Women, Leadership, & the Law

Sample Coursework

Academic Programming

Partnerships

Alumni Involvement

Student Organizations

Pro Bono Opportunities

A History of Penn Law Women

1883: Carrie Burnham Kilgore is the first woman to graduate from Penn Law and one of the first women in the U.S. to graduate from a three-year law school program.
1898: Margaret Center Klingelsmith L’1898 begins 34-year career as head librarian of Biddle Library.
1901: John Marshall Law Club for women is started.
1927: Sadie Tanner Mossell Alexander becomes the first African-American woman graduate.
1969: Martha Alschuler Field becomes the first woman to join the Penn Law faculty.
1975: Nancy Bregstein Gordon L’76 named the first female editor of the University of Pennsylvania Law Review.
1977: Regina Austin L’73 becomes the first black woman to join faculty.
2015: Kendra Sandidge L’16 is the first black female to serve as the Editor-in-Chief of the University of Pennsylvania Law Review.