Wednesday, March 30, 2016

Shirley Hufstedler, R.I.P.

Photo of S. HufstedlerShirley Hufstedler--a giant in the legal profession and of her generation--passed away this morning. Highlights of her incredible life:
·        She was one of the first ever women to graduate from Stanford law school, and was top of her class in 1949 and was a founder of the Stanford Law Review (see here). 
Image result for shirley hufstedler·        She began in private practice in Los Angeles in 1950. Eleven years later, she was appointed to the Los Angeles County Superior Court, a position to which she was elected in 1962.
·        She was appointed to the Court of Appeal in 1966 (to Div. 5, see here), and two years later was appointed by President Lyndon Johnson to the Ninth Circuit.
·        In 1979, she was appointed by President Jimmy Carter (index hereas the first Secretary of Education (obit here).
·        In 1981, she returned to private practice at the Hufstedler firm and together with her husband and other Hufstedler firm colleagues, joined Morrison & Foerster 20 years ago where she had a thriving appellate practice. 

Oral histories are available here:
http://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/directories/women_trailblazers/hufstedler_interview_5.authcheckdam.pdf