21 Facts About Leigh Saufley

Leigh Ingalls Saufley was born on June 21,1954 and is an American lawyer who is the dean of the University of Maine School of Law.

Leigh Saufley was previously Chief Justice of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court.

Leigh Saufley was first appointed to the Maine District Court in 1990, and to the Supreme Judicial Court in 1997.

Leigh Saufley was sworn in as Chief Justice of the Supreme Judicial Court in 2001, becoming both Maine's first woman and the youngest person ever to serve in the position.

Leigh Saufley served as chief justice until 2020 when she was hired as the eighth Dean of the University of Maine School of Law.

Leigh Saufley was born in Portland, Maine, on June 21,1954, to Richard and Janet Ingalls.

Leigh Saufley grew up in South Portland, Maine with two younger brothers, Andrew and Jim, attended South Portland High School and graduated in 1972.

Leigh Saufley was a member of Phi Beta Kappa at the University of Maine, graduating with a degree in psychology in 1976.

Leigh Saufley graduated from the University of Maine School of Law with her Juris Doctor in 1980.

Shortly after graduating from law school, Leigh Saufley accepted a position in a small Ellsworth law firm working with the Maine Attorney General's Office and the Department of Health and Human Services on family law policy, becoming one of the first female deputy attorneys general there.

Leigh Saufley was the Assistant to the General Counsel at the US Veterans Administration counsel's office at Togus for a short time.

Leigh Saufley began her second seven-year term as chief justice in 2009 and was sworn in by Governor John Baldacci; her third term began in 2016 when she was sworn in by Governor Paul LePage.

Leigh Saufley is credited with several key changes in the Maine judicial system during her tenure.

Leigh Saufley improved the relationship between the Judicial, Legislative and Executive branches of the Maine state government; oversaw the rewriting of the Court's major practice and ethics rules; and helped increase the involvement of Maine Law students with the courts, especially in the area of service to traditionally underserved communities.

In 2019, Leigh Saufley participated in a task force reexamining sentencing possibilities for juvenile offenders in Maine and voiced her concern with the lack of options available for teen offenders.

Leigh Saufley emphasized to the task force the importance of addressing the disproportionate number of juveniles of color and LGBT juveniles in the Maine system.

Leigh Saufley secured funding to increase court security, to establish a publicly accessible e-filing system to replace Maine's entirely paper-based files, and to completely replace the Kennebec, Penobscot and Waldo County courthouses and renovate several others.

Leigh Saufley has been a member of the Conference of Chief Justices, serving on their Committee on Courts, Children and Families; on the Government Affairs committee; and as chair of the New England Regional Chief Justices Committee.

In 2017, Leigh Saufley wrote a 2017 unanimous advisory opinion of the Supreme Judicial Court that the new law was unconstitutional.

Leigh Saufley retired from the Supreme Judicial Court bench on April 14,2020, and began her position at Maine Law on April 15.

Leigh Saufley has been married to Bill Leigh Saufley, whom she met while they were both students at the University of Maine School of Law, since 1981.