Shortly after passing the bar on her 40th birthday, Ruth Rymer noticed that female attorneys were not treated as well as their male counterparts in the practice of law. This observation inspired her to advocate for women’s rights throughout her legal career in the Bay Area. Her roles as President of Queen’s Bench and the NorCal Chapter of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers would contribute to her training for statewide leadership. In 1977, Ruth chaired the commission that established family law as a certified specialty in California, making family law a more respectable practice for attorneys. The Best Lawyers in America listed her from 1988 until the year 2000 when she retired. Before practicing law, Ruth earned her Graduate Gemologist degree from Gemological Institute of America. Today she still enjoys working with jewelry and gifting it as party favors. Ruth has two grown children and survived the loss of a child. Her publications include a lay text and four books.

Books by Ruth Rymer

Raising the Bar: A Lawyer's Memoir

by Ruth Rymer - Memoir, Nonfiction

As a young teenager, Ruth Rymer decided she wanted to be a lawyer because "lawyers get to walk around the courtroom and ask the questions." On her 40th birthday as a newly minted attorney, Rymer made a decision to root out misogyny in her professional life. Her law career included establishing family law as a certified specialty in California, leading the way to making family law a more respectable practice for attorneys. In 1996, Rymer was awarded a PhD for her study of divorce and the fight of women for their "lives, safety, sanity, and status." From the "child in residence" she once was to the women's rights champion she is today, Rymer has come a long way. RAISING THE BAR uplifts with the courage and persistence it took to be a pioneer advocate for women in the second half of the 20th century.