The first woman to actually practise at the Lille Bar, Marie-Louise Vautrin was the daughter of an office manager for the Lille Prefecture, who later became a Lille city councillor.
She completed her secondary education at Lycée Fénelon. After graduating in Latin and philosophy in 1914, she enrolled at the Faculty of Arts in Lille. Graduating with a certificate in English in 1916 and a bachelor’s degree in 1920, she continued her studies at the Faculty of Law. During her university career, she became president of the university’s General Student Association. After obtaining a law degree in 1921, she became a member of the Lille Bar. The following year, she married her colleague Philippe Kah, future president of the Bar and a man of letters.
Deeply involved in professional mutual aid, she became General Secretary of the National Union of French Lawyers in 1930, then Secretary of the International Lawyers’ Union in 1931.
Notes written by Marie Chieus.
This short profile was written as part of the second edition of the ‘Université avec un grand Elles’ (Women Who Shaped the University) exhibition, which was held in 2021.