Legal career of Hillary Clinton

This article is part of a series about Hillary Clinton
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Following her graduation from Yale Law School in 1973 until becoming first lady of the United States in 1993, Hillary Clinton (née Hillary Rodham) practiced law. In 1988 and 1991 The National Law Journal named Clinton one of the 100 most influential lawyers in the United States.

During law school, Clinton had worked as a staff attorney at the Children’s Defense Fund and as a consultant to the Carnegie Council on Children. Clinton graduated from law school in 1973. In 1974, Clinton worked as a member of the impeachment inquiry staff during the impeachment process against President Richard Nixon. After moving to Arkansas that same year, Clinton joined the faculty of the University of Arkansas Law School as one of only two female faculty at the time. During this time, Clinton was involved in founding and served as the director of the state’s first legal aid clinic. Clinton’s early litigation work had a large focus on family law and domestic disputes.

After moving to Little Rock, Arkansas following her husband’s election as attorney general of Arkansas, Clinton joined the esteemed Rose Law Firm as the firm’s first female associate. She became the first woman to be made a full partner at the firm, and was one of only a handful of women that were acting as litigators in the state of Arkansas. Clinton was the state's first first lady to be employed at the time of her husband’s governorship. At the firm, she specialized in patent infringement and intellectual property law while working pro bono in child advocacy. Many of Clinton’s cases saw her defend large corporations, and most of the clients she represented were businesses. She was considered a rainmaker at the firm due to the prestige she brought and the corporate connections she had. The firm’s business with the state and her husband’s position as governor gave rise to allegations of a conflict of interest for Clinton.

In 1977, Rodham cofounded Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families, a state-level alliance with the Children's Defense Fund. That same year, she was appointed by President Jimmy Carter to serve on the board of directors of the Legal Services Corporation, a role she held from 1978 until 1981. During part of that time, she served as the first female chair of that board.