Queens women continue blazing trails in courts and law
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Past presidents of the Queens County Women’s Bar Association gathered at an event in 2018. Eagle file photo by Andy Katz
By Rachel Vick
For decades, Queens women have pushed boundaries and broken glass ceilings in the legal field — from the first female judge appointed to the borough bench in 1960 to the first woman elected district attorney 60 years later.
The trailblazers’ achievements merit particular recognition this Women’s History Month, said Queens County Women’s Bar Association President Soma Syed.
“They are an inspiration and their stories should be taught and learned by everyone,” Syed said. “To be the first is always hard and I know that so many of these women don't want to be the first and last.”
The QCWBA was a key community for women in law when a group formed the organization 90 years ago. Fourteen practitioners in Jamaica banded together for support, networking and education and created the association in 1931.
Nearly three decades later, the first female judge in Queens ascended to the bench.
Hon. Joan O’Dwyer was appointed as Criminal Court judge in Queens in 1960. When she enrolled in Columbia Law School years earlier, she was one of only 12 women in her class of 200.
Ten years after O’Dwyer’s appointment, Hon. Ann B. Dufficy became the first woman elected to the Queens Civil Court bench. In 1974, she and Hon. Joan Durante were the first women elected to Queens Supreme.
Florence Lucas is another female trailblazer. In 1940, Lucas became the first Black woman admitted to the New York State Bar to practice law in Queens.
Decades later, women in the Queens legal community continue breaking barriers, leading the way and lifting each other up.
Last summer, Justice Marguerite Grays became the first African American woman to serve as administrative judge in Queens Supreme Court. She was also the first African American to serve as president of the QCWBA.
District Attorney Melinda Katz became the first woman to take over the county’s top law enforcement job on Jan. 1, 2020 following her 2019 election. She hired women for the officer’s top roles, with Jennifer Naiburg as chief executive assistant district attorney and Camille Chin-Kee-Fatt as chief of staff.
But despite significant progress, women still face major barriers to advance in the legal field and contend with harassment and abuse, according to a November 2020 report from the The New York Judicial Committee on Women in the Courts. Hundreds of female attorneys and court personnel surveyed said they face unwanted physical contact, and more than half said that judges give more credibility to the work of male peers.
“The survey findings show that substantial inequities continue to exist regarding the treatment of women litigants, witnesses and attorneys — including inappropriate or offensive conduct directed toward women by far too many members of the legal profession,” said Chief Judge Janet DiFiore when the report was released.
Syed said the achievements and progress made by women are cause for celebration, but there is much work to be done.
“We have so far to go in terms of our wages being on par with men with the same skills, in terms of women of color and others obtaining positions of power including judiciary and corporations,” Syed said.
“We need to keep moving forward to have a true representation of the communities we live in but there are always people who don't want you to progress and move forward, and have various ways of putting obstacles in the way,” she continued. “We need to recognize that and make sure the obstacles for girls and women in the profession are taken seriously and continue to be addressed.”
