Ethel Benjamin was born into an Orthodox Jewish family, which held education in high regard. She followed a distinguished school career by studying law, gaining the highest grades in her class. The Female Law Practitioners Act was passed in 1896, and in the year of her graduation, 1897, she became the first woman in the British Empire to qualify and practise as a barrister and solicitor. In spite of professional discrimination and social obstruction, she managed to establish a successful practice. She helped found the Dunedin Society for the Protection of Women and Children, and provided legal support in cases of wife abuse, divorce, adoption and family maintenance. She did not, however, support the temperance movement, and was professionally involved with the affairs of several hotels. She was also an astute businesswoman. Ethel Benjamin married in 1907 and moved to Wellington, startling the district’s Law Society by again setting up independent practice. In 1908 she and her husband went to England, where she could not fully practise law until a change in legislation in 1919, so she turned her skills to banking.

Ethel Benjamin’s example of success in the law was not quickly followed by others - it was 1911 before another woman completed a full law degree - nor were the obstacles she encountered easily removed. However, her determination and ability to step outside the limited roles prescribed for most women of her time continued to inspire others to use their talents to the full.