first decision was whether we should be an independent organization or a new section of the State Bar Association of North Dakota. We concluded the section option was best because there were too few women lawyers to financially support an independent organization. Pat learned the Board of Governors would need to approve formation of the section.
Pat presented the resolution to the Board of Governors and was asked why women needed a separate section when they were members of SBAND. Pat explained there were issues pertinent to women in the Bar; that we wanted to use our time, energy, and resources to address those issues; and some of those issues had little, if any, impact on the men. Pat was asked whether men could join and answered yes,“ but whoever joined the section would have to understand that the main focus of the section was the improvement
FIRST WOMEN LAWYERS SECTION OFFICERS:
President – Patricia Monson President Elect – Rebecca Thiem Secretary / Treasurer – Maureen Holman Member at Large – Judith Howard
CURRENT WOMEN LAWYERS SECTION OFFICERS:
President – Lori Conroy lori. conroy @ co. clay. mn. us President Elect – Sarah Baron sarahbarron @ barronlawfirmllc. com Immediate Past-President – Jean Hannig hannig @ mnstate. edu Secretary / Treasurer – Tracy Kennedy tracykennedy @ northdakotalaw. net Member at Large – Kathryn Hinds khinds @ me. com
of the status of women in the Bar and in society.” The resolution passed.
A group which included Pat and me, along with Sarah Andrews Herman, Vivian Berg, Donna Murphy, Jonel Uglem, Judith Howard, and Sherry Mills Moore, met and adopted bylaws. The first official Section meeting was held on June 9, 1988.
Gender Fairness
Fundamental fairness and equal opportunity were essential goals of the Section so, beginning in 1989, the Section was involved in the formation of a task force to study gender fairness in the courts.
Mary Muehlen Maring is a former North Dakota Supreme Court Justice currently serving as a Surrogate Judge. She practiced law in North Dakota and Minnesota for 20 years, was certified a Civil Trial Specialist, and is a member of the International Society of Barristers. She held leadership positions in North Dakota and Minnesota bar associations, serving on numerous committees to study and improve the justice system. In 1996, she was appointed by Governor Schafer to the Court, was elected in November 1996 to complete that term, and was twice elected to 10-year terms. She chaired Judicial Conference, Gender Fairness Implementation Committee, Juvenile Drug Court Committee, Joint Procedure Committee, Judicial Education Committee, Juvenile Drug Court Advisory Committee, and was a member of the Juvenile Policy Board. She currently serves on the Alternatives to Incarceration Interim Legislative Committee. In 2014, she received the Richard S. Arnold Award for Distinguished Service by the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals. She is a qualified neutral and owner of Maring Mediation. In 2016, she received the Distinguished Service Award from the State Bar Association.
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