Five decades before women earned the right to vote, a woman by the name of Annette “Nettie” Cronise Lutes was paving the road for women in the legal field. She attended Heidelberg College and the State Normal School in Indiana which taught high school graduates how to become secondary school educators. After graduating, Nettie shortly taught in Illinois before returning to her birthplace of Tiffin, Ohio. Nettie wanted to continue her education and decided to study law for two years which she did under the mentorship of United States Representative and Seneca County Prosecuting Attorney, Warren Perry Noble.
In April of 1873, with the support and recommendation of Seneca Counties most prestigious attorneys, Nettie Cronise appeared before the panel of judges on the Ohio Common Pleas Court to present her qualifications to be admitted to the Ohio Bar. It was no secret at this time that law was strictly a male field, and considering this reality, her male colleagues offered to present her records in her place before the court. Against all advice and odds, Nettie stood steadfast before the all-male panel of the Ohio Common Pleas Court. Confident with her education and admiration of the law, she masterfully presented her case for admittance to the Bar. On that date in history, Nettie became the first woman in Ohio to be admitted to the Bar to practice law.
Following in Nettie’s footsteps, her sister Florence also was admitted to the Bar. In September 1873, they set up their own law firm in Tiffin called N. & F. Cronise, Attorneys at Law. In 1874, Nettie married attorney Nelson B. Lutes and left her firm in 1880 to practice law with him after he began going deaf. In 1905, her daughter, Evlyn Latta Lutes was admitted to the Bar. Nettie and Evlyn opened a practice together which may have been the first mother-daughter law practice in the United States.
To honor the enduring legacy of Nettie Cronise Lutes and her forward-looking contribution to women's equality, the Ohio State Bar Association Women in the Profession Section established the Nettie Cronise Lutes Award. This award is in recognition of a woman lawyer who has improved the legal profession through her own high level of professionalism and who has opened doors for other women and girls.
Join us in honoring the Nettie Cronise Lutes Award recipient by attending our Annual Meeting & Awards Luncheon. To register for the event, visit ohiobar.org/annualmeeting.
