Marion Scudder Griffin

Marion Scudder Griffin. , Marion Scudder Griffin was the first practicing female attorney in Tennessee as well as the first woman to serve in the Tennessee House of Representatives. Upon moving to Memphis, she worked in Judge Thomas M. Scruggs' office as a stenographer and also began studying for a law license. On February 15, 1900 she was certified by Chancellor Dehaven and Circuit Court Judge Estes for admission to the bar. Despite her certification, the Tennessee Supreme Court denied Griffin a legal license in 1900 and 1901, because of her gender. Undeterred, she was one of two women to receive a Bachelor of Law degree in 1906 from the University of Michigan Law School. , Returning to Tennessee, she lobbied the state legislature to pass a law that would grant women the right to practice law. Though she was initially derided, she convinced the legislature and a bill was passed on February 3, 1907, and signed two days later by Governor Malcolm R. Patterson. On July 1, 1907 she was licensed by the Tennessee Supreme Court and sworn in as a member of the local bar. She went on to practice law in Memphis from 1907 to 1949. , In 1922, Griffin became the first woman elected to the Tennessee State House. As was noted in a Commercial Appeal article of August 3, 1950, she had the support of public figures like C.P.J. Mooney, the newspaper's editor, during her campaign. She served for one term, headed the House Social Welfare Committee, and promoted legislation affecting women and children.,

"Women should study law as a culture course because we all live under laws and should have a better understanding of them."

, She was an active member of the Memphis Business and Professional Women's Club and the Memphis League of Women Voters, and was one of the charter members of the Memphis Chapter of the American Association of University Women. She died on January 30, 1957, and was buried at Elmwood Cemetery.