Maritza Reyes

Maritza Reyes is the first Hispanic/Latina/o/x tenured professor at Florida A&M University College of Law. She earned an LL.M. from the Harvard Law School, a J.D. summa cum laude from Nova Southeastern University Shepard Broad College of Law, and a B.S. in Accounting magna cum laude from Florida Atlantic University. Professor Reyes teaches asylum law, civil procedure, evidence, immigration law, Latinos and the law, and professional responsibility. She serves as faculty advisor of the Hispanic American Law Students Association. She has published scholarship on immigration law and policy, crimmigration, ethics, the federal courts, Latinos and the law, and women and the law. She has also taught as a visiting professor at University of Florida College of Law.

Professor Reyes immigrated to the United States with her family when she was a child and spent over a decade in this country waiting for permanent immigration status. It took her nearly two decades to become a U.S. citizen. She experienced first-hand the missed educational and professional opportunities some immigrants and DREAMers face. Now, she advocates on behalf of immigrants and DREAMers.

Professor Reyes was recognized in the U.S. Congressional Record for “invaluable work as a legal professional and a Latina leader in Central Florida.” She also won La Prensa’s Mujeres Destacadas (Women of Accomplishment) Award in the area of Education. She currently serves on the Board of Advisors of the Harvard Latin American Law Review. She is also a Board Member of the Latina/o Studies Association Conference Program (2020-2022) and of the American Bar Association’s Center for Professional Responsibility Publications Board. She has served as reviewer for the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute Graduate and Public Policy Fellow Applications and as Judge for the Latina/o Studies Association 4^th Biennial Conference Program Committee.

At Harvard, Professor Reyes served as General Editor of the Harvard Latino Law Review and as External Affairs Coordinator of La Alianza. She held a Harvard Law School Post-Graduate Research Fellowship, and was awarded a Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute Graduate Scholarship. At Nova, Professor Reyes attended law school on a full-tuition merit scholarship as a Goodwin Scholar, served as Articles Editor of the Nova Law Review, won a Best Brief Award in the Moot Court First Year Appellate Writing Competition, and earned membership in the Moot Court Honor Society. She received a Public Interest Pro Bono Award, the Student Bar Association Academic Achievement Award, the National Association of Women Lawyers Outstanding Law Student Award and recognition in Who’s Who: American Law Students (2000 ed.). During her undergraduate accounting studies, she was inducted into the Beta Alpha Psi, Phi Kappa Phi and Beta Gamma Sigma Honor Societies. Professor Reyes completed her college and law school studies while raising two young children as a single parent. Both of her children graduated with honors from the University of Pennsylvania. Prior to joining academia, Professor Reyes worked as a career law clerk and staff attorney in the federal courts. She also worked as associate attorney in the international litigation group of Holland & Knight LLP.

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