Portrait of local legend unveiled

Marjorie A. Hickey, President of the Nova Scotia Barristers' Society and a partner at McInnes Cooper, and Heidi Schedler, co-chair of the gender equity committee, stand of either side of Frances Fish's portrait. (Melissa Hennigar Photo)

Frances Lillian Fish was a woman of many firsts. She played hockey, eschewed the social norms and was the very embodiment of the word courage. On Thursday, October 28, 2010 she was officially honored by having her portrait unveiled and hung on the Wall of Firsts at the law courts on Lower Water Street.

Ms. Fish was born in Newcastle/ Miramichi, New Brunswick near the turn of the 20th century. She received a university education at the University of New Brunswick in classics and continued her masters studies at the University of Chicago on a scholarship. In 1915, she enrolled in the Dalhousie Law School (now the Schulich School of Law) and in 1918 she became the first woman to graduate with a law degree in Nova Scotia.

At the age of 29, Frances Fish became the first woman to be called to the Nova Scotia Bar in 1918. It should be noted that it wasn’t until 1929 that women were even recognized by legislation as “persons” in the eyes of the law.

After a brief stint in Ottawa working for the Department of Finance and the Canadian head office of Metropolitan Life, she returned to New Brunswick in 1933 after her father passed away. In 1934, she was called to the New Brunswick bar. She dedicated her life to being a voice for disadvantaged women and children. She practiced law in Miramichi until her death in 1975.

Women of firsts

Several modern-day courageous “women of firsts” were on hand on Thursday afternoon to celebrate and honour the life of Frances Fish. Dawn Russell, a professor at the Schulich School of Law and the first female Dean of the law school, was one of these women.

Ms. Russell grew up in the Miramichi area. Every Saturday morning, on the way into town with her father and sisters, she would drive past Ms. Fish’s mansion. Her father would always tell her and her sisters the story of Ms. Fish and how she was a strong woman who valued education and followed her own path in life. From an early age, the value of education was instilled in Ms. Russell through the colourful stories her father told her about Ms. Fish.

Ms. Russell delivered a touching speech about her admiration for Ms. Fish whom she now views as a sort of “kindred spirit.” “Her determination, hard work and courage are truly inspiring virtues,” said Ms. Russell, a recipient of the Frances Fish Women Lawyers’ Achievement Award in 1999.

Ms. Fish is still regarded as a strong female role model, nearly 35 years after her death. Each year, the Nova Scotia Association of Women and the Law awards the Frances Fish Women Lawyers’ Achievement Award to an outstanding female lawyer.

Ms. Fish paved the way for female lawyers at both Dalhousie and in Nova Scotia as a whole. Currently, women account for 54 per cent of the Bar in Nova Scotia, and 56 per cent of the new class of lawyers in the Schulich School of Law. All this in the wake of the trailblazing Frances Lillian Fish.