DEI Spotlight: Maura S. Doyle, Former Supreme Judicial Court Clerk for the County of Suffolk
Each month, the Massachusetts Bar Association’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee (DEIC) will be highlighting diverse attorneys from within our community on the DEIC web page to recognize their achievements and contributions. In honor of Women’s History Month in March, the DEIC is proud to highlight attorney Maura S. Doyle, who served as the Supreme Judicial Court Clerk for the County of Suffolk from 1996 until 2024.
On Oct. 7, 1996, the justices of the Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) announced their unanimous decision to appoint Maura S. Doyle as Clerk of the SJC for the County of Suffolk. On Oct. 21, 1996, Doyle was sworn in and became the first woman to hold this position since its inception in 1693, and on Nov. 3, 1998, she became the first woman elected to Suffolk county-wide office. Doyle retired on Dec. 21, 2024, after 32 years at the SJC with 28 years as clerk.
As clerk, Doyle was responsible for the management of the court's single justice caseload, which is composed of petitions seeking relief of lower court rulings under the SJC's superintendency power and various rules of court; bail reviews; appeals from state registration boards and agencies; and all matters concerning the admission of attorneys to the Massachusetts bar, as well as attorney discipline.
In addition to managing the SJC's single justice caseload, Doyle has been credited with tackling the modernization of the storage of court records while increasing public access to those files. Successful initiatives were implemented to improve the operational workflows for docketing and processing of all county court case types. Continuous technology efforts have moved the work of the clerk’s office from memory typewriters to complex case management and document management systems to the current electronic filing of documents in all case types.
Doyle received a Bachelor of Science degree in criminal justice, cum laude, from Northeastern University in 1977 and a Juris Doctor from Suffolk University Law School in 1981. She has been a member of the bar since 1981. Before joining the SJC's Clerk's office in 1992 as an assistant clerk, she was a civil litigator in the state and federal courts for 11 years and served as an adjunct professor at Suffolk University Law School.
Doyle is a guest lecturer at bar association meetings across the state, Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education and the Committee for Public Counsel Services training sessions, and law school forums. She has served as a member of the SJC committees on the rules of civil and appellate procedure; professionalism; electronic filing; and information technology, and is currently a member of the SJC's steering committee on bar admissions and committee to study SJC Rule 3:03 (student practitioner rule). She is currently a member of the Board of Directors and vice president of The Catholic Lawyers Guild of the Archdiocese of Boston, a member of the National Conference of Appellate Court Clerks, and a member of the Board of Harbor Health Services, Inc.
In 1998, she was inducted into the YWCA's Boston Academy of Women Achievers for her demonstrated leadership and accomplishment in her work and community. In May 1999, Doyle was named as the recipient of The McDermott Award for her outstanding alumni contribution by Suffolk University Law School's Student Bar Association. On June 2, 2000, she was presented with the 2000 Alumni Achievement Award at Pope John XXIII High School's commencement ceremony. This award is presented annually at the graduation ceremony to an individual who demonstrates outstanding achievement in a professional, religious or civic field of endeavor.
On May 18, 2011, the MBA bestowed its Public Service Award upon Doyle for furthering the public's understanding and respect for the law and for showing extraordinary leadership and dedication to improving the administration of justice in the commonwealth. In 2013, Pope John XXIII High School awarded her with its Pinnacle Award, an award that salutes extraordinary leaders who are pioneers, champions and visionaries and who have made a difference by turning challenges into possibilities and imagination into accomplishments and by protecting the hopes and ambitions of tomorrow's leaders. In 2015, Doyle was awarded the Middlesex County Bar Association President's Award, and in 2017, was awarded the Bishop Chevrus Medal from the Archdiocese of Boston.
Doyle lives in Dorchester with her husband, attorney Frank Doyle. They have three grown children.
To review past DEI Spotlights, click here.