This is a list of the first women lawyer(s) and judge(s) in
Kentucky. It includes the year in which the women were admitted to practice law (in parentheses). Also included are women who achieved other distinctions such becoming the first in their state to graduate from law school or become a political figure.
Firsts in Kentucky's history
Sophonisba Breckinridge: First female lawyer in Kentucky (1895)
First female (Eastern District of Kentucky): Julia Kurtz Tackett[21][22]
First female (U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky; U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky:
Jennifer B. Coffman (1978) in 1993[23]
Traci Peppers:[15] First female to serve on the Forty-Third Judicial Circuit in Kentucky (Barren and Metcalfe Counties, Kentucky; 2014)
Kim Leet Razor:[16] First female to serve on the Nineteenth Judicial District Court in Kentucky (2018) [Bracken, Fleming, and Mason Counties, Kentucky]
Julia Fields:[26][27] First female to serve as a Judge of the District Court in the
Oldham-
Trimble-
Henry County District, Kentucky (1983)
Shelley Santry:[19] First openly lesbian female to serve as a Judge of the Jefferson Family Court (2022)
Yvette De La Guardia:[36] First Latino American female elected as a District Judge in
Jefferson County (2022)
Rebecca Westerfield:[37] First female to serve as President of the Louisville Bar Association [Jefferson County, Kentucky]
Ruth Long Wells: First female attorney in
Johnson County, Kentucky (1928). Ms. Wells was admitted to the Kentucky Bar in 1928 and was a member of the law firm of Wells & Wells (currently Porter, Banks, Baldwin & Shaw, PLLC) in Paintsville, Kentucky.
Judy Moberly West:[8] First female to serve on the
Kenton County District Court in Kentucky (1980)
This is a list of the first women lawyer(s) and judge(s) in
Kentucky. It includes the year in which the women were admitted to practice law (in parentheses). Also included are women who achieved other distinctions such becoming the first in their state to graduate from law school or become a political figure.
Firsts in Kentucky's history
Sophonisba Breckinridge: First female lawyer in Kentucky (1895)
First female (Eastern District of Kentucky): Julia Kurtz Tackett[21][22]
First female (U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky; U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky:
Jennifer B. Coffman (1978) in 1993[23]
Traci Peppers:[15] First female to serve on the Forty-Third Judicial Circuit in Kentucky (Barren and Metcalfe Counties, Kentucky; 2014)
Kim Leet Razor:[16] First female to serve on the Nineteenth Judicial District Court in Kentucky (2018) [Bracken, Fleming, and Mason Counties, Kentucky]
Julia Fields:[26][27] First female to serve as a Judge of the District Court in the
Oldham-
Trimble-
Henry County District, Kentucky (1983)
Shelley Santry:[19] First openly lesbian female to serve as a Judge of the Jefferson Family Court (2022)
Yvette De La Guardia:[36] First Latino American female elected as a District Judge in
Jefferson County (2022)
Rebecca Westerfield:[37] First female to serve as President of the Louisville Bar Association [Jefferson County, Kentucky]
Ruth Long Wells: First female attorney in
Johnson County, Kentucky (1928). Ms. Wells was admitted to the Kentucky Bar in 1928 and was a member of the law firm of Wells & Wells (currently Porter, Banks, Baldwin & Shaw, PLLC) in Paintsville, Kentucky.
Judy Moberly West:[8] First female to serve on the
Kenton County District Court in Kentucky (1980)