As we begin Women’s History Month, we start by honoring DWLA’s founding members, Louise Raggio, Judge Sarah T. Hughes and Joann Peters, who, along with other women attorneys, began meeting at the Adolphus hotel once a month for lunch. This informal network of women lawyers was small but tight-knit. This small network of women were able to exchange information on job opportunities, discuss legislative changes, encourage more female candidates for the judiciary and public offices, and generally advance women’s interests. They helped younger women lawyers secure some of the few jobs available to women. They “celebrated each woman’s victory. When there was a breakthrough of any kind, it was an occasion for joy. Every victory, no matter how small it seemed initially, was a breakthrough to something more significant.”
In 1984, years after the women had first begun meeting around a single table at the Adolphus hotel in the mid-60’s, they finally incorporated as a formal group: the
Dallas Women Lawyers Association, united by the goal of the advancement of women in the legal profession and beyond. These women were determined to make sure the next generation of women lawyers were afforded opportunities that they were denied. We honor their vision and the path they paved.
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