| Justice Maria P. Rivera was appointed to the First District Court of Appeal, Division Four, in January, 2002. Prior to her appointment, she served on the Superior Court of Contra Costa County, where she was elected to the bench in 1996. Her assignments there included two years in Civil Fast Track and two years as Supervising Judge of the Family Law Division. She has been active in judicial education programs in the areas of Civil, Appellate and Family Law.
Justice Rivera began her legal career at Morrison & Foerster in the litigation department. She served as a Deputy District Attorney and an Assistant U.S. Attorney before joining Van Voorhis & Skaggs in Walnut Creek. That firm merged with McCutchen, Doyle, Brown & Enersen (now, Bingham McCutchen LLP) in 1985. Justice Rivera was a partner and of counsel with McCutchen until 1996.
Justice Rivera earned her B.A. with distinction in 1970 from Smith College in Massachusetts and her J.D. magna cum laude in 1974 from the University of San Francisco Law School. |  |
