Cline completed her LL.B. degree at Baldwin-Wallace Law School around 1921, laying the legal foundation for her federal career.
In 1921, Genevieve R. Cline completed her Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) degree at Baldwin-Wallace Law School (now Baldwin Wallace University) in Berea, Ohio. While the exact calendar date of her graduation is not precisely documented in accessible sources, the year 1921 is consistently identified as when she finished her formal legal education.
This achievement was extraordinary for its time: women were a small minority in American law schools during the early twentieth century, and even fewer went on to practice law or hold public legal office. Cline had already worked for years as an appraiser's assistant in the U.S. Custom House in Cleveland before pursuing formal legal training, demonstrating a deep commitment to advancing her expertise in customs and trade law.
Her law degree provided the credential and expertise necessary for her subsequent nomination as a federal appraiser and, ultimately, as a federal judge. It represents a crucial turning point in her career trajectory, transforming her from a skilled government employee into a formally credentialed legal professional poised to break historic barriers. Her educational achievement stands as an early testament to the growing, if still limited, opportunities for women in American legal education during this period, and it directly enabled the string of federal firsts that would follow throughout the 1920s.