Who Was Lidia Poet? Netflix Show Inspired By Italy's First Women Lawyer

The Netflix series The Law According to Lidia Poet, released on February 15, is a story inspired by the first Italian woman lawyer, Lidia Poet. The series follows Poet as she solves mysteries while working as a lawyer at her brother's law firm and becomes a trailblazer for women's rights in Italy during the late 1800s.

The six-episode Netflix web series explores a new case in each episode and showcases her wit and passion. The show features actor Matilda De Angelis as the titular character, ">Lidia Poet.

Who Was Lidia Poet?

Poet had to endure a great deal of humiliation and bias, as well as make sacrifices, in order to pursue her dream career as a lawyer. She was the first woman in Italy to be registered as a lawyer. While Poet was as capable as male lawyers, she was barred from the courtroom simply because she was female. She was finally able to rejoin the bar at the age of 65.

Her qualifications were considered "insufficient," and she was reminded of her "role as a woman." Her presence in the court was considered "scandalous." She was mocked for taking up a man’s profession, and people assumed that her judgement would be clouded because she was a woman.

Lidia Poet was born in 1855 into a wealthy Waldensian family and spent her childhood in the Valle Germanasca, near Turin. She earned a licence to be a high school teacher from the College of the Misses of Bonneville in Aubonne, Switzerland. She went on to gain a certificate as a teacher of English, German, and French.

She also got her high school diploma back in Italy and then enrolled in law school at the University of Turin. She graduated in law, submitting a thesis on the condition of women in society and women’s right to vote. She then practised law in Pinerolo, in the office of lawyer and senator Cesare Bertea.

She scored 45 out of 50 in her practicum and the bar exam before applying for membership in the Turin Bar Association.

In protest, two lawyers resigned from the bar after Poet’s application was put to a vote and granted 8 votes in favour and 4 against. According to President Xavier Francesco Vegezzi and four other councillors, Lidia Poet became the first Italian woman to get admitted to the practice of law on August 9, 1883, under Italian civil laws, women are citizens like men.

However, soon the Attorney General of the then-Kingdom of Italy challenged the order’s decision and appealed to the Court of Appeals of Turin. Lidia poet was disbarred on November 11, 1883. Poet, on the other hand, did not give up and continued her legal practice with her brother John Henry, despite the fact that she could not appear in court as a lawyer.

In 1920, after the enactment of Law 1176 of 1919, which allowed women to enter some public offices, Lidia Poet, at the age of 65, was finally able to re-register as a lawyer with the Turin Bar Association.

She was never married and passed away at the age of 94 in the beachside town of Diano Marina.

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