From Kate Stoneman to Kate Stoneman Chair, Katheryn D. Katz: Feminist Waves and the First Domestic Violence Course at a United States Law School

30 Pages Posted: 28 Mar 2014

Date Written: March 27, 2014

Abstract

First-wave feminist, suffragette, and 1898 Albany Law School graduate, Katherine ― Kate Stoneman, pioneered the admission of women to the Bar of the State of New York. She led the charge against the statutory preclusion of women, overturning the statute in 1886 and winning legislative victory for non-discrimination in admission to the bar. Exactly one hundred years later, in 1986, second-wave feminist and Albany Law School graduate Katheryn D. Katz pioneered the teaching of violence against women in law schools by teaching the first documented Domestic Violence seminar course in a United States law school. In 2007, Albany Law School named Professor Katz the first Kate Stoneman Chair in Law and Democracy. The impact these two women made continues to be felt far beyond Albany Law School and New York State. This article positions the role of Albany Law School and two of its graduates in the struggle for equality of women under the law and within law schools. It also documents Professor Katz‘s historical place as a second-wave feminist and the impact her activism has had on the study of domestic violence law, family law, reproductive rights, juvenile rights, and the advancement of issues concerning women and children nationwide.

Keywords: feminism, legal education, history, domestic violence, family law, pioneer

Suggested Citation

Breger, Melissa L. and Lynch, Mary A., From Kate Stoneman to Kate Stoneman Chair, Katheryn D. Katz: Feminist Waves and the First Domestic Violence Course at a United States Law School (March 27, 2014). Albany Law Review, Vol. 77, 2014, Albany Law School Research Paper No. 1 for 2014-2015, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2416785

Melissa L. Breger (Contact Author)

Albany Law School ( email )

80 New Scotland Avenue
Albany, NY 12208
United States
518-445-2311 (Phone)

Mary A. Lynch

Albany Law School ( email )

80 New Scotland Avenue
Albany, NY 12208
United States

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