The WBA was founded in 1929, and its predecessor organization, the Women’s Lawyers Association, was founded in 1927. The WBA’s purpose is to maintain the honor and integrity of the legal profession, assist in the administration of justice, promote and advance the interest of women engaged in the practice of law and advance the status of women in society. (Note: this purpose may change as the mission statement is updated.)

According to an article which appeared in the Baltimore Sun on April 12 and May 2, 1927, the Women’s Lawyers Association was organized for the purpose of “promoting fraternalism and an interchange of ideas” after four of its seven founding members were denied membership in the Maryland State Bar Association (MSBA). The WBA was created in 1929 specifically to promote women’s eligibility for membership in state and national bar associations and to promote the appointment of women lawyers to various legal positions.

The MSBA was the last state bar association to admit women, and WBA member, Rose Zetzer, became the first female member of the MSBA in 1946. It was not until 1957 when the Bar Association of Baltimore City voted to admit women and African-American lawyers, that WBA member, Jeanette Wolman, became the first female member of the BCBA.

During the 1940’s and 1950’s, WBA members campaigned for women’s rights for to serve on juries, be appointed to the bench, and elected to public office. In the 1960’s and 1970’s, WBA members campaigned for improvement of the criminal justice system’s handling of rapes and other sex offenses. In the 1980’s, the WBA went on record as a pro-choice organization to promote the right of females to make personal decisions regarding their lives and their bodies. In the 1990’s, the WBA devoted much of its energy to judicial selections and the creation of a more diverse judiciary.

The WBA has been instrumental in increasing the representation of women and minorities in the Maryland courts. In 1989, the Gender Bias Report of the Select Committee on Gender Equality (formed by the Maryland Judiciary and Maryland State Bar Association) recorded that only 9% of state court judges were women, only one of whom was a minority, and further found demonstrated gender bias in domestic violence cases, child custody, support and alimony decisions, as well judicial selections in which applications were asked about time lost from work for maternity leave and children. In 1991, the WBA put observers in every single courtroom in Maryland and from those observations compiled The Courtwatch Report, confirming many of the findings of the Gender Bias Report and resulting in the WBA’s campaign to eliminate gender bias in Maryland courts. In 1995, the Judicial Nominating Commissions were reorganized and for the first time, women attorneys served on all 16 commissions. The WBA revised its Judicial Selections Committee’s screening procedures, which became a model for other specialty bar associations as well as the Maryland State Bar Association. By the end of 2003, close to 30% of the Maryland bench were women, up 333% from 1989, with increased minority representation on the bench.