Background & Experience

Maria has practiced employment law since 1997. In the Fall of 2007, she opened the Law Office of Maria Fox after relocating to Maine from Seattle, Washington, to be closer to family. From March 2006 to April 2007, Maria worked for the Portland law firm of Reben Benjamin and March.

In Seattle, Maria was a partner of the law firm of MacDonald Hoague & Bayless where her practice included representing individuals in employment, housing and police misconduct litigation in State and Federal Court. Maria also advised employees and employers in disputes involving disability accommodation, sexual harassment, discrimination, retaliation, wrongful termination, whistle blowing, non-competition agreements, and breach of contract. Maria served on the firm’s management committee for two years.

Admissions to Practice

Maria has been admitted to practice law in Maine’s State and Federal Courts since 2006. She was first admitted to practice law in Washington’s State and Federal Courts in 1997.

Educational Background

Maria earned her juris doctor in 1997 from Northeastern University School of Law, in Boston, Massachusetts. In 1996, she served as a legal extern for the Honorable Eugene Wright, Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Maria graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts in Public Policy at Hobart and William Smith Colleges in Geneva, New York in 1991. She grew up in Quebec, Canada and speaks French.

Mediation Training, Panels, Appointments

Maria has successfully mediated countless disputes. She has formal mediation training through Mediation Works Inc. in Boston, Massachusetts. She serves as a private mediator in employment, family and business matters. She also serves as a mediator for Maine’s Court Alternative Dispute Resolution Service (CADRES) in Civil Rule 16(b) and family matters.

Maria is appointed to the panel of mediators for the Maine Labor Relations Board. She also serves as a mediator for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

Leadership and Community Service

Maria serves as a member of the Board of Governors for the Maine Association of Mediators. In 2010, she co-chaired the Maine State Bar Association’s 10th Annual Employment Law Update Conference.

Maria is a member of the National Employment Lawyers Association, Maine Employment Lawyers Association, Maine State Bar Association, and Maine Association of Mediators.

From 2007-2010, she served on the Board of Directors for the Maine Women’s Policy Center. She is a past Co-Chair of the Civil Rights Section of the Washington State Bar Association, past Co-Chair of the Employment Law Section of the Washington State Trial Lawyers Association, and a former member of the Board and the Amicus Curiae Committee of the Washington Employment Lawyers Association. From 2001-2005, Maria volunteered with the King County Bar Association’s Volunteer Attorneys for People with AIDS.

Select Publications and Presentations

“Retaliation Claims for Reporting Corporate Fraud: An Overview of the Whistleblower Protection Provision of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002,” National Employment Lawyers Association (NELA) New England Regional Conference, Boston, Massachusetts (2008).

“Employment Law Overview for Worker Advocates,” Southern Maine Advocacy Conference, South Portland, Maine (2007).

“Cut the Costs of Workplace Conflict with Two Underutilized Tools: Mediation and Independent Investigations,” Maine Human Resources Convention, Rockport, Maine (2008).

“Employment Law: Avoid Financial Catastrophe – Evaluating a Potential Employment Case,” Maine Lawyers Review, (November 24, 2006) (Co-Authored with Howard T. Reben).

“Questions You Hate But Have to Ask: Selecting and Handling Clients with Privacy Concerns and Sensitive Information,” National Employment Lawyers Association (NELA) New England Regional Conference, Boston, Massachusetts (2006).

Program Co-Chair and Moderator, So You Think You Have a Federal Case? Nuts and Bolts of Section 1983 Civil Rights Litigation, Washington State Bar Association, Seattle, Washington (2003).

“Just When You Thought You Understood Employment Law – The Year in Review,” Annual Employment Law Update, Washington State Trial Lawyers Association, Seattle, Washington (2003) (Co-Author and Presenter with Mary Roberts, now a Washington State, King County Superior Court judge).

“Retaliatory Discharge Claims For Injured Workers and Those Who Stand Up For Them,” The Injured or Disabled Employee: Employees’ Rights and Employers’ Strategies, Washington State Bar Association, Seattle, Washington (2002).

“Picking the Best Applicants Without Getting Sued: How to Avoid Liability in the Hiring Process”, Annual Update: Critical Legal Issues Facing Non-Profits, Washington State Trial Lawyers Association, Seattle, Washington (2002).