Conference To Celebrate Century Of Women’s Contributions To University At Buffalo Law School

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The University at Buffalo will celebrate the 100th anniversary of its first women graduates with a special centennial conference, "Sisters in Law: A Century of Achievement at UB," to be held Oct. 21-22.

The conference will recognize the many remarkable women who have contributed to the betterment of the UB Law School community and the nation's legal profession over the past century.

The celebration will feature distinguished keynote speakers and panelists who will address legal topics of importance to women. Workshops will be held on topics that include workplace issues, access to health care, managing money and balancing work and family.

A luncheon will salute women in the judiciary and a dinner will honor the women who served as trailblazers for the profession.

While not the first school to admit women to the study of law -- that distinction belongs to the University of Iowa, which first admitted women in 1868 -- UB was among the earliest at a time when most law schools did not admit women until well into the 20th century.

It wasn't just the academic restrictions that prevented women from entering law school. The late 19th century was a time when many believed that higher education for women would not only hurt their health, but destroy the institutions of marriage and family. Indeed, a respected Harvard University physician wrote: "Excess study diverts energy from the female reproductive organs to the brain, causing a breakdown in women's health and threatening the health of future generations."

As late as the 1860s and 1870s, it was illegal for women to practice law. Men controlled the courts, bar associations, law schools and law firms. They also made and interpreted the laws that denied women the rights of equal citizenship, including the right to vote and practice law. To win their rights, women had to overcome tremendous social and legal obstacles. They had to change minds, as well as laws.

It was in that atmosphere that in 1897 two young women from Western New York joined 30 male classmates in the University of Buffalo Law School, which had been founded 10 years earlier.

UB's first female law students, Cecil B. Wiener and Helen Z. M. Rogers -- and others who braved discrimination and social scorn in order to pursue careers in the male-dominated legal field -- began to refer to each other as "sisters in law," according to Virginia G. Drachman, author of a book by the same title.

Wiener and Rogers graduated in 1899 and went on to prominent careers, making significant strides in the advancement of rights for women and children. Wiener eventually became the first judge of what is now the Erie County Family Court. Rogers, a private practitioner, was an active suffragette and the first woman to argue a case before the New York Court of Appeals.

Both practiced law for 20 years before they were allowed to vote.

More than 3,000 "sisters in law" have graduated from what is today the UB Law School. The Class of 1999, which graduated in May, was composed of 117 men and 116 women.

Wiener and Rogers would have been happy and proud.

"Sisters in Law: A Century of Achievement at UB" will recognize the achievements of UB Law School's women graduates with two days of events to be held in John Lord O'Brian Hall on the North (Amherst) Campus and in the Buffalo/Niagara Marriott, 1340 Millersport Highway, Amherst.

The conference will begin with a day-long open house to be held from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Oct. 21 in O'Brian Hall. Participants will have the opportunity to sit in on classes guest-lectured by an alumna or to visit the school more informally. For further information on attending or teaching a class, call Mary Ann Rogers, associate dean for development, or Jill Riordan, development assistant, at 716-645-2109.

A Centennial Reception, sponsored by the Western New York Chapter of the Women's Bar Association of the State of New York and The Women Lawyers of Western New York, will follow from 6-8 p.m. in the Center for the Arts Gallery.

The celebration will continue Oct. 22 in the Buffalo/Niagara Marriott with events that will include a panel of alumnae representing various decades who will discuss their experiences in law school and since graduating.

A luncheon, "A Salute to Women in the Judiciary," will honor 27 UB Law School graduates serving in judicial posts throughout the country. Those to be honored are Honorable M. Dolores Denman '65, presiding justice, New York State Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Fourth Department; Honorable Jacqueline M. Koshian '59, justice, New York State Supreme Court, Eighth Judicial District; Honorable Rose D. La Mendola '55, justice, New York State Supreme Court, Eighth Judicial District, and Honorable Ann T. Mikoll '54, associate justice, New York State Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Third Department. The speaker will be Honorable Melanie D. Cyganowski '81, U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge for the Eastern District of New York.

The afternoon's sessions, to be held on-campus in O'Brian Hall, will include workshops on quality-of-life topics. Shuttle transportation between the Marriott and O'Brian Hall will be provided and continuing-legal-education (CLE) credit will be available.

The workshops will include:

• "Balancing Work and Family," Cynthia Fuchs Epstein, distinguished professor of sociology, The Graduate School and University Center, City University of New York; Sara Horowitz '89, executive director, Working Today, New York City, and Ann Evanko '79, attorney, Hurwitz & Fine, P.C., Buffalo.

• "Workplace Rights," Ginger Schroder '90, attorney, Buchanan Ingersoll, P.C., Buffalo, and Honorable Elena Cacavas '85, administrative law judge, New York State Public Employment Relations Board, Brooklyn.

• "Women and Their Money: Procuring It, Preserving It and Passing It Along," Marjorie Girth, professor, Georgia State University College of Law; Laura Hansen Dean, president, Laura Hansen & Associates, Indianapolis, and Dianne Bennett '75, president, Hodgson, Russ, Andrews, Woods & Goodyear, Buffalo.

• "Access to Health Care," Shelley B. Mayer '79, vice president of government affairs, St. Luke's Roosevelt Hospital, Beth Israel Medical Center, New York City; Mary Ann Bobinski '87, assistant professor, University of Houston, and Ellen V. Weissman, attorney, Hodgson, Russ, Andrews, Woods & Goodyear, Buffalo.

The conference will conclude with a celebration dinner honoring trailblazers and early graduates of the UB Law School.

Registration fees are $145 for the conference, luncheon and dinner (includes 3 CLE credits) and $100 for the conference and lunch. The fee for the luncheon is $25 and $45 for the dinner. Tables of 10 also are available. Students may attend the conference for free; lunch for students is $15 and dinner is $25. Registration deadline is Oct. 15.

More information regarding the celebration may be obtained by contacting Mary Ann Rogers at 716-645-2113 or by emailing her at marogers@acsu.buffalo.edu.