The first known female law clerk in the United States was in 1944 at the United States Supreme Court. Lucile Lomen clerked for Justice William O. Douglas from 1944-1945. She graduated first in her class and was one of the three women in her male-dominated class at the University of Washington Law School.
Lucile managed to obtain her clerkship due to circumstances. The US was fighting in World War II which reduced the number of men in law school. Justice Douglas had four previous law clerks from UWLS and told the Dean he would accept a woman only if she was “first-rate”. Once hired, she provided the Judge with the fastest legal research he had ever seen and worked 16-hour days where she would sometimes sleep on her couch in her office to maximize her time at work. Upon her departure, it would take another 22 years before another female clerked at the United States Supreme Court level.
