In 1869, Myra Bradwell, who had passed the Illinois bar exam, was denied admission to the bar, on the grounds that a married woman couldn’t enter into contracts because of the common law doctrine of coverture and also because of her gender.  In the Illinois Supreme Court’s view, women weren’t entitled to practice law. Voting 8-1, the United States Supreme Court, 83 U.S. 130, affirmed that decision in 1872.  Undeterred, Bradwell continued advocating for women’s rights and continued to publish the Chicago Legal News, which she had founded in 1868 and which had become the most widely circulated legal newspaper of the time.

In 1890, the Illinois Supreme Court reconsidered Bradwell’s 1869 application and granted it nunc pro tunc, retroactively making her the first woman lawyer in Illinois.

Celebrating Black History Month provides the opportunity to highlight some of New York Law School’s most distinguished Black alumni.  For our final Black History Month post, we honor Marianne Spraggins, NYLS class of 1976, who was the first African American female Managing Director on Wall Street, at Smith Barney.  Ms. Spraggins also holds an LL.M. from Harvard Law School.  Before beginning her financial career, she was an associate professor of law at NYLS and director of the school’s Urban Legal Studies Fellowship program.  Ms. Spraggins was an NYLS trustee in the 1990s and received a distinguished alumna award from NYLS in 1992.

In the early 1990s, Ms. Spraggins was appointed by President Clinton as the director of the Securities Investor Protection Corporation and she also served as a Super Delegate for New York in President Obama’s 2008 presidential election.  Past board memberships include the Apollo Theater and Africares, and she has served on the Executive Committee of the Congressional Black Caucus Institute.  Additionally, she is also a former member of the Steering Committee of The Wall Street Project, an organization founded by Rev. Jesse Jackson that advocates for minorities in the financial sector.  Ms. Spraggins’ father, Roy Travers Spraggins, also graduated from NYLS in 1950.

More information relating to these and many other prominent alumni can be found in the Law School’s Digital Commons.

We hope you had fun “Finding Love in the Library” during our 2022 Valentine’s Day Info Hunt.  A big THANKS to everyone who entered!  While we promised to select 10 prize winners, because we had such great participation, we instead have randomly selected 15 lucky prize winners, each of whom will receive a prize from our selection of doctrinal course and bar study aids, law dictionaries, NYLS commuter mugs, Lexis points, and online subscriptions to the Bluebook.

The fifteen lucky students, in alphabetical order by last name, are:

• Elizabeth Athy
• Sean Deighan
• Molly Dowd
• Ishra Glasswala
• Martha Kostiuk
• Eitan Lindenberg
• Rey Llena
• Haley McPherson
• Carley Perine
• Natallia Popchanka
• Caroline Shea
• Emily Smith
• Genevieve Smith
• Steven Smith
• Jihao Yu

A separate email will be sent from Darlene Young to the prize winners with instructions for claiming their prize.

Congratulations to all the winners!

–Mendik Library Staff

Love is (Still) In the Air in the Mendik Library!

A quick reminder that today, Friday, February 18th is the last day to enter the Mendik Library Valentine’s Day Info Hunt for a chance to WIN one of 10 great prizes, including study aids, Lexis points, law dictionaries, NYLS commuter mugs, and online subscriptions to the Bluebook!  Just answer our seven Valentine’s Day Info Hunt questions.  Your answers don’t need to be perfect—just close!

Click here to access the questions.  The entire quiz should only take about 15 minutes to complete.

Thanks for your participation in this year’s Valentine’s Day Info Hunt.  Winners will be announced on Tuesday, February 22 so stay tuned!

Moses Leonard Frazier, Class of 1899, is believed to have been New York Law School’s first African American graduate.  An “Item of Interest” published in the July 23, 1902 issue of The Religious Telescope notes that he had been born into slavery in New Orleans in 1860.  A December 1902 issue of Successful American (published by The Writers’ Press Association) refers to Frazier as “a shining light” and “the only negro who was ever graduated from the School of Political Science in Columbia University.”  Frazier received an M.A. from that school in 1902.  He had received his Ph.B. degree from Mt. Union College in 1896, and a Ph.M. in 1899, the same year he graduated from New York Law School.  In 1903 he received an LL.D. degree from the law school of Morris Brown College in Atlanta, where he served as dean.

Although the extent to which he practiced law is uncertain, Frazier was active in a number of business ventures, including a real estate firm, a barber shop, and serving as president of the Academy of Chiropody & Dermatology.

Love is In the Air in the Mendik Library!

A quick reminder that you still have time (until Friday, February 18th) to enter the Mendik Library Valentine’s Day Info Hunt for a chance to WIN one of 10 great prizes, including study aids, Lexis points, law dictionaries, NYLS commuter mugs, and online subscriptions to the Bluebook!  Just answer our seven Valentine’s Day Info Hunt questions.  Your answers don’t need to be perfect—just close!

Click here to access the questions.  Each slide includes just one question, along with step-by-step instructions that will get you to the answer.

And don’t forget to stop by the Reference Desk on Monday, February 14 for some yummy Valentine’s Day chocolates, courtesy of your friends at the Mendik Library!

Below is the schedule for the Mendik Library’s hours of operation from Tuesday, February 8 through Friday, March 11, 2022.

Celebrating Black History Month provides the opportunity to highlight some of New York Law School’s  most distinguished Black alumni. This week, we honor James S. Watson, class of 1913, and his daughter Barbara M. Watson, class of 1962. In 1930, the senior Watson became one of the first two elected Black judges In New York City, serving 20 years in the New York City Municipal Court. Thirty-eight years later, his daughter Barbara became the first African American and the first woman to serve as Assistant Secretary of State, for then President Lyndon B. Johnson.

More information relating to these and many other prominent alumni can be found in the Law School’s Digital Commons.

Love is In the Air in the Mendik Library!

As an early Valentine’s Day treat, beginning on Monday, February 7 you have an opportunity to WIN great prizes such as study aids, Lexis points, law dictionaries, NYLS commuter mugs, and online subscriptions to the Bluebook!  Just answer our seven Valentine’s Day Info Hunt questions.  Your answers don’t need to be perfect—just close!

Click here to access the questions.  Each slide includes just one question, along with step-by-step instructions that will get you to the answer.

And don’t forget to stop by the Reference Desk on Monday, February 14 for some Valentine’s Day chocolates.

Below is the schedule for the Mendik Library’s hours of operation from Tuesday, February 1 to Monday, February 7, 2022.

* Reference hours will be virtual