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Interview with Sonja Goldstein

IntervieweeInterview with Sonja Goldstein born 1926

InterviewerInterviewed by Beverly J. Hodgson American

Date2016 November 29

DimensionsDuration: 8 Minutes, 51 Seconds

ClassificationsGraphics

Credit LineGift of the Connecticut Bar Foundation

DescriptionOral history interview with Sonja Goldstein who was interviewed by Beverly J. Hodgson on November 29, 2016 for the Connecticut Bar Foundation's History of Connecticut Women in the Legal Profession Project.

Topic Discussed:

- Background: Sonja, born in Leipzig, Germany, in 1926, discusses her early life, including the persecution of Jews in Germany, and her family's emigration to London in 1939, just before World War II.

- Education in London and Migration to the US: Sonja Goldstein attended the London School of Economics studying International Relations. She met her husband, Joseph Goldstein, a G.I., at LSE. They moved to the United States in 1952.

- Yale Law School: Sonja and Joseph Goldstein started law school at Yale from 1948 to 1952. She noted the Socratic Method used by professors and felt at home quickly despite being new to the U.S. She also did some volunteer work with the Legal Aid Society.

- Early Legal Career: After law school, Sonja took a job with the National Labor Relations Board in Washington, D.C. She later began working part-time for a former classmate, Arthur Sachs, in New Haven.

- Work-Life Balance: At Arthur Sachs's law firm, Sonja specialized in estate planning, which allowed her the flexibility to manage her time and raise her four children.

- Husband's Publications: Sonja Goldstein played a role in her husband Joseph Goldstein's famous books, "Beyond the Best Interests of the Child," "Before the Best Interests," and "In the Best Interests." She assisted with typing, editing, and research. She also mentioned her husband's involvement in founding New Haven Legal Assistance in the 1960s

- Experiences as a Woman Lawyer: Sonja recalls generally positive reactions from clients.

Object number2024.38.47a-b

NotesProject Overview: At the turn of the 20th century, other than Mary Hall, women lawyers were virtually unknown in Connecticut. By contrast, at the turn of the 21st century, law schools were enrolling roughly the same number of women as men. Since their earliest time at the bar, women have become leaders in all areas of the profession at a pace out of all proportion to their brief history and number.

In 1999, the Fellows of the Connecticut Bar Foundation initiated the Oral History of Connecticut Women in the Legal Profession Project. Within the framework of this dynamic project, the Fellows have been creating a permanent video, audio, and photographic historical record of milestone achievements of women as they have become more visible and achieved prominence in the field of law. In 2019, a leadership donation of $20,000 from the law firm of Carmody Torrance Sandak & Hennessey enabled the project to significantly broaden its scope and plan for the future.

Through its first two phases, the project worked with award-winning documentarian Karyl Evans and attorney/photographer Isabel Chenoweth to produce fifty-eight oral history interviews with outstanding female attorneys and 118 portraits of women in the Connecticut judiciary.

The oral history interviews have collected the stories of women whose ingenuity, perseverance, and intelligence dismantled barriers that historically prevented women from pursuing careers in the law. Connecticut has benefited from the efforts of these “pioneers” as they enriched the legal profession by joining the ranks of their male peers and paved the way for more women to join the profession. (Source: Connecticut Bar Foundation)