Hilda Ginsburg was born in New York City in 1908. She attended New York City public schools, earned her B.A. from Washington Square College, and her LLB from NYU in 1920; she was admitted to the New York State Bar in 1930. She married Herman N. Schwartz; they had one son, John. She became an associate with a small law firm then had a private practice with her husband until 1946; in 1935 she founded the New York City Women's Bar Association after the New York City Bar denied her application (she was finally admitted in 1940). She was appointed by three different New York mayors and elected as well to many posts including Trial Commissioner of the Board of Estimates (1946-1951); and New York City Treasurer and Director of Finance (1958-1965). Sh e was one of the first women to sit on any New York court, serving on the New York City Magistrates Court (1951 - ?); the New York City Civil Court; and then on the New York State Supreme Court (1972-1984), where she decided cases in international law, banking, employee relations, and many other areas. She did early judicial work with the Home Term Court, succeding Anna M. Kross as Chair of the Home Term Panel and served on numerous judicial committees. She died 18 Mar 1998.
From the guide to the Hilda Schwartz Papers MS 281., 1930-1994, (Sophia Smith Collection)
