Sarah Herring Sorin

Sarah Herring Sorin (January 15, 1861 – April 30, 1914) was Arizona's first woman attorney and the first woman to try a case in front of the United States Supreme Court unassisted by a male attorney. Sorin practiced law with her father William Herring in the firm "Herring & Sorin" initially in Tombstone, Arizona, and later in Tucson. After her father's death, Sorin moved to Globe, Arizona, where she became the attorney for the Old Dominion Copper Company and United Globe Mines. Sarah Sorin is a member of the Arizona Women's Hall of Fame.

Early life in New York City Sarah Herring Sorin was born in New York City on January 15, 1861, to Colonel William and Mary Inslee Herring. The Herrings had five children: Sarah, Howard, Bertha, Henrietta, and Mary, from oldest to youngest. Her father, Colonel Herring, had graduated from Columbia Law School and later became Deputy District Attorney in New York City and served in the New York State Legislature.

Sarah finished high school in New York and then went on to obtain her teaching credentials. She taught school in New York City while her brother Howard attended high school. By this time Sarah and Howard were the only members of the family left in New York. Through a series of events, the rest of the family had moved far west to the city of Tombstone in the Arizona Territory.

From New York to Tombstone In 1880, William Herring ventured to the Arizona Territory to settle the estate and evaluate various mining holdings after inheriting mines from his brother.

When Sarah and Howard Herring moved west in 1882, the Herring family was now residing in Tombstone. The city was still reeling from the October 1881 Earp-Clanton shoot-out at the O.K. Corral. Not long after her move west, Sarah became the first woman schoolteacher in Tombstone. In her ten years at the school, she also had stints as school librarian (1891) and principal (1884–1886).

Legal training Possibly inspired by her brother, Howard's, death, Herring left her teaching job and studied law under her father, also studying in New York City. where she became the first woman to argue a case, unassisted and unaccompanied by a male attorney, on November 6, 1913. The written brief presented to the court was solely in Sarah's name, and she gave the final arguments by herself. Her accomplishment was noted in many newspapers, including the New York Times.

On January 5, 1914, Chief Justice White rendered the Court's decision in favor of Sarah and her client, United Globe Mines.

Last days and recognition After her father's death in 1912, Sorin moved her practice to Globe, Arizona, closer to the Sorin Ranch. Sorin was the corporate counsel for both the Old Dominion Copper Company and the United Globe Mines, which was part of the Phelps Dodge mining empire.

Not long after her triumph in the U.S. Supreme Court in January 1914, Sorin travelled to Tombstone to deal with her father's estate. Shortly after, she fell ill. Sorin died of pneumonia on April 30, 1914, in Globe, with her husband at her side. A ceremony was held in Tucson at her sister's home. Her obituary was carried on the front page of several newspapers and a special resolution was prepared by the Arizona State Bar Association. Both Sarah and Thomas Sorin are buried at Evergreen Cemetery in Tucson.