Back in 1893, Antoinette Dakin Leach of Indiana was the first woman to challenge bar admission denial based on gender. Leach's lawyers argued in front of the Indiana Supreme Court. They argued that even though a woman couldn't vote, if a woman was otherwise qualified, she should be admitted to practice law. Despite the fact that female admission to the bar was approved, male lawyers did not agree with the decision. She was not admitted to the Indiana State Bar Association until 1909.
Antoinette was the first lawyer to submit typewritten filings to the court instead of handwritten writings, thus embracing modern technology. She became an active suffragist, urging people to give women the right to vote. To recognize the accomplishments of female attorneys in central Indiana the Indianapolis Bar Association's Women & Law Division established the Antoinette Dakin Leach Award. It aims to encourage today's women in the pursuit of this honorable profession. The award, begun in 1990, named Judge Heather Welch as the 2019 recipient of the award. Judge Walton Pratt, a former recipient of the award, made opening remarks regarding Judge Welch and how she had been a trailblazer for other female attorneys.
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