“ELH English Legal History a) What was the issue before the court in Bebb v Law Society? b) What arguments were made by Sir Robert Cecil KC in support of the applicants case? c) What were Sir Robert Finlay KCs counter arguments? d) What did the court decide and why?”

No women in the United Kingdom were allowed to practice or qualify as a solicitor. This was happening century after century and becoming a custom. The introduction of the Solicitors Act 1843 says that the words importing a masculine gender shall extend to a female.  Basically saying where term like male was mentioned this would apply to female as well. This act may have changed the ongoing tradition.

In the Bebb v Law Society  case the main issue to arise was if the Solicitor Act 1843 gave females equal rights to a male in allowing them to qualify as a solicitor. This was highlighted by an unmarried woman who had applied to carry out her preliminary examination which would have qualified her as a solicitor. However the law society refused to allow her to carry out the examination as she was a femal…(short extract)