Madge Easton Anderson: the lawyer who stepped into history
In a profession which followed long established rules a young woman began to ask whether those rules still deserved to stand. Her name was Madge Easton Anderson and her journey from student to lawyer would change the legal landscape of the United Kingdom.
Madge was born in 1896 and entered the University of Glasgow in 1913. She began in the Arts but soon turned to law which had only recently begun to open to women. She gained her MA in 1916 then her BL in 1919 and completed her LLB in 1920. She excelled in her studies and earned a series of first-class merit certificates that reflected her ambition and ability.
Alongside her degrees she worked with the Glasgow firm Maclay Murray and Spens which supported her legal training even before women were formally permitted to enter the profession. When the Sex Disqualification Removal Act of 1919 finally allowed women to become law agents Madge applied for admission. Her apprenticeship was ruled invalid because it began before the Act but she refused to accept defeat. She petitioned the Court of Session which agreed that she should sit the final examination. She passed and became the first woman lawyer in the United Kingdom.
Madge was also the first woman qualified in both Scotland and England and in the 1930s established what is believed to be the UK’s first all-female law firm.
Today we share Madge Easton Anderson’s story because every barrier she moved became a turning point for others and her determination continues to shape a University committed to being the best for the world.
