Margaret H. Marshall Biography

In January 2012, Margaret H. Marshall returned to Choate, Hall & Stewart. Marshall's responsibilities as Senior Counsel include overseeing the firm's substantial community engagement, pro bono, and diversity initiatives, mentoring lawyers, and providing senior-level advice to clients on special projects. She served as Chief Justice of the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts for eleven years until returning to the company in December 2010. In the Court's more than 300-year existence, she was the first woman to occupy that post. In 1996, Governor William F. Weld appointed her to the Supreme Court as an Associate Justice. Marshall earned a national reputation for her groundbreaking rulings and reforms of the Massachusetts court system as a graduate of Witwatersrand University (Johannesburg, South Africa), Harvard University, and Yale Law School. Harvard Law School has designated Chief Justice Marshall a distinguished research fellow and speaker. Chief Justice Marshall wrote more than 300 opinions during her fourteen years on the Supreme Judicial Court, many of which were groundbreaking, such as the 2003 decision in Goodridge v. Department of Public Health, which declared that the Massachusetts Constitution prohibits the state from denying same-sex couples access to civil marriage. Massachusetts became the first state to allow homosexual marriage as a result of the decision. She is regarded as an advocate of judicial independence and a pioneer in the development of judicial branch administrative changes. Marshall is recognized for improving the Massachusetts Court by increasing openness and accountability in court administration and professionalism. Her initiatives significantly enhanced the delivery of justice, resulting in considerable reductions in case backlogs and the time between filing and settlement of cases, as well as significant cost savings across the board. She established new processes for self-represented litigants and enhanced the bar's pro bono services. She has always advocated for equal access to justice for all. Marshall was a partner at Choate before joining Harvard University as Vice President and General Counsel in 1992. Prior to her tenure on the Supreme Judicial Court, she practiced law for sixteen years and was a partner at Choate. The ABA Commission on Women in the Profession's Margaret Brent Women Lawyers of Achievement Award, the ABA's Pursuit of Justice Award, the Massachusetts Bar Association's Chief Justice Edward F. Hennessey Award for outstanding leadership in the administration of justice, and the Boston Bar Association Award for Judicial Excellence are among the many honors she has received for her judicial and other achievements. She was the first woman to receive the Professional Women's Achievement Award from Harvard University. From 1991 to 1992, Marshall was President of the Boston Bar Association, and from 2008 to 2009, he was President of the United States Conference of Chief Justices. She is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and a member of the American Law Institute's council. She has written a number of academic papers on judicial independence and the function of state courts in the United States. She was a Fellow of the Corporation of Yale University from 2004 to 2010 and was the recipient of many honorary degrees.

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