Leigh Saufley

Leigh Ingalls Saufley (born June 21, 1954) is the dean of the University of Maine School of Law and former Chief Justice of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court. Saufley grew up in South Portland, Maine, and attended the University of Maine and the University of Maine School of Law. She was first appointed to the Maine District Court in 1990, and to the Supreme Judicial Court in 1997. She 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. She served as chief justice until 2020 when she was hired as the eighth Dean of the University of Maine School of Law. Early life and education Saufley was born in Portland, Maine, on June 21, 1954, to Richard and Janet Ingalls. She grew up in South Portland, Maine with two younger brothers, Andrew and Jim, attended South Portland High School and graduated in 1972. She was a member of Phi Beta Kappa at the University of Maine, graduating with a degree in psychology in 1976. Saufley graduated from the University of Maine School of Law with her Juris Doctor in 1980. Career Judiciary path Shortly after graduating from law school, 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. She was also the Assistant to the General Counsel at the U.S. Veterans Administration counsel's office at Togus for a short time.