Mussey, Ellen Spencer
1850 - 1936

Details
AliasES: Ellen Spencer, Nelly Spencer
Born: 5/13/1850 in Geneva, Ohio
Died: 4/21/1936
Professional Facts
Practice Area:
Commercial Law
International Law
Profession:
International law
Business law
Constitutional law
Regions and States of Practice:
DC, South
Positions During Her Career:
Took over her husband's practice for 2 years while he was ill and then continued to work alongside him (1876-1892)
Formed a law practice with John Lichliter (1892-1893)
After being admitted to the bar, formed her own practice (1893-1896)
Taught an Inaugural Women's Law Class (1896-?)
Established a partnership with Ellen J. Foster (1896)
Dean of the Washington College of Law (1898-1915)
Member of the Washington Board of Education (1906-1912)
Firsts:
Dean of the Washington College of Law (1898)
Woman Dean of an American law school (1898)
Woman to be in charge of the entire DC school system (1911)
President of the Women's Bar Association of the District of Columbia (1917)
Accomplishments:
Founder of Washington College of Law (1898)
Granted an honorary LLM degree by Washington College of Law (1899)
Received an honorary degree of Doctor of Laws from the Washington College of Law (1927)
Honored by the Women's Bar Association as the most outstanding woman of DC (1930)
Further Research Materials

References:
1895-1975: The First 50 Women in Idaho Law
Debora K. Kristensen, 1895-1975 : The First 50 Women in Idaho Law. Boise, ID: Presented by Idaho State Bar (2005)
A Real Revolution
Barbara Allen Babcock, A Real Revolution, 49 (4) The University of Kansas Law Review 719 (May 2001)
A Century of Achievement: The Centennial of the National Association of Women Lawyers
Selma Moidel Smith: A Century of Achievement: The Centennial of the National Association of Women Lawyers, 85 Women Lawyers Journal 2 (Summer 1999) *Originally printed as two articles: "...The First 50 Years," 9 Experience 1 (Fall 1998), and "...The Second 50 Years," 9 Experience 2 (Winter 1999)
The First Women Members of the Supreme Court Bar, 1879 - 1900
Mary L. Clark, The First Women Members of the Supreme Court Bar, 1879-1900, 36 San Diego Law Review 87 (1999)
Catherine Aman, Centuries of Change, Women in the Law, The American Lawyer, March 1999, pp.57-60
15 Years of Advocacy for Women
Lisa Small, 15 Years of Advocacy for Women: Women and the Law Time Line, 1619-1998. Women's Law and Public Policy Fellowship Program on its 15th Anniversary, 1998.
A Timeline of Women's Legal History in the United States
Professor Cunnea and Lisa Small, A Timeline of Women's Legal History in the United States. March 8, 1998.
The Founding of the Washington College of Law: The First Law School Established by Women for Women
Mary L. Clark, The Founding of the Washington College of Law: The First Law School Established by Women for Women, 47 American University Law Review 613 (1998)
Dawn Bradley Berry, The 50 Most Influential Women in American Law. Los Angeles: Contemporary Books (1996).
A Lawyer In Spite of Herself, Equal Rights (August 15, 1937)
Angels and Amazons: A Hundred Years Of American Women
Inez Haynes Irwin Gillmore, Angels And Amazons: A Hundred Years Of American Women. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, Doran & Company (1933).
Women Law Professors
Women Law Professors, 18 (1) Women Lawyers' Journal (January 1930)
When the Woman Lawyer Votes, The Woman Citizen 150 (1918)
Women in the Legal Profession
Marion Weston Cottle, Women in the Legal Profession, 5 (3) The Women Lawyers Journal 20 (December 1915)
Women Lawyers' Club: News Items
"News Items", 2 (4) Women Lawyers' Journal (February, 1913)
Stella Reid Crothers, American Women Lawyers, The Home Magazine, September 1907, pp.15

Student Papers:
Types of Practices and Cases Pursued by Women Lawyers
Erickson, Mary, 1988
Beyond the Washington College of Law: Ellen Spencer Mussey's Efforts on Behalf of Women
Fink, Jaclyn C, 2000