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Dame Rose Heilbron becomes the first woman to lead an English murder case
the first woman to lead in a murder case in 1950, Rose defended George Kelly in the infamous “Cameo cinema murder”, a case which captured the attention of the nation and led to the Daily Mirror naming Rose as ‘Woman of the Year(https://first100years.org.uk/digital-museum/timeline) -
Eileen Kennedy appointed the first female judge in Ireland
Judge Eileen Kennedy also created another precedent by being the first female to sit in a court with her head uncovered. -
Claire Palley becomes the first female law professor in a UK university
She became a professor of law at Queen's University Belfast -
Barbara Calvert QC becomes first female head of chambers in the Temple
She set up chambers at 4 Brick Court in 1974 with the intention of taking on legal aid work, representing those who would otherwise be unable to afford seeking justice in the courts. -
Mella Caroll becomes the first woman to practise at the Inner Bar in Ireland
She was a Senior Counsel in the Bar of Ireland. -
Lady Hale becomes first woman to be appointed to the Law Commission
She was also the youngest person to ever be appointed to the Law Commission. -
Dame Elizabeth Butler-Sloss first woman appointed as a Lord Justice of Appeal
She had chaired Cleveland child abuse inquiry the year before -
Mary Robinson elected as the first female president of Ireland
She won the right for women to sit on juries, abolished the requirement that women must resign from the civil service on marriage, and achieved the legal availability of contraception, equal economic rights, and the right to divorce. -
Nicola Davies becomes the first female Welsh QC
She takes an interest in events with a Welsh connection and is proud of her heritage. -
Baroness Rosalyn Higgins first woman elected to International Court of Justice
She studied at Girton College, Cambridge, and at Yale Law School. She practised as a barrister and became Queen's Counsel in 1986, a bencher of Inner Temple. -
Lynda Margaret Clark appointed the first Advocate General for Scotland
Lynda Margaret Clark, Baroness Clark of Calton, PC, QC (born 26th February 1949) was formerly the Labour MP for Edinburgh Pentlands -
Harriet Harman becomes the first woman Law Officer, appointed Solicitor General
She had been Legal Officer to Liberty in the past, taking the first cases for women under the then new Equal Pay and Sex Discrimination Acts. -
Sharmishta ‘Shami’ Chakrabarti CBE appointed Director of Liberty
She had worked as a barrister for the Home Office since 1996, having been called to the bar in 1994, after which she joined Middle Temple. -
Susan Denham becomes the first Chief Justice on the Irish Supreme Court
She is the first woman and first Protestant to hold the office of Chief Justice -
Lady Justice Macur becomes first female Senior Presiding Judge
In April 2017 Dame Julia Macur became the first female Senior Presiding Judge of the Court of Appeal of England and Wales since the role was created in 1983.