Former Arizona Chief Justice Lorna Lockwood
I’ve written before about how much I enjoy a good book review. And as January is about to close, I point to another great review in this month’s Arizona Attorney.
The author this month is esteemed lawyer (and past State Bar President) Mark Harrison. He is a good writer, but to make his task easier, he wrote about a great woman—Lorna Lockwood.
Arizona’s first woman Chief Justice is described well in the book Lady Law, by author Sonja White David. Here is how Mark opens his review:
“In 1960, Lorna Lockwood became the first female Justice on the Supreme Court of Arizona. In 1965, she became the first female Chief Justice of any state Supreme Court in the nation. Justice Lockwood’s remarkable story is beautifully captured in Lady Law, a book written by Sonja White David, a resident of Mesa. In a way that Justice Lockwood surely would have appreciated, the author describes how a small-town girl from Douglas and Tombstone, Arizona, defied the odds and blazed the way for women in the law. In the process, Justice Lockwood left a significant and indelible mark on the law of Arizona.”
“Lady Law would be an enriching read for all Arizona lawyers, but it will be an inspiration for young girls and women. As Ms. David describes Justice Lockwood’s journey, she explains how Justice Lockwood was rebuffed and discouraged, not surprisingly by the male establishment, from pursuing her ambition to become a lawyer. As we now know, the pioneering role of Justice Lockwood was a harbinger of things to come; in the half century since Justice Lockwood was elected to the Supreme Court, the percentage of women in law schools has equaled and occasionally exceeded the percentage of men. In addition, women have come to play an increasingly influential role in the profession and on the judiciary.”
Read the entire book review here. And if you’re interested, the book is available here.
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