Emma Ping Lum

Emma Ping Lum was the first Chinese American female lawyer in the United States and California.[1][2]

Lum was born on August 10, 1910 to Walter U. Lum and Gum Young Lee. She was one of seven children. Her father Walter was a prominent figure in Chinatown, San Francisco. He founded the newspaper Chinese Times in 1924, and launched various political efforts to abolish the Expatriation Act of 1907 and the Chinese Exclusion Act.[3][4]

She earned her A.B. from San Francisco State College (1934) and an M.A. from Columbia University (1943).[5] Lum was fluent in various Chinese dialects, and she applied those skills while working in San Francisco's Office of Censorship (earning a certificate of merit for her service) during World War II.[1]

In 1947, Lum graduated from UC Hastings College of the Law and became a member of the State Bar of California.[6][7] In 1952, she was the first Chinese American female to practice before the United States Supreme Court. By 1966, she had long established her legal practice at 745 Grant Avenue in San Francisco. Her affiliations included the California State Bar Association, San Francisco Bar Association, the Queen’s Bench, and the Kappa Beta Phi legal sorority.[1][8]

She died in May 1989.

See also

References
  1. Kinnaird, Lawrence (1966). History of the Greater San Francisco Bay Region. Lewis Historical Publishing Company.
  2. Watson, Jonathan (March 2016). "Legacy of American Female Attorneys" (PDF). Solano County Law Library. Retrieved March 2, 2016.
  3. Choy, Philip P. (2012-08-14). San Francisco Chinatown: A Guide to Its History and Architecture. City Lights Publishers. ISBN 9780872866027.
  4. Wong, K. (2011-02-07). Claiming America. Temple University Press. ISBN 9781439907702.
  5. Register - University of California. University of California Press. 1947.
  6. "Hastings Alumni Bulletin".
  7. "State Bar of California".
  8. News Notes of California Libraries. California State Library. 1978.
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