Courtesy of Judy Friede

Patricia Anne Barald J.D. ’73, became Cornell Law School's first female professor.

January 17, 2025

Patricia Anne Barald J.D. ’73, Cornell Law’s First Female Professor, Dies at 76

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Patricia Anne Barald J.D. ’73, the first woman to hold the position of a Cornell Law School professor, died on Dec. 28 at 76 years old. She is remembered for her mentorship efforts throughout her renowned legal profession.

Barald achieved countless accomplishments in her law career, including graduating at the top of her class from Cornell Law School and becoming the third woman partner at Covington & Burling LLP in Washington D.C.

From a young age, Barald performed well in her academics. Barald graduated valedictorian of both her junior high school and high school classes, according to her sister, Kate Barald.

“She never had a grade below A in any subject at any time in her academic career,” Kate Barald said. In her free time, Barald often tutored her peers in science and math, according to her sister. 

Barald attended Brown University and graduated summa cum laude and first in her class with a B.A. in English literature in 1970. She also graduated with an M.A. in English literature within her four years at Brown. While writing her master’s thesis, Barald began to take an interest in law when she read Charles Dickens’ Bleak House.  

Barald began attending Cornell Law School in 1970. She was a member of the Cornell Law Review and became an editor. Barald graduated first of the J.D. Class of 1973 and was recognized by the Order of the Coif, an honor society granted to law students who graduate within the top 10 percent of their class.

Unusual for recent graduates, Barald was offered an assistant professor position at Cornell Law School by then-dean William Ray Forrester immediately following completing her law degree. While there had been a few instances of law students being offered jobs on faculty post-graduation, Cornell Law School had never hired a woman for a full-time position, according to a 1973 announcement of Barald’s position in The Sun.

Barald being named the first female Cornell Law School professor was featured in The Cornell Daily Sun in September 1973. (Sun File Photo)

Barald assumed her unprecedented role as the first woman on full-time faculty at the Law School for the fall semester of 1973. She was only 26, making her the youngest member of the faculty at the time, according to her sister. Barald began her career by teaching two first-year tort law courses. 

“I remember her first Christmas dinner at home in West Hartford, [Connecticut] after becoming a faculty member,” Kate Barald said. “It was cut short because she had to grade over 100 torts exams.”

Barald is remembered as a professor who prioritized guiding her students. In the Cornell Law Forum of 1974, Volume 1, page 30 — sent to The Sun by Prof. Peter Martin, law — Barald noted the new perspectives she developed while teaching in the Law School. 

“You stand up there wanting to make things clearer, but at the same time trying to make people realize the complexity of the issues a casebook or any teaching material inevitably oversimplifies,” Barald wrote. 

The following semester, Barald began teaching a seminar course on women’s rights under the law. Only three students were enrolled, and all were men, according to her sister. 

At the time of her employment, Barald became a representative for the Law School, in which she “was sent on recruiting trips to colleges and universities all over the country as well as to conferences and speaking engagements,” according to Kate Barald.

However, these recruiting trips were not compensated by time or salary according to her sister, who described them as likely being a factor in Barald’s decision to take a leave of absence from the Law School in 1976. 

During her time away from the Law School, Barald began working as an environmental lawyer for Covington & Burling, a Washington D.C. law firm founded in 1919. While at Covington & Burling, Barald met her husband, James Toupin, when they were both assigned to organize and plan the annual firm dinner. Barald and Toupin were married for 42 years.

Barald and her friend Judy Friede in the tea garden and Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, California. (Courtesy of Judy Friede)

According to her sister and husband, Barald’s teaching experience helped her thrive as an associate. Mentoring young lawyers and attorneys, especially women, was one of her many contributions at Covington & Burling. 

“She made it part of her mission to at least make the women coming in junior to her feel more comfortable with their role,” Toupin said. 

Barald ultimately chose to stay at Covington & Burling once her leave of absence at the Law School was over. Barald and Toupin married in 1982, and years later, had a son named David Toupin.

Barald’s work in environmental law is notable. According to her husband, Barald worked on briefs involved in the 1984 Supreme Court decision that issued the Chevron deference. The case set a legal precedent for when courts should adjourn interpretation of the law to an agency for 50 years. She was later named chair of the environmental legal practice group at Covington & Burling. 

Having spent many years practicing law, Barald was named a partner at Covington & Burling, making her only the third woman in over 50 years to be granted this title at the firm. 

“She was a small lady who had to be tough,” Toupin said, reflecting on Barald’s many accomplishments amid the competitive nature of big law. 

Beyond her career, Barald enjoyed spending time with her lifelong friends and family. Barald met her three friends — Judy, Nancy and Margie — while in high school. They became lifelong friends, referred to as the “Gang of Four” by friends and family for over 60 years. 

“While Pat achieved many academic and professional successes, I will always remember her for her capacity to love and to cherish friendships. She was a devoted wife and mother as well as daughter, sister, and friend,” wrote Judy Friede, a member of the “Gang of Four,” in an email to The Sun. 

Barald meeting with three lifelong friends and members of the “Gang of Four,” Judy, Nancy, and Margie. (Courtesy of Judy Friede)

Shortly after retiring from Covington & Burling, Barald was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in 2014, which she battled for 10 years. Her sister, husband and lifetime friends all remember her as an intelligent, witty and accomplished woman with many talents — especially in mentoring young people. 

Barald is remembered by her sister Kate Barald, husband James Toupin, son David Toupin and grandson, Henry Toupin. To honor her life, a memorial service will be held at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Jan. 25 in Washington D.C. The family requests that donations be made to the Alzheimer’s Association in her memory.  

“Her determination and devotion to her job, her family and her friends were hallmarks of her life,” Kate Barald said. “She was an inspiration to so many people.”