Blake confirmed as Appeals Court chief justice

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Judge Amy L. Blake has been confirmed as the next chief justice of the Appeals Court, becoming the first woman to lead the court.

The Governor’s Council unanimously approved Blake’s nomination on Oct. 30. Gov. Maura T. Healey had nominated her in September to succeed Chief Justice Mark V. Green, who retired on Sept. 1.

Blake has been a judge on the Appeals Court since 2014, when she was appointed by Gov. Deval L. Patrick, prior to which she sat on the Probate & Family Court from 2008 to 2014.

She also practiced at Casner & Edwards, White, Inker, Aronson, and Yasi & Yasi, and was an assistant district attorney for the Middlesex County DA’s Office.

A graduate of the University of Rochester and New England School of Law, she is the District One director of the National Association of Women Judges, a fellow of the Massachusetts Bar Foundation, and an associate editor of the Massachusetts Law Review.

Blake appeared to be a lock for confirmation as chief after a confirmation hearing with councilors on Oct. 23.

The hearing was packed with fellow Appeals Court judges, former Chief Justice Green, Middlesex County DA Marian T. Ryan (one of Blake’s first supervisors in the DA’s Office), and Supreme Judicial Court Justice Gabrielle R. Wolohojian (whom Blake called “my mentor on the Appeals Court”). And, Blake said, also supporting her in person at the hearing was every single law clerk she had ever had.

“Frankly, I believe that she is a natural leader,” said Appeals Court Judge Ariane D. Vuono, who is serving as acting chief.

Vuono, a Gov. Mitt Romney appointee, said she has worked with four chiefs during her time on the court, and “if confirmed, Justice Blake will stand tall among them.”

Barbara “Maggi” Farrell, an administrative attorney and law clerk manager at the Appeals Court, said Blake possesses “both the talent and the temperament to be wildly successful.”

“It never ceases to amaze me that she is always on top of her caseload and her committee responsibilities, and she still manages to find time to orchestrate the production of the Appeals Court cookbook,” she said.

Blake is already a “guiding force” on the court, Farrell said, who pays it forward by hiring clerks from her alma mater, New England Law Boston, and offering a helping hand as they start their careers.

That was the experience of attorney Brian Edmonds, a Worcester-based litigation associate at Prince Lobel Tye, who clerked for Blake from 2020 to 2022 and called her “my most important mentor.”

“Simply put, the entire court looks to Justice Blake as a mentor,” he added.

See also:

• Judge, criminal defense lawyer nominated for Appeals Court
• Chief justice lifts curtain on Appeals Court’s inner workings