Phoebe Wilson Couzins

When Phoebe Wilson Couzins decided to become a lawyer, she had no mentor, having never met another university graduate, law student or lawyer who was female. In 1869, she attended Washington University in Missouri, the first university to admit women. After graduating from law school, she helped found the National Woman Suffrage Association with Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton. In 1887, President Grover Cleveland appointed her the first female federal marshal. She dedicated her life to advancing justice and equality for all.

Adapted from "Proud to Be a Lawyer…a Female Lawyer," by Victorial L. Vreeland and Karen K. Koehler, Bar News, October 2001.