Virginia Coleman's documented formative years are tied to Cambridge, Massachusetts, where she pursued undergraduate study at Radcliffe College in the 1960s. Radcliffe had its origins in the Harvard Annex, a program established in 1879 that offered women instruction from Harvard faculty at a time when Harvard itself did not admit women directly.
Coleman completed a Bachelor of Arts at Radcliffe College in 1966. <cite index="29-1">Radcliffe College was a women's liberal arts college in Cambridge, Massachusetts, that was founded in 1879</cite>, and it was chartered as a college in 1894 under a name honoring Ann Radcliffe, an early Harvard benefactor. <cite index="29-8">Students seeking admission to the women's college were required to sit for the same entrance examinations as Harvard College students.</cite>
Coleman's legal education followed at Harvard Law School, where Coleman received a Juris Doctor in 1970. Harvard Law School, founded in 1817, is one of the oldest law schools in the United States. Radcliffe's relationship with Harvard changed over time, and <cite index="31-4">in 1999, it was fully incorporated into Harvard College.</cite>
Coleman was admitted to the Massachusetts bar in 1970, the year Harvard Law School conferred the Juris Doctor. Admission to the bar is the formal step that permits a graduate to practice law in the state.
Coleman later became a partner in a legal practice. In a law partnership, the partners share ownership and management responsibilities for the practice, and this senior role reflects a stage of professional development that usually follows years of practice.
