President’s Message

Women’s Presidents Panel

WOMEN

in the LAW

Michelle Bernardo-Rudy, Esquire President Chester County Bar Association

As I write this edition’s article, we are wrapping up March 2022. In looking back on the first three months of my presidency, we have accomplished a lot so far. We have traveled to Florida for the PBA Midyear, attended the CCBL in Lancaster and we had our Presidents’ Dinner honoring Sam Cortes, 2020 Chester County Bar President, and John Fiorillo, 2021 Chester County Bar President. I am happy to say it’s been a good three months.

In March, we celebrated Women’s History Month. It would be wrong for me to exit this month without acknowledging a great woman in our very own bar association. Isabel Darlington was the first woman to join the Chester County Bar Association in 1897. She earned her law degree from the University of Pennsylvania in that same year and practiced law until her death in 1950. She contributed to the Chester County legal community and community at large in many ways, from her work in real estate and taxes to civil law.

Isabel Darlington was not the first woman in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to secure a law degree. That dubious distinction is held by Carrie Burnham Kilgore, who was the first woman to graduate from the University of Pennsylvania in 1883 and went on to practice law. However, Isabel was the first female member of the Chester County Bar and stood proudly on the Chester County Courthouse steps in 1897 for her picture, in a sea of men, no doubt proud and triumphant at her great achievement. Surprisingly, Isabel Darlington remained the only female attorney in Chester County for 45 years, when the next woman, Helen Wade Parke, joined in 1941. Also in 1941, Ms. Darlington became the first female president of the Chester County Bar Association: a distinction held by only twelve women since, including myself. Eight of those female presidents have been in the last 20 years. For a more detailed history of the paths and obstacles Ms. Kilgore and Ms. Darlington faced in becoming Pennsylvania’s first female lawyers, I recommend a 1995 article written by Gail Long titled, Isabel Darlington, Esquire, Belle of the Bar, which can be found in the Features section of the periodical Pennsylvania Heritage. As I sit here in my office on Darlington Street, I am grateful to Isabel Darlington for paving the way for women in the legal field and the Chester County Bar Association.

Isabel Darlington, Esquire

I hope we can all appreciate how difficult it was to achieve such a goal. I would also like to thank the following Chester County Bar Association Presidents: Helen Wade Parke (1972), Carol Haltrecht (1985), Mary Ann Rossi (1996), Elizabeth Howard (2001), Cathy Wilson (2002), Andrea Pettine (2008), Kim Denise (Deni) Morton (2013), Lisa Comber Hall (2014), Christine Zaccarelli (2017) and Mary-Ellen Allen (2018).*

In the beginning of March, I held a Women in the Law Roundtable discussion. First, it was great to get together with fellow female attorneys from all practice areas. It is amazing to see the amount of government attorneys that attended, as well. I hoped to create a space where we all felt comfortable to share stories and offer advice. I think we achieved that. I have had many members approach me and ask for another one. So, stay tuned, we are working on it!

As the year marches forward, we will have the Spring Bench Bar, the Key Gala, the Bar Sail and a board retreat on the horizon. I hope to see everyone out and about as the weather warms up. I am so grateful to Matt and bar association staff for their hard work and ability to pivot quickly when things go sideways, as they sometimes do. I wish everyone a Happy Spring! Stay well and optimistic!

*Historical information obtained from the Chester County Bar Association Archives; See also, Gail Capehart Long, Isabel Darlington, Esquire, Belle of the Bar (1995). 610-429-4020 | christinephennigan.com

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