University of Missouri Board of Curators Vote to Establish Law Department

On April 17, 1867, the Board of Curators voted to establish a department of law at the University of Missouri. In doing so, they fulfilled President Read’s request for a college of law at the university.

University of Missouri Law Department Formally Opened

On Oct. 7, 1872, the University of Missouri Law Department was formally opened. There were 25 students in the inaugural class, and two connected classrooms were set aside in Academic Hall specifically for use by the law department. Later, a third connected room would be used to house the law library.

Classes Begin in New Law Department Building

Commonly called the “Law Barn” by law students, the Law Department Building opened in 1893 on the northeast corner of the Francis Quadrangle. It allotted considerably more space to the growing department, with two classrooms, moot court and club rooms, “quiz rooms,” offices for the faculty, and a large law library.

The “Law Barn” would eventually become the Sociology Building. Later, it would be renovated to house the Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute, which currently occupies the building.

Gratia E. Woodside Becomes First Female Student to Graduate at Head of Class

In 1899, Gratia E. Woodside graduated first in her class at Mizzou Law, the earliest female student to do so. Ms. Woodside would go on to become the second woman licensed to practice law in Missouri.

Mizzou School of Law Moves to Tate Hall

By 1926, 146 students were enrolled in the School of Law and the law library had a collection of over 25,000 books. It was clear that the school had outgrown the Law Barn.

To remedy this, Mr. and Mrs. Frank R. Tate offered to pay for half of the cost of a new building. This building was to be named after their son, Lee Harry Tate, who had graduated from the school of law in 1913 and died young following his honorable service in the Navy during World War I. The school of law moved to Tate Hall in 1927, where it would stay until 1988.

Lloyd Gaines Argues for Educational Equality in Missouri Before the United States Supreme Court

In February of 1938, the Supreme Court of Missouri affirmed the School of Law’s decision to deny Mr. Gaines entry. The Supreme Court of the United States granted certiorari on Mr. Gaines’ case, Missouri ex rel. Gaines v. Canada. On December 12, 1938, the U.S. Supreme Court reversed the Missouri Supreme Court’s judgement remanding the case for further proceedings consistent with its opinion. The Supreme Court had determined that Mr. Gaines, and all other African-American students, had a right to pursue a legal education in the state of Missouri and instructed the University of Missouri to either admit Mr. Gaines or provide him with a comparable education within the state.

Rather than admit Mr. Gaines to the University of Missouri School of Law, the state of Missouri opened the Lincoln University School of Law in St. Louis, MO, which operated from 1939 to 1955. Missouri ex rel. Gaines v. Canada paved the way for a number of following cases that appeared before the United States Supreme Court, culminating in the court’s decision in Brown v. Board of Education, which outlawed segregation in public education.

For more information on Mr. Gaines, please visit the Lloyd L. Gaines Digital Collection at: https://scholarship.law.missouri.edu/gaines/.

Addition to Tate Hall Completed

As the law school continued to grow in size, plans for an addition to Tate Hall were drafted in 1958. The Mizzou law faculty approved these plans, which included a combination courtroom, classroom, and auditorium located on the ground floor. The second and third floors featured conference rooms, offices for the deans and faculty, additional space for the library collection, and another classroom. The fourth floor was left purposefully incomplete.

When the addition to Tate Hall was finished in 1960, nearly everything had been built according to plan. Without notice to the faculty, the architects included large posts in a space intended to be a classroom, rendering it impossible for the room to be used for its original purpose.

Harold (Doc) L. Holliday, Jr. Becomes First Black Student to Graduate from Mizzou Law

Mr. Holliday enrolled at Mizzou Law in 1965 and became the first Black individual to matriculate and graduate from the law school.

Joyce Otten Appointed First Female Missouri Associate Circuit Judge

Joyce Otten, Mizzou Law class of 1968, was appointed as the Missouri Associate Circuit Judge to Circuit 2 in Missouri.

Ellen Roper Appointed First Female Circuit Judge in Missouri

Ellen Roper, Mizzou Law class of 1973, became the first female circuit judge in Missouri when she was appointed to the 13th Judicial Circuit in Missouri. She served as a circuit judge until 2007 and now works on civil mediation services.

Michael E. Melton is First Black Mizzou Law Graduate to Become Registered Patent Attorney

Michael Melton, class of 1984, is the first Black graduate of Mizzou Law to become a Registered Patent Attorney. Mr. Melton was also the first Black Mizzou Law graduate to serve as European Legal Counsel for a major corporation and the first Black Mizzou Law graduate to serve as a corporate Vice President. Mr. Melton founded, and is now the CEO, of MEM Enterprises.

Kim J. Norwood, First Black Student Named to Law Review, Graduates from Mizzou Law

Kim Norwood, class of 1985, was the first Black Mizzou Law graduate named to Law Review. Prof. Norwood also became the first Black female Mizzou Law graduate to become a law professor at the Washington University School of Law in St. Louis, Mo.

Ron Norwood, First Black Mizzou Law Student Elected to Editorial Board of Law Review, Graduates

Ron Norwood was the first Black Mizzou law student elected to the Editorial Board of the Missouri Law Review.

Ellar Duff Appointed First Black Female Associate Judge on Third Judicial Circuit in Madison County, IL

Kylar Broadus, Black Trans Attorney, Activist, Author, Professor, and Public Speaker, Graduates from Mizzou Law

Kylar Broadus, a Black trans man and a pioneer in the LGBT movement, graduated from Mizzou Law in 1988. Prof. Broadus is an attorney, activist, author, public speaker, and a professor at the historically black Lincoln University in Jefferson City, Mo.

Edward Blakely Graduates from Mizzou Law

Blakely had a neuro-muscular condition that limited the use of his legs and forced him to use a wheelchair. While in law school, the only accomodation he asked for was extra time to take exams because he “wouldn’t accept that [he] was different than anyone else”.

Eric K. Banks First Black Mizzou Law Graduate to Serve as St. Louis City Counselor

Eric Banks (’80) became St. Louis City Counselor from 1997 to January 1999. He then became the first African American graduate named partner in a major law firm (Thompson Coburn LLC). Banks formed his own law firm, Banks Law, LLC., where he currently works.

Mary E. Nelson is First African American Woman to Be Appointed Director of Boards and Commissions

Mary Nelson has many ‘firsts’ under her belt. Before she was Governor Jay Nixon’s Director of Boards and Commissions, Ms. Nelson was the first African American elected to membership in the 80-year history of the law firm, Lashly and Baer. She was later appointed by Governor Nixon to serve as a Commissioner on the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission and was the first African American woman to serve in the Commission’s 96-year history.

Lyrissa B. Lidsky Becomes First Female Dean of Mizzou Law

Lyrissa Lidsky is Dean of the University of Missouri School of Law and Judge C.A. Leedy Professor of Law, and the focus of her research and teaching is the intersection of Tort Law and the First Amendment, with an emphasis on free speech issues in social media. Missouri Lawyers Media named Lidsky its 2020 Woman of the Year based on her scholarship, passion for law, mentorship of students, and engagement of constituencies supporting the school of law.

Judge Robin Ransom Is First Black Woman Appointed to the Missouri Supreme Court

Judge Robin Ransom was selected by Governor Mike Parson to replace Judge Laura Denvir Stith on the Missouri Supreme Court. She is the first Black woman to join the court.