Glasgow University planning plaque to remember first woman to practice law in the UK

The University of Glasgow has submitted plans to install a plaque honouring the first woman to practice law in the UK.

Published 13th May 2022, 08:50 BST

Madge Easton Anderson (1896-1982) graduated from the university in 1919 and later became a solicitor.

The plaque, if approved by Glasgow City Council planning officials, would be installed at 8 Professors’ Square.

Madge was born in Glasgow, the youngest of three girls, and grew up in Pollokshields, later attending Melville Street Primary School and Hutchesons’ Girls’ Grammar School.

In 1919, the The Sex Disqualification (Removal) Act 1919 allowed women to enter the legal profession. She was admitted as a law agent, making her the first woman in the UK to be admitted as a lawyer.

The plaque would be installed in Professors' Square.

She volunteered her time to provide legal advice to those who could not afford it.

In 1937, she qualified as a socilitor in England, and then worked in partnership with Edith Annie Berthan and Beatrice Honour Davy - thought to be the first all-women led law firm in the UK.