Maripau “Mari” Paz is an associate at Hecker Fink LLP.
Prior to joining the firm, Mari served as a law clerk to the Honorable Denny Chin of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and the Honorable George B. Daniels of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
Before her clerkships, Mari worked as a summer associate at Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP, where she assisted with litigation, international arbitration, and pro bono matters. She also gained experience through positions at O’Melveny & Myers LLP, Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP, the National Center for Youth Law, and the ACLU of Northern California.
Mari received her J.D. from the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law, where she served as Editor-in-Chief of the La Raza Law Journal and an Articles Editor of the California Law Review. During law school, Mari also participated in Berkeley Law’s International Human Rights Clinic, Criminal Law and Justice Center, Mock Trial Team, and as a research assistant to Professor Saira Mohamed. She earned numerous advocacy honors, including first place in the 2024 Hispanic National Bar Association National Moot Court Competition and an induction into the Order of Barristers.
Mari’s article, “A Second Chance Through ‘Second Look’ Laws: Protecting Kids Post-Jones,” was published in Volume 81 of the NYU Annual Survey of American Law. Her second article, “The Sleepy Lagoon Murder Trial: People v. Zammora Through a Contemporary Legal Lens,” co-written with the Honorable Denny Chin, is forthcoming in Volume 95 of the Fordham Law Review.
Mari received her B.A., cum laude, in Political Science and Global Studies from the University of California, Los Angeles, where she was elected to Phi Beta Kappa and awarded the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship and the inaugural UCLA Arthur Ashe Jr. Scholarship.