Milestone birthdays invite us to reflect, not just on how far we’ve come, but on the people and purpose that carried us here. This year, Idaho Women Lawyers (IWL) celebrates its 40^th anniversary. For us, it’s a milestone that feels less like a number and more like a testament to the power of community.

The trajectory of women in Idaho’s legal profession over the past 40 years is a story of meaningful, deliberate progress, however not without its share of challenges. When IWL was founded in 1986, its early members were seen as threats to the well-established status quo, and some women avoided joining to avoid the career-limiting associations with feminism.[i] These attitudes resounded in an era that was both decades removed from when Hon. Mary Smith Oldham became the first woman lawyer to serve as a judge in Idaho in 1945, but was also just three years after the Hon. Deborah A. Bail became Idaho’s first female district court judge. Against this backdrop, IWL’s early members did something remarkable. They built something anyway. In the late 1980s, the organization formed its first committee to encourage women to pursue judicial appointments. Through acts of bravery in the face of professional risk, progress has followed. In 1990, Justice Cathy Silak became Idaho’s first female appellate court judge, followed two years later by Justice Linda Coppel Trout’s appointment to the Idaho Supreme Court.[ii]  31 years later, the Supreme Court achieved the huge milestone of its first female majority. 

This initial determined effort to create opportunity and access has grown into something much larger: a sustained movement.

That growth is reflected not only in leadership, but in the legal pipeline. Law school admission trends show more women entering the profession during the last few decades. In the same year IWL was created, women represented just over one-third of law students nationwide; as of 2023-2024, we make up a clear majority at approximately 56 percent.[iii] Idaho’s legal education pipeline has seen similar movement towards near-parity in 2023-2024, when 46 percent of University of Idaho College of Law students were women.[iv] These numbers tell a story of doors opening wider than ever before.

As we celebrate the progress made over the last four decades, we also look forward to the potential the next 40 years holds. However, progress is not always linear. For example, recent statistics suggest that many of Idaho’s female students either leave the profession or the state. By 2008, women comprised approximately 24 percent of Idaho attorneys.[v] Sixteen years later, in 2024, the percentage of Idaho’s lawyers who are women had increased slightly, to 31 percent,[vi] but lagged behind the national average of 41 percent.[vii] According to the American Bar Association, this represents the second-greatest disparity between female and male attorneys in the nation; at 69 percent male, our bar is second only to Utah, where 74 percent of lawyers are men.[viii]  In other words, the work is not finished.

And yet, there is still so much to celebrate.

Alongside these benchmarks of progress and possibility, the IWL community has grown to more than 350 members from every corner of this state and many others. In accordance with IWL’s mission to advance diversity and opportunity within the legal profession, our coalition welcomes people of all genders, backgrounds, and career paths. What started with the original Judicial Recruitment Committee in the 1980s has expanded to three additional permanent committees and three ad hoc committees that offer members advancement opportunities, leadership experience, continuing education, and a support system for every phase of their career, from student to shareholder and beyond. For example, IWL has facilitated relationships between the bench, bar and new lawyers, sponsored childcare stipends for parents studying for the bar exam, and funded a scholarship for the Idaho Academy of Lawyers.

Most importantly, IWL has become something harder to quantify, but easier to feel.

It’s the mentor who takes the call.

The colleague who champions and advocates behind closed doors.

The relief of recognizing a familiar face across the room.

Friendships that form access generations and practice areas.

It is a community where members celebrate one another’s successes, show up in times of need, and ensure that no one must navigate this profession alone.

Anniversaries like this one are not just about looking back. They are about the opportunity to recommit to what comes next. The first 40 years of Idaho Women Lawyers were shaped by persistence, courage, and community. The next 40 and beyond will be defined by how we continue that legacy. We must continue to expand opportunities, strengthen and advocate for our community, and make the path forward wider for those who follow. As one of our founding members, Justice Patricia Young, once said, “some ideas click, some don’t, but nothing would happen if we didn’t talk. That’s the most important part; to get together and exchange ideas.”[ix] That sentiment has always been the heart of IWL. We look forward to many more years serving our community and many more opportunities to get together, connect, then turn that talk into action. We hope you will join us along the way. Cheers to 40 years and the story that lies ahead!

Kendall Bjornsen, President

Jaime Matier, Vice President

[i] https://isb.idaho.gov/blog/the-women-who-came-before-us-by-allison-m-darnall-and-leslie-m-g-hayes/

[ii] Debora K. Kristensen, 1985-1975: The First 50 Women in Idaho Law, Idaho State Bar (2005), https://isb.idaho.gov/wp-content/uploads/First_50_Women_in_Idaho_Law_1277.pdf, pg. 115-116.

[iii] https://www.americanbar.org/news/profile-legal-profession/women/

[iv] ABA Disclosure 509 Report, University of Idaho College of Law-2024, https://www.abarequireddisclosure.org.

[v]https://heinonline.org/HOL/Page?public=true&handle=hein.barjournals/adisb0051&div=36&start_page=30&collection=adisbcol&set_as_cursor=0&men_tab=srchresults.

[vi] https://www.americanbar.org/news/profile-legal-profession/women/.

[vii] https://www.americanbar.org/news/abanews/aba-news-archives/2024/11/2024-profile-of-the-profession/.

[viii] https://www.americanbar.org/news/profile-legal-profession/women/.

[ix] “Idaho Women Lawyers, Inc.” Advocate (Idaho State Bar) 31, no. Number 8 (1988):

12-12. HeinOnline.