News + Events

“Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase.” -Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Did the C|M|LAW leaders listed below know while they were students or professors at C|M|LAW that someday they would make history by being first? No, but they were willing to take the first step toward their dreams.

As our first year law students approach their first law school final exams later this week, I know that they are feeling some pressure and stress. Trust me, each of the leaders listed below felt the same pressure and stress.

But what set them and others who have succeeded apart was their ability to see beyond the moment. They knew that studying hard and focusing on their final exams was the first step to creating their own future.

Last Monday I listed all our firsts; this morning I’ve listed the names of those who have made us a “Law School of Firsts.”

Judiciary

• First woman Municipal Judge in the nation- Judge Mary Grossman ’12
• First and only woman Chief Justice of the Ohio Supreme Court- Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor ‘80
• First African-American woman to serve as a Judge in Ohio- Judge Lillian Burke ’51
• First woman to serve as a Judge on a Federal District Court in Ohio – Judge Ann Aldrich – former C|M|LAW Professor
• First African-American woman to serve as a Judge on a Federal District Court in Ohio- Judge Benita Pearson ‘95
• First African-American to serve as a Judge and first African-American to serve as Chief Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio- Judge George White ‘55
• First African-American woman to serve as a Judge on a State Appeals Court in Ohio – Judge Patricia Blackmon ‘75

Legal Profession

• First African-American lawyers to appear in a case before the U.S. Supreme Court representing both the appellant and appellee before an African-American Supreme Court Justice – Congressman Louis Stokes ’53, Reuben Payne ‘53
• First woman General Counsel at the Library of Congress and first woman General Counsel at the National Archives and Records Administration- Elizabeth Pugh ’78
• First President of the national Women’s Equity Action League – Elizabeth Boyer ‘47
• Co-Founders of the Women’s Law Fund, the first law firm in the nation to specialize in sex discrimination cases – C|M|LAW Professors Lizabeth Moody and Jane Picker
• Co-Founders of the largest women-owned law firm in Ohio – Karen Giffen ‘89, Kerin Lyn Kaminski ‘85
• First woman law professor in Ohio; First woman elected to the American Bar Association House of Delegates - Professor Grace Doering McCord ‘25
• First Disciplinary Counsel to the Ohio Supreme Court- Justice Leonard Stern ‘26
• First African-American woman lawyer in Cleveland- Louise Johnson Pridgeon ‘18
• First Syrian-Lebanese woman lawyer in Cleveland – Edna Shalala ‘52
• First woman patent attorney in Cleveland- Helen Slough ‘29
• First African-American Assistant Cuyahoga County Prosecutor – Norman Minor ‘27
• First African-American Cleveland Assistant Police Prosecutor- Lawrence Payne ‘23
• First woman officer of the Ohio Bar Association- Dr. Bernice Miller ‘51
• First woman to serve on the Executive Committee of the Cleveland Bar Association -– Judge Lillian Westropp ‘15
• Founder of the Women’s Civic League and the Phillis Wheatley Association of Cleveland – Jane Edna Hunter ‘25
• Founder of the Norman S. Minor Bar Association- Judge Ronald Adrine ‘73
• Longest-serving Executive Director of the Legal Aid Society of Cleveland – Lyonel Jones ‘ 63
• First Cuyahoga Bar Association Delegate to the American Bar Association House of Delegates- Franklin Polk ‘39
• First regional attorney for the Cleveland Social Security office – Marie Remington Wing ‘26

Public Service

• First African-American Mayor of a major city in the nation; First African-American Democrat elected to the Ohio House of Representatives -Mayor Carl Stokes ‘ 56
• First woman in the nation to be a federal appraiser in her capacity as U.S. Appraiser of Merchandise- Judge Genevieve Cline ‘21
• First African-American member of Congress in Ohio; First and only African-American member of Congress in Ohio on the U.S. House of Representatives Appropriations Committee -Congressman Louis Stokes ‘53
• First and only four-term Mayor of Cleveland – Mayor Frank Jackson ‘83
• First and only person to serve as Judge, Cleveland Municipal Court; Judge, Cuyahoga Court of Commons Pleas; Mayor of Cleveland; Ohio Governor; and U.S. Senator from Ohio- U.S. Senator Frank Lausche ‘21
• First and only person to serve as Ohio Governor for 5 terms – Governor Frank Lausche ‘21
• First and only person to serve as Ohio Secretary of State and Ohio Attorney General- Attorney General Anthony Celebrezze, Jr. ‘73
• First African-American woman elected to Cleveland City Council – Judge Jean Murrell Capers ‘45
• First African-American President of Cleveland City Council – Council President George Forbes ‘62
• First Special Master of Cleveland School Desegregation – Daniel McCarthy ‘54
• First and only African-American and woman Mayor of Warrensville Hts., Ohio –Congresswoman Marcia Fudge ‘83
• First woman Democrat elected to the Ohio Senate; First woman Chair of the Ohio Senate Rules Committee: First woman Majority Leader and President Pro Tem of the Ohio Senate; First woman State Securities Chief; First woman Director of the State Department of Industrial Relations. -State Senator Margaret Mahoney ‘29
• First woman to serve as a Deputy Sheriff in Ohio- Judge Eleanor Farina ’25
• First African-American woman school principal in Cleveland- Hazel Mountain Walker ‘19
• Chief sponsor of the legislation that created Cleveland State University – State Senator/Judge Joseph Bartunek ‘55

Business / Media

• Longest-serving moderator of NBC News’ Meet the Press– Tim Russert ‘76
• First full-time national broadcast network legal affairs reporter – Carl Stern ‘66
• First Co-Founder of a savings bank run by and for women in the nation – Judge Lillian Westropp ‘15
• First African-American television news anchor in New York City – Mayor Carl Stokes ‘56
• First weekend national Legal Analyst for CNN – Avery Friedman ‘72
• First woman President of the Cleveland Newspaper Guild – Betty Klaric ‘84
• First recipient of the WomenSpace media award- Mary Strassmeyer ‘81

Each of these extraordinary women and men knew that if you want something you’ve never had, you must be willing to do something you’ve never done. They took the first step.

Have a great week.

My best,

Lee

For copies of past messages, please go to this link: Monday Morning Messages.