Celebrating the Accomplishments of Women on the John Marshall Law Journal

By Professor Van Detta, Faculty Advisor

Since Atlanta’s John Marshall Law School’s (AJMLS) earliest graduating classes in the 1930s, women have been prominent in our student body, in our student organizations, and in our alumni. John Marshall’s commitment to educating law students of all genders goes back to its very founding, as evidenced by this wonderful exhibit that you will find on the 19^th floor in the hallway outside of classrooms 1951 and 1952 (left).

Four members of the 1938 graduating class were women, and the Valedictorian was “Miss Ann Kimsey,” who “deliver[ed] the valedictory address.” 

To put this in perspective, most American law schools were not admitting women at that time. Even twenty years later, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, for example, was one of only nine women in the entering class of 509 at Harvard Law School in 1956. 

She went on to become one of only two women on the Harvard Law Review, 1957-1958. Can you pick her out of this sea of men? (Hint: Both women are in the same row, at opposite ends.)

At AJMLS, women have been well represented on the Editorial Board of Law Journal since its inception in 2007. During Professor Van Detta’s ten years as Faculty Advisor, six women have served as Editors-in-Chief (E.I.C.): Suzanne Fulcher Oldweiler, Miriam Perfecto, Marie Wofford Sussenbach, Taylor Deciano, Aryn Carpenter Sedore, and Antoinette Clarington.

And looking to an earlier period when other faculty served as faculty advisors, Amanda Gaddis Speights was the first woman to serve as Editor-in-Chief, for Volume 2 in 2009. She was also Valedictorian of the Class of 2009.

Amelia Regan followed as E.I.C. for Volume 3, Kristi Barbre as E.I.C. for Volume 4, Stacie Chapman for Volume 5, Jenna Melton for Volume 6, Rachel Morelli for Volume 7, and Brandy Porter for Volume 8.

Volume 1 of the Law Journal (2007-2008) saw the first woman to serve on the Editorial Board, Amanda K. Kee, who inaugurated the Managing Editor role.

In 2014-2015, Brandy Porter became the first African American woman to lead the Law Journal as Editor-in-Chief (Volume 8). Editor-in-Chief Porter also led that year’s CLE Symposium Event as the Annual Symposium Co-Chair.

In 2018-2019, Volume 19 featured an all-woman Editorial Board: Editor-in-Chief Taylor Deciano; Executive Managing Editor Heather Tucker; Executive Articles Editor Marie Wofford Sussenbach; Executive Notes & Comments Editor Adrienne McKay; and Executive Legislative Editor Ellen Dorsey.

You can get a good sense of the very substantial overall representation of women on the Law Journal’s Executive Board from the Mastheads here.

The Law School has much to be proud of in its contributions to diversity in the bar of this state and wherever its graduates go. As we go into our 91^st year of educating lawyers to serve Georgia and beyond, the John Marshall Law Journal reaffirms its commitment to one of the proudest traditions of which any law school in the nation can boast.