Dalila Argaez Wendlandt (born 1968/1969) is an associate justice of the

Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) is the court of last resort, highest court in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Although the claim is disputed by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, the SJC claims the di ...

. She is a former Associate Justice of the

Massachusetts Appeals Court The Massachusetts Appeals Court is the intermediate appellate court of Massachusetts. It was created in 1972 as a court of general appellate jurisdiction. The court is located at the John Adams Courthouse at Pemberton Square in Boston, the same ...

Early life and education

Wendlandt was born in

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

, the daughter of Colombian immigrants. She received a

Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering A bachelor is a man who is not and has never been married.Bachelors are, in Richard Pitt, Pitt & al.'s phrasing, "men who live independently, outside of their parents' home and other institutional settings, who are neither married nor cohabitating ...

from the

University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Universit ...

in 1991 and a

Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering Master or masters may refer to: Ranks or titles * Ascended master, a term used in the Theosophical religious tradition to refer to spiritually enlightened beings who in past incarnations were ordinary humans *Grandmaster (chess), National Master ...

from the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...

in 1993 and her

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

with high honors from

Stanford Law School Stanford Law School (Stanford Law or SLS) is the law school of Stanford University, a private research university near Palo Alto, California. Established in 1893, it is regarded as one of the most prestigious law schools in the world. Stanford La ...

in 1996, where she was an editor of the ''

Stanford Law Review The ''Stanford Law Review'' (SLR) is a legal journal produced independently by Stanford Law School students. The journal was established in 1948 with future U.S. Secretary of State Warren Christopher as its first president. The review produces six ...

''.

Legal career

After graduating law school, she served as a law clerk for Judge

John M. Walker Jr. John Mercer Walker Jr. (born December 26, 1940) is a senior United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. He served as chief judge from September 30, 2000, to September 30, 2006, when he assumed senior ...

of the

United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (in case citations, 2d Cir.) is one of the thirteen United States Courts of Appeals. Its territory comprises the states of Connecticut, New York and Vermont. The court has appellate juri ...

. In 1997, she joined the law firm

Ropes & Gray Ropes & Gray LLP is a global law firm with 13 offices located in the United States, Asia and Europe. The firm has more than 1,500 lawyers and professionals worldwide, and its clients include corporations and financial institutions, government agen ...

, eventually becoming a partner.

Judicial career

Massachusetts Court of Appeals

Wendlandt was appointed to the

in 2017 to fill the vacancy left by the elevation of Judge Elspeth B. Cypher to the Supreme Judicial Court. She officially joined the court on July 7, 2017. Her service on the appeals terminated upon being sworn in as an associate justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. She was succeeded by Justice Rachel Hershfang.

Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court

On November 20, 2020, Governor

Charlie Baker Charles Duane Baker Jr. (born November 13, 1956) is an American politician and businessman serving as the 72nd governor of Massachusetts since 2015. A member of the Republican Party, Baker was a cabinet official under two governors of Massach ...

nominated Wendlandt to be an associate justice of the

to the seat vacated by

Barbara Lenk Barbara A. Lenk (born December 2, 1950) is an American attorney and jurist who served as an associate justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. On April 4, 2011, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick nominated her to that position and s ...

who retired on December 1, 2020. On November 25, 2020, she was unanimously confirmed by the Governor's Council. She was sworn into office on December 4, 2020. She is the first Latina to serve on the

References

External links

*
Official Biography at Mass.govSupreme Judicial Court Oral Argument Archive
, - 1960s births Living people 20th-century American lawyers 21st-century American judges 21st-century American lawyers 21st-century American women judges American people of Colombian descent 20th-century American women lawyers Hispanic and Latino American judges Judges of the Massachusetts Appeals Court Justices of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court MIT School of Engineering alumni Massachusetts lawyers Lawyers from New Orleans Stanford Law School alumni Grainger College of Engineering alumni {{US-state-judge-stub