Click here to learn why you should choose law as a profession.

Click here to learn about how you can become an attorney.

Click here to learn about the importance of diversity in the profession

Click here to test your knowledge of attorneys and the legal profession!

Click here to request Choose Law materials

Click her to contact the Choose Law Team

Content provided by the American Bar Association Division for Public Education. Visit the Division for Public Education's website to learn more about the law and its role in society (www.abanet.org/publiced). For more profiles of pioneers in the legal profession, visit the Division for Public Education's Raising the Bar: Pioneers in the Legal Profession website at www.abanet.org/publiced/raisingthebar.html.

Honorable Petra Jimenez Maes

Petra Jimenez Maes, the first Latina to enter the University of New Mexico Law School, recently celebrated her 25th anniversary on the New Mexico judiciary.

Born in Albuquerque in 1947, she began dreaming of becoming a lawyer as a child when she observed the lawyers who advised her parents on the small business they owned. Already impressed by the knowledge these lawyers demonstrated when helping her parents with problems, young Petra was further intrigued by the law when she majored in Political Science in college.

After graduating from law school in 1973, Petra Maes set up a solo practice handling divorce cases and doing defense work. Two years later she married a young rancher and moved north, where she began her work with Northern New Mexico Legal Services. From the beginning, she had wanted to become a judge because she understood that judges "were the ones who influenced the law." She achieved that dream in 1981, when Governor Bruce King appointed her to New Mexico's First Judicial District Court.

During her seventeen years as District Judge, her assignments included four years in the Criminal Division, seven years in the Civil Division and six years in the Family Division. Twice during her service in the District Court, she was elected by her peers to be Chief Judge. She also served as president of the New Mexico District Judges Association and on the Chief Judges' Council, the Code of Judicial Conduct Committee and the National Center on Women and Family Law.

In 1984 she established the Family Court and became New Mexico's first family court judge. In that capacity, she helped parents resolve custody issues in the best interest of the children by introducing mediation in divorce cases.

In 1998, Petra Maes was elected to the New Mexico Supreme Court, the first Latina ever to serve on the Court. She helps direct the activities of the Judicial Information Systems Council (JIFFY), which manages court automation, integrating and sharing information with the judiciary, statewide. Her commitment to improving the jury system is demonstrated by her work on New Mexico's Jury Initiative Committee. Justice Maes also has served on the New Mexico State and Tribal Court Consortium, which addresses questions of jurisdiction and sovereignty concerning issues of child abuse and neglect, juvenile justice, custody and divorce and domestic violence.

Having lost her husband in a 1983 car accident, when she was pregnant with their fourth child, Justice Maes has achieved many of her professional successes as a single mother. She and her family have thrived, however, due in part to their strong commitment to a set of "Family Goals" that include active participation in their religion, taking care of family, and achieving success in school and career.

When she taught junior high confirmation class in her church, Justice Maes involved the youth in service projects, including the adoption of residents in a nursing home, to teach the students compassion and give them an opportunity to live their faith. During her frequent speaking engagements to young people, she exhorts them to stay in school and use the gifts they've been given, emphasizing the message that "If you dream it, you are given the gifts and can accomplish it!"

Diagnosed with Remitting/Relapsing Multiple Sclerosis in 1998, Justice Maes remains fully committed to her work on the Supreme Court. Though she is compelled to limit her social activities, she is determined that MS will not dictate her life any more than the other obstacles she has overcome.

In 1999, Justice Maes's qualifications and many achievements led to her being named "Latina Lawyer of the Year" by the Hispanic National Bar Association. Reflecting on the progress that women lawyers are making, she notes that particular challenges still remain for Latinas in a profession where Latinos in general must still sometimes overcome negative perceptions of their qualifications.

Through her service to the legal profession, the judiciary, and the people of New Mexico, Justice Petra Maes has accomplished her dream of making an impact on her community.

(Originally published in 2001. This article has been updated to include events occurring after 2001.)