Women’s Justice Awards 2023: Publisher’s letter, honorees

In 1998, President Bill Clinton established Women’s History Month, coinciding with the 150th anniversary of the women’s rights movement in America. The women and men who gathered in Seneca Falls, New York, in July of 1848 for the first Women’s Rights Convention in history gave voice to women’s aspirations for inclusion and empowerment, and their vision continues to shape our world today.

Susan A. Bocamazo

The following year, 1999, the company that would become Missouri Lawyers Media established its own recognition event — the Women’s Justice Awards, to honor the accomplishments of women attorneys.

Women had been making significant contributions to the legal profession since before the founding of our nation. In 1648, Margaret Brent appeared before a court of law in the Maryland colony as the first woman to “act” as an attorney. In 1869, Arabella Mansfield became the first woman admitted to a state bar. In 1981, Sandra Day O’Connor became the first female associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.

Clearly, female legal firsts weren’t a new phenomenon in 1999, but it was a time of great anticipation. In just one decade — the 1970s — the number of female attorneys in the U.S. grew from 13,000 to 62,000 — moving from 4 percent of the profession’s total to 12 percent. Today, women comprise more than half of law-school students.

In Missouri, three of the seven judges on the state supreme court are women, including Robin Ransom, the court’s first Black female judge. For the first time, a majority of judges on the Missouri Court of Appeals, Southern District, are women. One of the largest law firms in Missouri is chaired by Catherine Hanaway, who also was the first woman elected Speaker of the Missouri House of Representatives. Attorney Claire McCaskill was the first woman from Missouri elected to the U.S. Senate in 2006; she now serves as a political analyst on MSNBC. And a growing number of women are branching out to set up their own firms throughout the state.

So, while parity has not been realized in the profession, great strides have been made since we first started honoring women in the legal field.

And now, 25 years after the first WJA recognition program, we continue to honor women attorneys in what has become an annual tradition in the Missouri legal community.

Frankie Muse Freeman headlined at that 1999 inaugural event as our first Woman of the Year. No one else could have filled the role better. An icon not only in Missouri but in the United States as a whole, she was a civil-rights attorney who was appointed in 1964 as the first woman on the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. She lived for more than a century while helping others through her compassion and commitment.

In the 25 years of WJA, the hundreds of outstanding attorneys we have honored have paid it forward in the same way, reaching a hand back to the women who will follow them into the profession. Their contributions are varied, but they all share one characteristic: They are truly exceptional lawyers.

Please enjoy this look back at twenty-five years of celebration and recognition of the achievements of our WJA honorees.

Sincerely,

Susan A. Bocamazo

Publisher

Woman of the Year

This woman truly stands out in making an extraordinary difference to improve the quality of justice or exemplify the highest ideals of the legal profession.

Barbara Wallace, Lexitas

Corporate Award

These women serve as general or in-house counsel, advising businesses on complex legal matters.

Jamie Allen, Saint Luke’s Health System

Latieke Lyles, Wells Fargo

Katherine Scannell, Washington University School of Law

Erika Schenk, World Wide Technology

General Practitioner Award

These are the women who, as attorneys, do it all. They handle multiple practice areas with skill.

Kimberly J. Carter, Law Office of Shawn D. Young

Amanda L. Grellner, Law Office of Amanda L. Grellner

Diane C. Howard, Limbaugh Firm

Innovation & Technology Award

These women advise companies, startups and entrepreneurs with legal issues regarding intellectual property, technology and other aspects of their business.

Stacy Harper, Spencer Fane