O'Leary received her law degree from Rutgers University School of Law in Newark, New Jersey, enabling her subsequent legal and regulatory career.
Around June 1966, Hazel R. O'Leary earned her law degree from Rutgers University School of Law in Newark, New Jersey. As with her undergraduate commencement, the precise day is not documented, but law school graduations typically occurred in late spring, making June an approximate but reasonable placement for this milestone.
Earning a law degree in the mid-1960s was a significant accomplishment for any woman, and especially for an African American woman navigating a legal profession that remained overwhelmingly male and white. O'Leary's legal training equipped her with the analytical and advocacy skills that would define her subsequent career, including work as a public prosecutor, energy regulator, and eventually a Cabinet secretary.
Her Rutgers law degree opened doors into government service, including positions with the Community Services Administration and the U.S. Department of Energy in the 1970s, and later into private sector leadership roles in the energy industry. This achievement represents the critical professional credentialing that made her later, more visible "firsts" possible.