TEXAS SUPREME COURT HISTORICAL SOCIETY

Ad Astra per Aspera (“A Rough Road Leads to the Stars”)Book Review: Rough Road to Justice: The Journey of Women Lawyers in TexasBy Judge Sylvia A. MatthewsWHEN WOMEN STARTED PRACTICING LAW IN TEXAS, they had to forgetheir own paths. There were no “how to” books to teach them how to handle thechallenges of working in a profession dominated by men. There were no professional lifecoaches to help them develop their potential. And, in the beginning, there were no womenrole models.Recognizing the lack of documentation about the women who paved the way for the women lawyerspracticing today, the Women in the Profession Committee of the State Bar of Texas commissioned Betty TrappChapman to capture the history of Texas women in the legal profession. Her book, Rough Road to Justice: TheJourney of Women Lawyers in Texas, was published by the State Bar of Texas in 2008.Chapman, a distinguished author, historian, and lecturer, begins the history of Texas’s women lawyers in1902, when the following headline appeared in the El Paso Herald: “A Woman Lawyer Qualifies for Practicein This City.” Although the El Paso resident never practiced law, a barrier had been broken. In a time whenwomen did not have the right to vote or participate in government and married women had severely circumscribedproperty rights, one woman had earned the right to practice law in Texas.Although the book is detailed and evidences scholarly research, it is an easy read. The book discusseswomen in private practice, government, education, and the judiciary. Through personal accounts and documentedhistory, it follows the progress that women have made in the legal profession from the turn of the century throughthe time the book was completed.Chapman includes stories that illustrate adversities women lawyers faced. Initially, women werediscouraged from the law because they were thought to be too delicate and genteel for the practice’s rigors. WhenPearl Harbor was bombed in 1941, men enlisted in the military leaving their jobs open. Women were urged tocontribute to the war effort by going to work. When World War II ended and the men returned, the progresswomen had made in the workplace was eroded. Women, including those with an interest in law, were once againdiscouraged from working outside the home.For women who pressed on, some were discouraged in law school. For example, Lois Prestage Woodsgraduated from Texas Southern University in 1951 as its first female law graduate. Chapman explains that whenclasses met, at least one of Woods’s professors repeatedly asked her, “Are you still here?” Those women whograduated often struggled to find a job as a lawyer. In 1949, Geraldine Tennant graduated from the University ofTexas School of Law. She was one of nine females in a class of 185 students. Although she eventually enjoyeda distinguished career in the judiciary, she was unable to find a full time legal job upon graduation. Instead, shereceived a “semi-legal” job offer with a “semi-legal” salary.85