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Women have played a prominent role in USC Law School from the start. When the Los Angeles Law School was first incorporated, its 11-member board of trustees included a woman – self-made agricultural magnate Harriett W.R. Strong. Among the first students was another woman: Sara Wilde. In 1911, the university graduated 12 female lawyers; a year later, 22 more joined the growing ranks of law school alumnae.
With the founding of Phi Delta Delta in 1911, USC Law School launched the first women’s law student sorority in America. Also created during this time was Legal Lights, the first USC women’s law association.
By 1930, USC Law School – with 120 alumnae – had become a leader in preparing women for the legal profession. Only six other American law schools boasted more female graduates. Foremost among Trojan alumnae was Mabel Walker Willebrandt JD ’16, LLM ’17 – who became Assistant U.S. Attorney General under President Harding. Willebrandt was arguably the most prominent American woman attorney during the first half of the 20th century.
In 1968, USC Law School became the first major law school with a woman dean. Dorothy Nelson held the post for 12 years; she resigned in 1980 to become a judge on the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Women today make up 45 percent of the law school’s student population, and nearly a third of its faculty. The numbers continued to rise: with this year’s entering class, women broke the 50 percent mark.
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