Beatrice Honour Davy

Beatrice Honour Davy (13 December 1885 – 18 April 1966) was a British barrister, and later, solicitor. She was amongst the first women to be called to the bar once the legal barriers to entry for females were dismantled in 1919. In 1922, she and seven others were the first women ever admitted to the Middle Temple. Davy was the first woman to appear as advocate at the Devon Assizes, winning a 1923 divorce case for her client. After she requalified as a solicitor in 1931, Davy and fellow solicitor Edith Berthen established the first all-female law firm in Britain. The firm continued operating until 1951.

Early life Davy was born in Exeter in 1885. Her father was a physician and in 1887 was Sheriff of Exeter. In recognition of his war work as consultant physician to the Southern Command, Sir Henry Davy was knighted, being created K.B.E. in 1919. Beatrice Davy's mother, Beatrice Mary, , was a solicitor's daughter; she died in 1905, and Davy's father later remarried. Davy's paternal grandfather—Sir Henry's father—was also a solicitor. Davy was educated at Grassendale School, Southbourne, in Bournemouth.

Legal career The Sex Disqualification (Removal) Act, allowing women to become lawyers, was passed in 1919. In 1921, Davy graduated from King’s College, London with an LL.B. law degree. She had earlier applied to become a student member of the Middle Temple and had been admitted on 24 January 1920. In 1923, she was the first woman to appear as a barrister at the Devon Assizes in Exeter. In 1937, Anderson became the first woman qualified to practice as a solicitor in both England and Scotland. Upon gaining her qualification for England, she became a partner in the Berthen and Davy firm.