Barrister and solicitor Ethel Benjamin was best known for being the first female lawyer in New Zealand and the first woman to appear in court as counsel in the British Empire. Benjamin’s struggle against gender discrimination and her pioneering role in the legal world helped clear the way for female lawyers.

Benjamin was born in Dunedin, New Zealand, on January 19, 1875. Her parents were Lizzie and Henry Benjamin, Orthodox Jews who had immigrated from England. Benjamin excelled academically from a very early age, receiving several prizes and awards. In 1893, she enrolled for an LLB degree at the University of Otago, despite the fact that women were not yet allowed to practice law. There, she outperformed her male peers and frequently obtained the top grades in her classes. Despite the discriminatory laws in place at the time, Benjamin “had faith that a colony so liberal as our own would not long tolerate such purely artificial barriers. I therefore entered my studies with a light heart, feeling sure that I should not long be debarred from the use of any degree I might obtain.” Three years later, the Female Law Practitioners Act of 1896 passed.

After graduating law school in 1897, Benjamin became a barrister and solicitor for the Supreme Court of New Zealand, although she still faced severe social discrimination from her male mentors and peers. She was frequently excluded by the Otago District Law Society, which didn’t allow her to enter their library,  attend their annual dinners, or be mentored by established lawyers. 

Despite the challenges, Benjamin set up a successful practice in Dunedin, serving as a barrister and solicitor for the local Jewish community, women, and labor groups. On September 17, 1897, Benjamin became the first woman in the British Empire to appear as counsel in any case when she represented a client for the recovery of a debt. She also participated in social activism, becoming involved with the women’s rights movement while acting as a solicitor for the New Zealand Society for the Protection of Children and Women, working abuse, divorce, and adoption cases.

Benjamin’s family returned to England in 1910. There, she worked for a legal firm and managed a bank with her husband, Alfred De Costa. She lived and worked in England up until her death in 1943 following a car accident. Today, the New Zealand Law Foundation Ethel Benjamin Scholarship supports postgraduate research in law for women, making law more accessible for more women, just as Ethel Benjamin did. 

Sources: 

Brown, Carol. “Benjamin, Ethel Rebecca.” Dictionary of New Zealand Biography, first published in 1993. Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/biographies/2b18/benjamin-ethel-rebecca (accessed 1 July 2025).   

Graham, Val. “Ethel Benjamin.” Jewish Lives, April 11, 2023. https://www.jewishlives.nz/our-people/ethel-benjamin. 

Universities NZ – Te Pōkai Tara. “New Zealand Law Foundation Ethel Benjamin Scholarship.” (accessed July 16, 2025). https://www.universitiesnz.ac.nz/scholarships/new-zealand-law-foundation-ethel-benjamin-scholarship-women.