Get involved!
Interested in getting involved with the Women & the Law Division? Fill out this form for more information on committee positions and volunteer opportunities.

Award Nominations Open
Nominations for the 2027 WLD Awards are open and will close at 5 p.m. on December 1, 2026. Awards nominations and details on each award are linked below:

• WLD Mentorship Award
• WLD Summer Reception Speaker Award
• The Hon. V. Sue Shields Young Female Attorney Award
• Antoinette Dakin Leach Award

Division Bylaws
View the Women & the Law Division bylaws here.

Women & the Law Division's Coloring Book Project
A three-year project of the division's executive committee, "All Rise: Stand Up Women in Hoosier History" motivates future female leaders in Indiana while honoring trailblazing Hoosier women, past and present. The coloring book is a huge success, with books currently distributed to schools, museums, community organizations, scout troops, and in free Courthouse libraries all over the State. Click here for more information, to provide support, or to request books.

Open Doors with the IndyBar Women and the Law Division Mentoring Program!
Female mentorship in the workplace is important now more than ever, and the IndyBar Women and the Law Division is looking to help you find your perfect match! Get information about the program here.

We welcome submissions!
The Women & the Law Division Executive Committee welcomes blog submissions that will enlighten and educate members of our section. Please be advised that submissions will be reviewed prior to posting and may be edited for content, clarity, and space limitations. If you would like to submit content or write an article for the Women & the Law Division, please email iba@indybar.org to the attention of the Communications Coordinator.

Antoinette Dakin Leach Award
In 1893, Antoinette Dakin Leach made history as the first woman to challenge a bar admission denial based on gender. Leach’s lawyers argued in front of the Indiana Supreme Court that despite not being allowed to vote, if a woman was otherwise qualified, she could be admitted to practice law in Indiana. Although the court granted Leach a license to practice law, many male lawyers did not agree with the decision, and she was not admitted to the Indiana State Bar Association until 1909.

In addition to serving as a pioneer for women in the practice of law, Leach was also a pioneer in embracing modern technology as the first lawyer to submit typewritten filings to the court instead of writing them by hand. Leach graduated from the University of Tennessee Law School in 1884 and served as a court reporter for the Greene-Sullivan Circuit Court before gaining her Indiana law license.

The IndyBar Women and the Law Division proudly presents the Antoinette Dakin Leach Award to female attorneys in central Indiana in recognition of their accomplishments. 

Previous award recipients include:
Frances W. Watson, Hon. Cynthia Ayers*, Jane Henegar, Hon. Doris L. Pryor, Congresswoman Susan Brooks, Hon. Heather A. Welch, Hon. Robyn L. Moberly, Marcia Oddi, Chief Justice Loretta Rush, Sue Shadley*, Kerry Hyatt Bennett, Hon. Tanya Walton Pratt, Kathleen Lucas, Hon. Margret Robb, Deborah Hepler*, Julia Blackwell Gelinas, Monica Foster, Abby Kuzma, Hon. Denise Larue*, Hon. Patricia Gifford*, Deborah Daniels, Hon. Betty Barteau, Joan Fullam Irick*, Hon. Jane Magnus-Stinson, Ann DeLaney, Kristin G. Fruehwald, Mary Y. Marsh, Francina A. Dlouhy, Hon. Myra C. Selby, Pamela Carter, Shirley A. Shideler*, Hon. Sarah Evans Barker, Virginia Dill McCarty*, Hon. V. Sue Shields.

* indicates deceased.

Women & the Law Division Mission

The WLD believes women lawyers have an overwhelming capacity for, but obstacles in, their paths to success. Every day we work to provide opportunities for women to be engaged, educated, and inspired to achieve professional success.