Louise Pridgeon, one of Cleveland’s first African-American woman lawyers, studied social science at Western Reserve University, Northwestern University and Ohio University. In Cleveland, she worked for two community organizations: the Goodrich-Gannett Settlement and Karamu House. During World War I, she served as a field worker on the U.S. Interdepartmental Social Hygiene Board. Following her graduation from Cleveland Law School, she joined civil rights activist Thomas Frey in a federal practice that became the law firm of Frey and Pridgeon. According to one writer, Pridgeon always “stood high in the respect of the Bench and Bar.” She was president of the Harlan Law Club—the predecessor of the Norman Minor Bar Association—a member of the Cleveland Federation of Colored Women’s Clubs, and a supporter of the Phyllis Wheatley Association.