According to the American Bar Association, only 34% of the total number of legal professionals in the U.S. are women (July 2014). There was a time in our history when women were not allowed to practice law, take the bar exam or even go to law school! For the coming two weeks, Tessmer Law Firm, PLLC, will present "Ten Women In U.S. Legal History". These ten ladies truly paved the way for women in the legal profession. We've come a long way, baby! TEN WOMEN IN U.S. LEGAL HISTORY #1: Margaret Brent (c. 1601 – c. 1671) was an English immigrant to the Colony of Maryland and the first woman in the English North American colonies to appear before a court of the Common Law. Because she never married, Brent retained certain legal rights that a woman typically lost upon marriage. She appeared in court several times to file suits against her debtors. As a single woman, she could represent herself, whereas a married woman required a man to represent her. Brent was not considered a lawyer; lawyers did not appear in the Maryland courts until the 1660’s. In 1647, Brent was appointed as executor of the estate of Lord Calvert, Governor of the Maryland Colony and Power of Attorney for his brother, Lord Baltimore. With the power she wielded as executor of Calvert’s estate, Brent appeared before the Maryland Assembly in 1648 demanding two votes: one as a freeholder of land, and one for her position as Lord Baltimore’s legal representative. The Assembly denied her request, but she remains the first woman recorded to demand a right to vote in an English colony.