The Hon. Dorothy M. Gibson (Ret.) was an associate justice of the Middlesex County Probate and Family Court in Massachusetts. She was appointed to the bench by former Governor Paul Cellucci in 1998. Gibson retired in 2015.
While on the bench, she also presided as a circuit justice of the Probate and Family Court (1998 to 2000).
Gibson received a B.A. in government from Suffolk University in 1972. She then completed a J.D. at Suffolk University Law School in 1976.
Prior to joining the bench, Gibson had worked as an assistant register of probate with the Probate and Family Court in Suffolk County since 1977. In addition to her work there, she served as a legislative aide to Representative Richard Dwinell (1977 to 1997) and Representative Charles Buffone (1975 to 1977, 1977 to 1978) in the Massachusetts House of Representatives. Gibson also worked as a private practice attorney in Boston.
Her memberships included the Massachusetts Judges Conference, the Probate and Family Inns of Court (Board of Directors), the Middlesex Bar Association, and the Massachusetts Bar Association.
Gibson served on the Committee for Professional Responsibilities for Clerks of Court and the Probate and Family Court’s Committee on Guardianship and Committee on Rules.
She has been a guest lecturer at New England Law Boston and a contributor with Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education. Gibson has lectured on various subjects including domestic relations and trial preparation, trusts and estates, guardianships and conservatorships, and the introduction of the “New Massachusetts Uniform Probate Code,” of which she was also a contributor and editor.
Gibson was named Jurist of the Year by the Middlesex Bar Association (2014) and received the Distinguished Jurist Award from the Massachusetts Association of Women Lawyers (2015).
After retiring from the bench, she joined Boston Area Mediation Services as a mediator and arbitrator.
