News & Events
Pulitzer Prize Winning Author Delivers Kate Stoneman Keynote
Annette Gordon-Reed, a professor of law at New York Law School and winner of the 2009 Pulitzer Prize in History for her book The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family, delivered the keynote speech at the 16th Annual Kate Stoneman Day, held March 25 at the law school.
For more information, click here.
Welcome
Katherine "Kate" Stoneman became the first woman admitted to practice law in New York in 1886, paving the way for thousands who followed. She did so against enormous odds; supporting herself as a teacher, she worked nights, weekends, and summers as a clerk until she became the first female graduate of Albany Law School in 1898.
Even though she passed the New York State Bar Exam, her application to join the bar was rejected because of her gender. She then launched a successful campaign to amend the Code of Civil Procedure to permit the admission of qualified applicants without regard to sex or race.
