Agnes Lundell

{{Short description| Finland's first female lawyer}}

File: Agnes-Lundell.jpg

Agnes Lundell (13 July 1878 – 17 September 1936), also known as Agneta, was the Finland's first female lawyer.{{cite book |last= Schultz | first= Ulrike |year= 2003|title= Women in the World's Legal Professions| url= https://books.google.com/books?id=QGuLJsUBtfsC|access-date= 25 June 2022|location= Oxford | publisher= Hart Publishing | page=389| isbn= 978-1-841-13319-5}}{{Cite web |title=Lundell, Agnes (1878 - 1936) |url=https://kansallisbiografia.fi/kansallisbiografia/henkilo/8759 |access-date=2022-06-25 |website=kansallisbiografia.fi}}

==Biography==

Born on 13 July 1878 in Turku, Finland, Agnes Lundell was the daughter of Alfred Wilhelm Lundell (1839 – 1904) and Olga Wilhelmina Åkerman(1846 – 1900). She studied in a Girls’ School at Turku.{{cite journal |last1= Nieminen |first1= Marjo |title= Breakers of glass ceilings: the professional careers of women in Finland and the graduates of three girls' upper secondary schools (1890s–1910s) |journal= Paedagogica Historica: International Journal of the History of Education|year= 2022 |volume=|issue= |pages=1–16|doi= 10.1080/00309230.2022.2077118|s2cid= 249219895 |doi-access= free}} She later enrolled at the Imperial Alexander University to study law. In 1906 she became the first woman in Finland to graduate with a law degree.{{cite book |last= Löhnig | first= Martin |date= 24 February 2022|title= Rechtskultur 10: Legal Gender Studies| url= https://books.google.com/books?id=9ANhEAAAQBAJ|access-date= 25 June 2022|location= Norderstedt | publisher= BoD – Books on Demand | page=87| isbn= 978-3-963-74048-0}}{{cite book |last= Kimble| first= Sara L.|date= 1 July 2016|title= New Perspectives on European Women's Legal History| url= https://books.google.com/books?id=vkuTDAAAQBAJ|access-date= 25 June 2022|location= Oxon | publisher= Routledge | page=293| isbn= 978-1-317-57716-4}}

Upon graduation, Agnes Lundell began her legal career as the secretary of a senate division. In 1911 she became the first woman lawyer in Finland.{{cite book |last= Fisher | first= Beatrice |year= 2002|title= A Tribute to Women Lawyers Worldwide: FIDA, 1944-1994 : International Federation of Women Lawyers| url= https://books.google.com/books?id=ZQoIAQAAMAAJ|access-date= 25 June 2022|location= Lagos | publisher= Macmillan Nigeria| page=151| isbn= 978-9-780-18321-9}}{{Cite web |title=Lundell, Agnes |url=https://www.uppslagsverket.fi/sv/sok/view-170045-LundellAgnes |access-date=2022-06-25 |website=www.uppslagsverket.fi}}

She also involved in business. With Hjalmar Erlund, one of her school mates from Turku, she established a bilingual law firm named “Lundell & Erlund.”{{sfn| Kimble|2016|p=310}} In the beginning of her legal career, she faced many challenges including dress code, and the use of her first name in judicial offices.

She was also known for her feminist activities particularly her lectures on upholding women's rights.{{sfn| Kimble|2016|p=310}}

She died in Helsinki on 17 September 1936.