The information provided on this blog is to, the best of our knowledge, accurate and up-to-date as of the date of posting. However, please be aware that information can change rapidly and without notice. Therefore, we cannot guarantee the accuracy or completeness of the information presented after the posting date. It is advised that readers exercise due diligence and independently verify the accuracy of information they find on this blog news feed. Here are links to the most current information available in relation to our Membership, Saskatchewan Case Law, and Saskatchewan Legislation.
Chronology: Women and the Legal Profession in Saskatchewan
March 9, 2015By Alan Kilpatrick
In honour of International Women’s Day we have reproduced a chronology of women and the legal profession in Saskatchewan. This chronology was compiled for a 1988 survey of female graduates from the University of Saskatchewan’s College Of Law.
1913 – M. Burgess became the first women to register as a student at law in Saskatchewan; she did so on the very first day that The Legal Profession Act was amended to allow women to practice law.
1917 – Mary Cathcart became the first women to be admitted to the Bar in Saskatchewan.
1917 – Jean Ethel MacLachlan became the first female Justice of the Peace in Canada as well as Saskatchewan.
1920 – Elsie Hall became the first woman to earn her LLB from the College of Law, University of Saskatchewan.
1948 – Dorothy Greensmith became the first woman to be named King’s Counsel western Canada.
1960 – Tillie Taylor became the first female provincial magistrate in Saskatchewan.
1964 – Mary Batten became the first women to be appointed a District Court Judge in Saskatchewan.
1974 – Bonita Rourke became the first female law professor on tenure track at the College of Law, University of Saskatchewan.
1983 – Mary Batten became the first female Chief Justice to a Court of Queen’s Bench in Saskatchewan.
1984 – Majorie Gerwing became the first woman to be appointed Justice of the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal.
Sources
Savarese, J, & Keet, M, & Sutherland, K. Survey of Women Graduates from the College of Law. (University of Saskatchewan College of Law, 1988).
Reader Interactions