In the lead-up to the Women in Law Awards, Lawyers Weekly spoke to Cornwalls about Flos Greig, Australia’s first admitted female practitioner and Cornwalls alumna, and her lasting influence on both the firm and the profession as a whole.
Grata Flos Matilda Greig, known as Flos Greig, was the first woman to be admitted to practise law in Australia, completing clerkship with Frank Cornwall in 1905 and then continuing her career with Cornwalls, now a national firm.
As the nation’s first female lawyer, she carved out a path entirely of her own making, challenging a profession that had never before permitted women within its ranks. Today, Cornwalls honours that legacy through internal initiatives and through its sponsorship of the Flos Greig Trailblazer Award at the upcoming Lawyers Weekly Women in Law Awards, ensuring her story continues to inspire the next generation of women reshaping the profession.
The Women in Law Awards is set to be held on Thursday, 27 November 2025, at the Crown Melbourne. Click here to buy tickets.
In the lead-up to the event, Lawyers Weekly spoke to Cornwalls chief operating officer and a number of partners to delve into Flos Greig’s story and how the firm continues to honour her legacy today.
Flos Greig first enrolled to study law in 1897, when it was illegal for women to become lawyers. Her determination throughout her journey to becoming a lawyer eventuated in the Women’s Disabilities Removal Act 1903.
This journey, Cornwalls partner Emily Sahhar said, captures “the extraordinary resolve” required for Flos Greig to step into a profession that “never imagined someone like her belonging there”.
“More than a century later, her story still resonates because barriers still persist – whether it’s being the only woman in the room, navigating assumptions about capability, or forging a path to partnership in a profession still shaped by its history,” she said.
“Flos’s refusal to accept limits showed me that a legal career is built through persistence, confidence and showing up even when the space feels unfamiliar. Her determination reminds me that carving out a place of your own is possible, even when aspects of the profession were not designed with you in mind. Like Flos, we should identify obstacles and resolve to remove them, not just for ourselves, but for those who follow us.”
To continue to honour Flos Greig, Cornwalls has developed the FLOS program, an initiative to continue to support and honour women in the profession. The firm also has its own internal annual “trailblazer” award open to anyone across Cornwalls, as well as hosts regular events designed to “highlight and foster a trailblazing attitude” in the firm.
The program, according to Cornwalls executive chairman and partner Glenn Hughes, is also an important part of reflecting on “how far the profession has come over the last 120 years”.
“Our vision for the FLOS program is to celebrate and engage people from all avenues of life to become trailblazers in all aspects of their lives, not just in the legal space. Without trailblazers, we risk being stuck in the status quo of society. For some, that is enough. But for others, the desire, and even the need, to carve their own trail is at the forefront of all that they do,” he said.
“Remembering where Flos Greig’s story began matters. Despite how far we have come since Flos’s time, there are still all too many causes in today’s society where inequality reigns and the status quo must change – think domestic violence, gender pay gaps, and the paucity of women in senior roles, to name a few.”
In an article in the Commonwealth Law Review (1909), Flos Greig wrote that: “the first women lawyers are hardly likely to make fortunes. The pioneer never does” – something which rings true in the profession today.
Modern trailblazers, according to Cornwalls partner Carolyn Falcone, are still navigating “structural barriers, uneven progression pathways, and cultures slow to change”.
“To honour their efforts, the profession must embed genuine gender equity – not as aspiration but as practice. That means transparent promotion processes, flexible work that does not penalise ambition, and leadership committed to sponsoring female talent. Lasting change depends on us all to dismantle those quiet, persistent obstacles that are still there,” she said.
“Equity must become a daily discipline, not a symbolic gesture. This means creating workplaces where underrepresented voices are heard and advanced. Leaders must call out bias even when it is inconvenient and redesign systems that still default to sameness. Honouring her legacy means widening the profession so every capable voice has room to lead.”
Overcoming these challenges and honouring “the same spirit” that drove Flos Greig are key qualities the winner of the Trailblazer of the Year Award will possess.
“Celebrating trailblazers matters because progress is still powered by those who push past stale norms and lift others as they go,” Hughes said.
“It is these qualities that we look for in nominees for this award: grit, original thinking, real influence in their field and a willingness to challenge structures that quietly hold women back.”
Flos Greig’s story also shows younger female practitioners today that a legal career shaped around personal convictions is especially strong.
Choosing work that aligns closely with your values also matters “more than conformity”, according to Cornwalls chief operating officer Sofie Filippone, who added that Flos Greig also reminds women in the profession that “permission rarely arrives before action”.
“Her example encourages women entering the profession to pursue the law they believe in, not the one prescribed for them. Flos Greig shows young women in law that refusing to shrink [their] ambitions is itself an act of progress,” she said.
“Her career proves that women carve space not by waiting for acceptance but by asserting their right to lead, specialise and define their own paths. She has taught modern practitioners to trust their own voice, prioritise work that reflects their values and challenge any structure that quietly expects them to fit a mould that was never made for them.”
Lauren is the commercial content writer within Momentum Media’s professional services suite, including Lawyers Weekly, Accountants Daily and HR Leader, focusing primarily on commercial and client content, features and ebooks. Prior to joining Lawyers Weekly, she worked as a trade journalist for media and travel industry publications. Born in England, Lauren enjoys trying new bars and restaurants, attending music festivals and travelling.
