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Women's Law Association of Ontario | |
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The Year Before By 1918, 22 years after Clara Brett Martin's call to the Ontario Bar broke the gender barrier, a mere 11 had followed in her footsteps. William Renwick Riddell, who, as a bencher in 1892, had arrived late to the historic Convocational vote admitting women members of the Bar by a majority of one, and had protested that the vote be retaken so as to include his opposition, assessed the impact of women as practitioners of law with the observation that: "the admission of women is regarded with complete indifference by all but those immediately concerned" 1. He clearly could not have been describing the obsessive scrutiny made over the actions of woman barristers by the journalistic media, bent on examining their manners, style of dress, and discovering, or denying a match for, "a modern Portia, with an infinite sense of justice and a capacity for close argument (who) has not yet arrived" 2. Nor could he have been observant of the phenomenon noted by Clara Brett Martin who retained male lawyers for her clients' litigation, to spare them excessive scrutiny 3. Nor could he have known that a handful of young, would-be woman lawyers were about to start the first Canadian women's legal association 4, the one which would become the oldest surviving independent legal association in Ontario. 5 Sources of an Enduring Tradition A fundamental question declares itself: why and how has the Women's Law Association of Ontario survived? Through eighty years of history, the WLAO has thrived, contributed to women's professional development and thereby benefited the profession of law as a whole. WLAO has operated its many activities as a model of volunteer efforts. Without office space nor permanent staff, the Association has typically held 6 to 8 meetings a year, publishes a newsletter twice a year, has served on a wide range of committees in the legal and social communities, has formulated briefs on a wide range of law reform initiatives, and has represented the interests of women lawyers in a host of endeavours. From its inception, the Association acquired a sense of ownership by its members. It was through the Association that women lawyers found an accepting community, where it mattered less that women typically found themselves in the "three percent" 6, or less, group of those called to the Bar. Setting their own goals, being small enough to meet individual expectations yet large enough to arrange a year's programming, co-operating over fundamental goals and taking charge of their own interests, are the characteristics of a workable structure with necessary flexibility. The history of the Association is a testament to the developing identity of Ontario women lawyers. This essay describes the early years, through the optimism of the 1920's, the lean 1930's, and ends when the vigorous and serious 1940's promised to shape the next era, which as we now know, was unpredictable, all prior to the challenges of the long-awaited influx of large numbers of highly motivated young women lawyers in the 1970's and 1980's. The culture of law practice for women was scarcely defined but was, despite conflicting views on the role of women lawyers, changing as were women's rights. Women were getting the vote, but married women would not retain rights to property for many years. While Clara Brett Martin had successfully challenged the Law Society's opinion that women were not "persons" for the purposes of admission to the Bar, seven years would pass before the Privy Council would rule that women were to be recognized as "persons" in Canadian constitutional law. Many of the early members of the WLAO were from families with professional backgrounds. Traditionally called upon to perform many functions as pillars of the community, once called to Bar, to which social reality did women lawyers belong? As women they would be confronted with at times conflicting duties. Was the world ready for them? Breaking new ground, how would they carve out an identity for themselves? When the profession was as segregated as was society, how would they create a welcoming, learned association? To what extent would they influence the practice of law, and to what extent would they find success by adapting to existing mores? In 1919 a significant phenomenon was about to occur: five women stood to be admitted as members of the Law Society of Upper Canada in each of the two following years, and nine the next. At the beginning of the 1920's, 14 women, more than had been called in the previous 22 years, would be called. This was to be their first era as an identifiable group, their first decade. These women would be at the centre of diverging views on the role of women lawyers. They would be the subject of much scrutiny by the curious press and cautious clients of both genders 7. They would be confronted with choices between their career or family responsibilities. Those who persevered, or came back to law practice after raising children, would eventually be tolerated, or accepted. And, at times, some were feted. They took up their new roles in a highly public eye. Their early commitment to each other, to excellence and to the mentoring of initiates demonstrated their sense of responsibility for future lawyers. However, theirs was not to be a widely followed path. For decades they toiled in highly marginalized numbers. The anticipated breakthroughs came much later than expected. The early members would spend most or all of their working careers in sole or small practices before the numbers of women entering the profession began to climb toward their numbers in society. Many would be elderly by the time a critical mass of informed women in law would rise. The early members would see little to measure the impact of informed women lawyers on society. Their task would be to create an equal place for women lawyers in a man's world 8. They would, for the most part, approach the task with optimism. It was by all accounts, their inventive response to a complex set of circumstances faced by their small community of lawyers -- to gain acceptance as fellow lawyers by proving themselves successful in law 9. The First Meeting In 1919, Laura Denton (Duff) and Helen Currie, were two students-at-law in Toronto. They would be the 20th and the 32nd woman lawyers called to the Bar in Ontario in 1920 and 1921 respectively. They co-founded the Women's Law Association of Ontario. The first meeting was held in the offices of Frank Denton, K.C., Laura Denton Duff's father, with whom she worked. Records are scant of the earliest meetings, but the attendees of that first meeting showed their intention to continue, and planned an annual meeting. Attendees at that first meeting included: Mary Buckley Laughton '15, Helen Palen '18, Evelyn Harrison of London '21, and Apha Hodgins of Bowmanville '19. In that year every woman ever admitted to membership in the Law Society of Upper Canada, at most 35 lawyers and law students, was invited to a meeting to be held at the Inglewood Tea Rooms on the southwest corner of Spadina Avenue at Bloor. Clara Brett Martin was the keynote speaker. 10 Early Constitution
The earliest surviving record of the WLAO Constitution dates from 1949. The object of the Association was described as: "to encourage interchange of ideas and co-operation among women with legal training". Prior to that time, archival sources report on activities in support of their purposes: educational seminars and opportunities for more informal sharing of knowledge, the creation of a welcoming and inclusive community, celebration of achievements, activities that broadened the bases upon which members of the Association and the legal community socialized, and activities in support of citizenship. Membership From the beginning, membership in the WLAO was open to any woman who had been admitted to practice in Ontario. Associate members included women who were qualified to practice, but who had not been admitted or enrolled at the Bar, and students-at-law, which was, prior to 1968, a three year course of half-day articles and half-day studies at Osgoode Hall, in the Law Society's premises at Queen and University Streets, Toronto. A third category of associate membership extended to members of a Bar or a qualified solicitor elsewhere in the British Empire, which demonstrates attempts to create and maintain links with women lawyers in other jurisdictions. There were no disqualifying conditions, save disbarment by the Law Society, and no further rights of initiation, such as academic standing. 11 Life membership became available in 1947 to any member willing to pay the hefty amount of $40.00. The first life membership was awarded to Grace Gordon in honour of her considerable efforts as the WLAO representative to the Local Council of Women where she had served as Convenor of Laws. Local branches were encouraged and did develop in Hamilton, London and Ottawa. From the Toronto area members were frequently invited to visit with members outside Toronto. A long standing tradition to offer lower fees to members outside of Toronto continues to date. It appears that men could and did attend meetings occasionally, particularly as spouses at special meetings or as guest speakers, but they could not hold membership rights. Early Liaisons WLAO members did enjoy memberships in many other legal associations. When Margaret Hyndman founded the first woman's chapter of Kappa Beta Pi, many WLAO members were attracted to joint membership 12. Sir James Aitkens' appeal to the WLAO in 1927 to encourage women to join the Canadian Bar Association sparked a letter campaign from the WLAO to all known women lawyers in Canada 13, to further the cause of unity in the profession. That the most active of liaisons pursued by the WLAO in the early years was with the Local Council of Women, should not be surprising since the National Council of Women had, at its inception in 1893, engaged an enthusiastic letter-writing campaign in support of women's entry to the Bar, at the request of Clara Brett Martin, which no doubt had attracted the support of her political champions in the legislature. 14 More than 70 Toronto women's groups belonged to the Local Council between 1919 and 1950. A succession of WLAO representatives acted as Convenor of Laws 15. Some issues tackled during that period included advocacy for medicare, the abolition of capital punishment, housing for the aged, humane treatment for juvenile offenders, portable pensions and pensions for women. The Lawyers Club was the lone hold-out on welcoming women as members, or even as guests, until the early 1970's. 16 On at least two occasions, prior to then, early members mistakenly were invited to attend, and then were declined when their gender became known. 17 Hope and Pluck: Creating a Future -- the 1920's: The activities of the WLAO in the 1920's reflect the exuberant optimism of the decade. Expectations of a brighter, more egalitarian future are evident through Archive records. They indicate a bold confidence in the community of women lawyers who met through the Association. This was to be an enduring style of the Women's Law Association of Ontario. One that survived through decades of transformations. The first written annual report 18, 1923-24, reviews the year's activities: a get-acquainted and welcome to new members, a meeting to establish a scholarship fund, two educational seminars, a mid-winter dance, and the annual dinner meeting. Executive positions included the President, Honourary (Past) President, Vice-President, Secretary Treasurer, Corresponding Secretary, Archivist and Representative to the Local Council of Women to which Mary Laughton, the author of a 1920 article demystifying the practice of law and encouraging prospective woman lawyers to pursue legal education 19, was appointed. The organizers of the meeting were the energetic Helen Currie, Irene Maw (who a few years later may have become the first Ontario woman lawyer to practice law out of her home while acting as a primary caregiver 20) and Margaret Hyndman, then a law student. Issues addressed in seminar meetings were typically on legal educational topics for the general practitioner, or on a topic of consuming public interest as might affect the practice of law. In the 1920's educational seminars topics included the law on wills, immigration matters, a review of proposed federal legislation, the adviseability of women lawyers choosing specialized fields of law, practice before juvenile, surrogate, criminal, civil, domestic relations and bankruptcy courts, and sessions reporting on the Canadian Bar Association's annual legal education conferences by WLAO members who had attended. The primary importance of legal education in the Association's activities is evident. The agenda of the festive December meeting developed into a traditionally favoured pattern: Christmas carols were sung, an elaborate dinner served, followed by an address given by a judge offering a perspective from the bench. There were times, to be sure, when social events were the planned function. Seasonal celebrations such an annual mid-winter dance in the nature of a club gathering describe the multi-purpose functions of the Association.21 At other times social functions were integrated into the agenda: a tour of the Hamilton gardens coincided with a tour of local courts in 1926; "toasts" featured frequently at meetings regularly saluted noteworthy achievements and gave platforms for pearls of wisdom from the honoured guest. And, at other times, particularly in the mid 1930's some events seemed to have been held primarily for social interaction. This is particularly evident in the frequency with which members who were indeed few in number in small towns such as Port Colbourne, Belleville and the Toronto area townships attended meetings in Toronto. Combined social and professional purposes were most evident in the manner in which new women lawyers were welcomed, The annual dinner meeting of 1927 featured toasts to the King, to the Profession, to the three woman graduates and, with an amusingly bold leap to future, to the graduates of sixty years hence, i.e., 1987, "when only a few stray men would be called to the Bar and when all the judges would be women" 22. Three weeks after her untimely death in 1923, 13 members of the WLAO met and donated $130.00 to start a scholarship in memory of Clara Brett Martin.23 Its objects demonstrate that the WLAO recognized and encouraged excellence without regard to gender, ethnicity or ideology. The prize was awarded annually to the final year student with the highest marks in wills and trusts. Cecil Wright, Charles Dubin and J.S.D. Tory were counted amongst the earliest winners. That the historical development of woman lawyers as professionals was important to the early members and to their expectations of progressive futures is abundantly clear in the Association's Archives. It was an early duty of the Archivist to display information about events of interest to members at each meeting. A volumed set of 'scrapbooks' carefully records biographical information on the first 77 women called to the Ontario Bar, ending in 1933. Several volumes post numerous newspaper and journal articles on items about women lawyers from around the world, including England, China, Burma, India, many places in the U.S.A., France, Jamaica, British Guiana, New Zealand, eastern and middle European countries, as well as from other provinces of Canada. Items noting 'first' achievements, events significant by standards of the era, together with comments salutory, inquisitory, patronizing, or derogatory were posted in contemporaneous time by a succession of volunteer archivists. Amply demonstrated in the Archives is a considerable degree of interest, encouragement and support for colleagues' achievements, and celebration of their successes. Whether the subject person was an active member or not was not noted in any way; the news article would be integrated into the unfolding, living history. The collection provides unique insights into the legal culture vis a vis women lawyers. It enables us to ascertain how the early members were perceived, in the context of social values of the time, and gives clues as to how they saw themselves.24 For example, Riddell's 1933 treatise on Greek and Roman courts which unearthed and ridiculed the role of women law practitioners in the ancient courts of law is set out in the Archives, under the covering letter of Helen Palen 25 to her friend Vida Harris, former President of the WLAO. In it Palen drew attention to the paucity of written history of women in law, presumably from which she would have countered the satirist's view. The fact, however, that items are self-selected, and that many are journalistic reports, the contents of which members would have little control, leaves much unsaid. The Archives' collections tell us that early members of the Association noted the fascination of the media with women lawyers with more than passing interest. Local newspaper and journal articles about their own members and Association activities are posted. Photographs of female graduates of Osgoode Hall were published annually. Journalistic descriptive phrases reveal much about the ambiguous social milieu of the members and an apprehension about their characters: the "fair but not so stern sex", and "a mere slip of a girl" 26. While the press cast a roving eye in search of an idealized Portia, without so much as acknowledging that Shakespeare's Portia was most likely in the role of a judge and not a courtroom advocate 27, the primary source of continuing legal education for practising women lawyers, meetings of the WLAO, were continually reported in the womens' pages or the society pages of local newspapers, where lengthier descriptions were given to decorations and the names of attendees than to the substance of the seminar topic. Curiously, many references are undated and unreferenced, which may indicate an assumption of lasting interest only to themselves. Alternately there may have been a perceived need to distance themselves from the contents, to indicate they were not to be taken as seriously as a factum in a court of law, where references would all be sourced. Indeed some of the collection goes to demonstrate members' humour. As some portion of meetings would be given to archival displays, the point of juxtaposition of an Obiter Dicta article reporting on the loss of a debate point -- returning the "weaker sex to the hearthstone" with an envelope of satirical songs by member Ruby Wigle is not to be missed 28. The sentiment she knew to be well shared by her colleagues was more painstakingly expressed in her article in the Canadian Bar Review in 1927:
The guest list at the "annual dance" of 1927 indicates just how far the exuberant lady lawyers had come: in attendance with their spouses were Premier Ferguson, Chief Justice Mulock, Dean Falconbridge of Osgoode Hall, the Attorney-General, and several Justices, including none other than Mr. Justice Riddell. In the same year, however, some of the sharpest criticism was conspicuously recorded in the Archives. The Globe and Mail writer who had lamented that of the 53 women then called to the Ontario Bar, 'a modern Portia... (had) not yet arrived', went on to claim that:
A quick retort revealed much of the character of the early members:
Gradually the journalistic media reported more accepting views on the fact of women as lawyers, even if the mysterious obsession with Portia remained:
By 1925, the first comments were being made on a trend for married women to cease practice. At a luncheon given by the WLAO in honour of the retirement of Dr. N.W. Hoyles, principal of Osgoode Hall Law School since 1894, the well-respected guest, credited with "unfailing kindness to students of the fair sex, pioneers in the invasion of a realm almost monopolized by men", confessed to regrets that "many of his feminine pupils had married and wasted so much study and so much knowledge".32 This was the first reference to the phenomenon to which then President Elizabeth Newton penned a humorous description: In reporting to members on the Association's attempts in 1927 to contact all Canadian women lawyers, and having found similar patterns of withdrawal from practice, she wryly observed: "Matrimony seems everywhere.. to be a problem" 33. In the same year, Ruby Wigle noted:
In the spring of 1933, the WLAO recorded the professional status of members - in practice or not practising, in the Archives' biographical information.35 In August, the Globe and Mail examined, by name, the status of 13 called to the Ontario Bar between 1920 and 1924. Four were found to be in practice. Others were described as having "dropped out" or "gave up". The writer made no further inquiry or explanation. The remainder of the article is an impressive, comprehensive review of women's rights to practice law around the world and concludes with a challenge to woman lawyers to continue in practice, and left it at that 36. Later entries in the WLAO Archives do indicate that many of these named women did practise for a considerable number of years. It would not be until the 1980's, however, that rigorous research was conducted on the differential work patterns of male and female lawyers, and when policies began to address these issues. 37 Perhaps it is not surprising to find no mention of conflicting roles between parental duties and lawyering in this era. There is evidence that early members regarded talk of marriage and children as 'personal'38 and while the strong sense of community exhibited between members indicates great likelihood of informally shared information and support, child care and related issues were not addressed as seminars topics until 1989. It is also clear, however, that non-practising members continued to be welcome in the WLAO and that they continued to make contributions to the legal community as well as to the community at large. Despite the formal resolution of the issue in 1896 permitting women to act as both barrister and solicitor, many references are found in the Archives which raise the question of whether women lawyers were best suited to certain types of practice. And, accordingly, posted throughout the collection are numerous items affirming the conviction of WLAO members to engage in any aspect of law in which they were interested. 39 Frequently the issues were raised following observations on withdrawals from practice, as was the case with Dr. Hoyles at the 1925 retirement luncheon. He challenged women lawyers to improve the laws relating to women and children. With a bit of idealistic foresight, he surmised that with a steady influx of women into the profession, and if these women married lawyers, there would be a great benefit to the profession -- more harmony 40. Survival and Perseverance -- The 1930's At the end of the 1920's, 68 women had been called to the Bar in Ontario. The bright optimism of the 1920's turned to face more pressing urgencies. Late in 1933, the first women employed as lawyers in the provincial government 41, all members of the WLAO, were singled out by gender and all received notices of dismissal. One of the women was beyond child-bearing age and two sole supporter for an aged parent. The WLAO flung itself into a new role and intervened on their behalf directly to the Premier, buttressed by the support of the Local and National Councils of Women, and other groups who wrote letters of protest. They were successful in securing re-instatements. 42 In 1934, an articulate law student described the difficulties of trying to succeed in developing the business practice of law without the confidences she observed to be more available to men through informal working relationships and of having 'connections' to assist with seeking employment upon graduation. 43 Through its liaison with the Local Council of Women, members interests intersected law with social policy: In 1932, WLAO members Margery Blatz and Elizabeth Newton gave an address to the Local Council, on adoption law with the journalistic subtitle, "Lawyer minus knowledge of sociology seen as hazard". Well into the 1930's, WLAO committees on law reform sprung up. The first formal committee work may have been a research project done in co-operation with the Local of Women assessing employment conditions for women factory workers in Toronto, in support of efforts to improve labour standards legislation. WLAO educational seminar topics of the 1930's, however, steadily continued, as they had the previous decade, to reflect a wide range of issues on professional, practice and issues of most interest to women, including: patent laws, comparative corporation law, criminal procedure, parliamentary procedure, constitutional jurisdiction of courts, women's property rights, an update on German aggression in Austria, addresses by each of the two Chief Justices of the decade, and a celebration of member Helen Kinnear's achievement of the first K.C. awarded a woman in the British Commonwealth. 44 Depression-weary women law students did not swell their ranks.45 The decade produced only 37 more women lawyers. Ontario remained the leader in calling women to the Bar. In the 1941 census when 8,621 male lawyers were listed in Canada, women numbered 129, and 112 of them were from Ontario. Valour and Vigour -- The 1940's When male lawyers were called to serve in World War II, the Law Society asked women lawyers to take over their offices, and many did. Margaret Campbell went to Brantfort, "for the duration". Mary Lamont took over her husband's work as well as that of her own. Doors to large law firms, in particular, were opened to women. Eileen Mitchell Thomas recalled that by end of the war, nearly every large firm had a woman on staff. 46 The activities of the WLAO increased in vigour as well. In early 1942, formal committees on public welfare, labour and civil liberties reported and gave recommendations. The Association, in actions reminiscent of their advocacy on behalf of three members in 1933, opposed a move by the provincial government to lower the pay of women lawyers 47. The first woman graduate of Osgoode Hall to get the Gold Medal was celebrated in 1945.48 Eileen Mitchell Thomas, as President of WLAO between 1943-45, made a high level bridge to the Canadian Bar Association -- she became the first woman elected to the governing Council 49. And then, in 1943, in the midst of the angst of war came a long awaited cause for celebration. Helen Kinnear was appointed to the Bench -- the first county court woman judge in the British Commonwealth. The achievement was all her own; members of the WLAO took the leadership in arranging several celebrations and speaking engagements. By the end of the war women were concerned about the impact of soldiers and husbands returning home to a changed world. The WLAO worked in close co-operation with the Local Council of Women to put on a series of public law lectures presented by women leaders of the day, most of whom were WLAO members. The topics struck a chord. More than 500 people attended each of the sessions on: the Machinery of Justice, Women and Investments, Labour Legislation, Divorce, Making Wills and Succession Duties.50 A second series in the following year addressed these topics: Women to be on Jury Duty, Security in Insurance, Humane Justice, Home and the Homeless -- Landlord and Tenant, Buyer Beware -- Real Estate, and "So this is Marriage".51 The most ambitious project of the time was undertaken by Lily Sherizen and the WLAO Public Welfare Committee, which studied conditions for one year and made recommendations in respect of juvenile prison reform. The report was lauded widely in the press and was credited with mobilizing progressive initiative in the creation of a humane juvenile criminal justice system. 52 The End of an Era: Next Challenges The next half of the century would bring unique and unpredicted changes and challenges. The ties with the Local Council of Women would cease. Women lawyers would engage in activities in step with post-war society: a re-emphasis on the family and expanded opportunities in the bustling economy. Other legal associations would be created, opening more avenues for women lawyers. The Canadian Bar Association of Ontario and the Law Society would increase their programs in continuing legal education, thus creating the opportunity for the WLAO to concentrate its interests. Yet more than one decade would pass before issues of interest to women lawyers would rise and re-focus in light of complex changes in law and society: when the concepts of equity and diversity would press transformational expectations upon the profession, when larger numbers of informed women in law would ask themselves: what does it mean to be a woman lawyer? where are my communities of interest? The Women's Law Association of Ontario would undergo the challenges presented by the new generations. Together they would give new meaning to old purposes: welcoming, encouraging interchange of ideas and co-operation among women with legal training, creating community, pursuing excellence, celebrating achievements, and, as always, conducting programs of interest to women lawyers. - Abby Bushby
© The Women's Law Association of Ontario, 2000 For its 80th Anniversary Celebration January 14, 2000
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