Judge Maria Arias: Professional Background and Legal Expertise

The Hon. Maria Arias is a judge for the Queens County Family Court in New York. She was first appointed to the Family Court by former Mayor Michael Bloomberg in 2010 and was subsequently reappointed by Mayor Bill de Blasio for a new term in 2019.

Judge Arias received her B.A. from the University of Rochester in 1979. She went on to earn her J.D. from New York University School of Law in 1984.

After graduating from law school, Arias joined the Legal Aid Society: Harlem Community Law Office in East Harlem, where she worked as a staff attorney representing low-income tenants in housing court. Later, she became a staff attorney with the Council of New York Law Associates’ Community Development Assistance Center representing tenant groups involved in converting abandoned tenement houses into low-income housing co-ops.

Arias then entered academia, becoming a clinical law professor at the City University of New York School of Law (CUNY). She would remain in that position for almost twenty years and would be credited with helping to establish the Battered Women’s Rights Clinic, which she also co-taught. Arias also co-wrote a case study about the Clinic. During her tenure at the University, Arias was involved in the Contemplative Lawyering Program, which sought to equip students with ways to reduce stress by using methods such as yoga and meditation.

Arias has been a member of the Queens Working Group of the Lawyers Committee Against Domestic Violence. For her efforts on behalf of battered women, Judge Arias received The Haywood Burns and Shanara Gilbert Award from the Northeast People of Color Legal Scholarship Conference.