DuPage Association of Women Lawyers

The DuPage Association of Women Lawyers was formed in 1980 when the Honorable Helen C. Kinney, DuPage County’s first female Assistant State's Attorney and first female Judge, called the small number of women then practicing law in the county into her courtroom for a gathering.  The Association formally incorporated in the year 1982 and has grown into an organization of women and men, lawyers and non-lawyers, who reside and work throughout Northern Illinois.   The Association is large enough to have an active voice in the community, yet small enough to ensure the close connection between its members.  Our experience ranges from young lawyers, recent career changers, to pioneering practitioners and judges with decades of experience.  It is the opportunity to share this breadth and depth of wisdom, from the woman lawyer’s point of view, that makes D.A.W.L. a unique legal association.

Over the last thirty years, the members of D.A.W.L. have made significant contributions which have shaped the legal community of DuPage County.  The most significant of which was the founding of Safe Harbor, the children’s waiting room at the DuPage County Courthouse in Wheaton, Illinois and the creation of its not-for-profit operator, the Child Friendly Courts Foundation.  

If you would like to receive more information on the DuPage Association of Women Lawyers, please contact one of our officers or directors.