Selma Moidel Smith, 1919-2025

Selma Moidel Smith, a trailblazing California attorney, legal historian, and composer whose work uplifted generations of women in the law, died on Friday after a brief illness. She was 106.

"For everyone who knew her, she was larger than life," her son, Mark L. Smith, wrote in his remarks, which will be read at her funeral. "To me, she was the most extraordinary role model that a child, adult, and now, senior citizen could have at every stage of life."

Born on April 3, 1919, Smith was admitted to the California Bar in January 1943 at 23 and remained active in legal and scholarly circles for more than 82 years. She was widely celebrated for her intellect, generosity, and unwavering commitment to justice and education.

Smith was president of the Women Lawyers Association of Los Angeles in 1947 and 1948, where she created a continuing legal education program for women--nearly half a century before California mandated such training. She also lobbied for the 1951 "Wives' Paycheck Bill," securing married women's legal right to collect their own wages, and was honored the following year with a life membership from the Los Angeles Business Women's Council for "Outstanding Service on Behalf of California Women."

Also in 1943, Smith joined the National Association of Women Lawyers, eventually serving on more than 20 committees. The association honored her with its Lifetime of Service Award in 1999 and named its annual law student writing competition after her in 2005. She contributed original historical research on women in the legal profession and uncovered the names of the first two women admitted to the American Bar Association.

She represented U.S. organizations at bar conferences in Europe and elsewhere. Her 1948 paper advocating clinical training in law schools was adopted by resolution at the International Bar Association Conference in The Hague. In 1956, the Dominican Republic awarded her the Order of Merit Juan Pablo Duarte. She was a longtime participant in the International Federation of Women Lawyers and an appointed delegate at the 1965 World Conference on World Peace Through Law in Washington, D.C.

Smith served on the board of the California Supreme Court Historical Society and, beginning in 2007, launched its law student writing competition in California legal history -- a program that continues to this day. At her 95th birthday celebration in April 2014, the competition was renamed in her honor, with tributes from Chief Justices Ronald W. George and Tani Cantil-Sakauye and Justices Kathryn Werdegar and Joseph Grodin. She was also the editor-in-chief of the Society's journal California Legal History, a role she held for 14 years.

She received the American Bar Foundation's inaugural Life Fellow Achievement Award in 2016. She also chaired the editorial board of the ABA's Experience magazine and was named one of the ABA's Women Trailblazers in the Law.

"She once said to me that every headstone should be engraved with the words, 'Unfinished Business,'" Mark Smith said. "And yet I can report with wonder that this cannot be said of her. She had no regrets. There could always have been more, but there [was] nothing she felt she had failed to do. She enjoyed strong friendships and extended family, traveled everywhere she could have wished, saw her own accomplishments in every field. Not once did I hear her say she wished for something she had not achieved."

Beyond the legal world, Smith composed 100 piano and instrumental pieces, performed at venues including the National Museum of Women in the Arts and Walt Disney Concert Hall. She is listed in Who's Who in America, Who's Who of American Women (1958 and later editions), and Who's Who in American Law (1977).

Presiding Justice Arthur Gilbert of the 2nd District Court of Appeal, Division 6, and a professional pianist, recalled playing one of her tangos.

"I was a nervous wreck because she was in the audience," Gilbert wrote in an email. "I had to make sure I got it right."

Funeral services were scheduled for Tuesday at 3 p.m. at Hollywood Forever Cemetery.