Joan Rosanove
Encyclopedia
Joan Mavis Rosanove née Lazarus (11 May 1896 – 8 April 1974) was an Australia
n lawyer and advocate for the rights of women to practice law.
Joan was born in Ballarat, Australia, her father Mark Aaron Lazarus was a barrister and solicitor, both her parents were non-practicing Jews. She attended the Loreto convent school and Clarendon Ladies' College, and was articled
to her father in 1917 and began to attend the University of Melbourne
to study law. She was formally admitted to practice as a barrister and solicitor on 2 June 1919.
In 1920 she married Emmanuel ('Mannie') Rosanove, a dermatologist, and they had 2 daughters. In 1923 the family moved to Melbourne, and in September that year she was the first woman in Victoria to sign the Victorian Bar roll. She could not obtain room in the Selborne Chambers, but established a successful practice regardless focussing on criminal and divorce cases.
In November 1934 Rosanove represented Egon Kisch in Melbourne when he defied his immigration exclusion order and leapt 5 meters on to the deck of Station Pier breaking his right leg.
The Rosanoves travelled to Canada, the United States of America and Britain in between 1932 and 1933. When they returned to Melbourne, they lived at Toorak
. In 1949 Joan again signed the Bar roll and achieved her ambition to practise from Selborne Chambers by accepting a position as 'reader' to a male barrister Edward Ellis. She took over his room when he moved to Western Australia. From 1954 Mrs Rosanove submitted a number of applications in Victoria to be made a Q.C. That she had to wait until 16 November 1965 to be appointed led many of her peers to conclude that 'she had been shabbily treated'. In 1967 she took her struggle for the rights of women lawyers to New South Wales
.
Her biography Woman in a wig,: Joan Rosanove, QC written by Isabel Ray Carter, was published in 1970. In 1999 the Victorian Bar named their Melbourne offices the Joan Rosanove Chambers in her honour.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n lawyer and advocate for the rights of women to practice law.
Joan was born in Ballarat, Australia, her father Mark Aaron Lazarus was a barrister and solicitor, both her parents were non-practicing Jews. She attended the Loreto convent school and Clarendon Ladies' College, and was articled
Articled clerk
An articled clerk, also known as an articling student, is an apprentice in a professional firm in Commonwealth countries. Generally the term arises in the accountancy profession and in the legal profession. The articled clerk signs a contract, known as "articles of clerkship", committing to a...
to her father in 1917 and began to attend the University of Melbourne
University of Melbourne
The University of Melbourne is a public university located in Melbourne, Victoria. Founded in 1853, it is the second oldest university in Australia and the oldest in Victoria...
to study law. She was formally admitted to practice as a barrister and solicitor on 2 June 1919.
In 1920 she married Emmanuel ('Mannie') Rosanove, a dermatologist, and they had 2 daughters. In 1923 the family moved to Melbourne, and in September that year she was the first woman in Victoria to sign the Victorian Bar roll. She could not obtain room in the Selborne Chambers, but established a successful practice regardless focussing on criminal and divorce cases.
In November 1934 Rosanove represented Egon Kisch in Melbourne when he defied his immigration exclusion order and leapt 5 meters on to the deck of Station Pier breaking his right leg.
The Rosanoves travelled to Canada, the United States of America and Britain in between 1932 and 1933. When they returned to Melbourne, they lived at Toorak
Toorak, Victoria
Toorak is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 5 km south-east from Melbourne's central business district located on a rise on the south side of a bend in the Yarra River. Its Local Government Area is the City of Stonnington...
. In 1949 Joan again signed the Bar roll and achieved her ambition to practise from Selborne Chambers by accepting a position as 'reader' to a male barrister Edward Ellis. She took over his room when he moved to Western Australia. From 1954 Mrs Rosanove submitted a number of applications in Victoria to be made a Q.C. That she had to wait until 16 November 1965 to be appointed led many of her peers to conclude that 'she had been shabbily treated'. In 1967 she took her struggle for the rights of women lawyers to New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
.
Her biography Woman in a wig,: Joan Rosanove, QC written by Isabel Ray Carter, was published in 1970. In 1999 the Victorian Bar named their Melbourne offices the Joan Rosanove Chambers in her honour.