The Hon. Maren E. Nelson (Ret.) was a judge for the Los Angeles County Superior Court in California.
She retired in 2024. She was appointed to the bench by former Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2009. She filled the vacancy created by the death of Deanne Smith Myers.
She is a registered Democrat.
Judge Nelson graduated magna cum laude with her B.A. in political science from Occidental College in 1978. She went on to earn her J.D. from the University of Southern California Gould School of Law in 1981. She was a member of the Phi Beta Kappa and Order of the Coif honor societies.
After graduating from law school, Nelson joined the law firm of Overton, Lyman, and Prince as an associate in 1981. She practiced with the firm for six years, where she litigated mostly broker-dealer issues. In 1987 Nelson joined the firm of Morrison and Foerster, LLP as an associate, litigating securities and exchange cases for three years before being named a partner for the firm in 1990. She remained at Morrison and Foerster, LLP until being elected a court commissioner for the Superior Court in March of 2004. She was serving in that capacity at the time of her appointment to the bench.
During her time on the Superior Court, Judge Nelson has presided over the family law courtroom and was named the supervising judge for the Family Law Division in 2014.
Judge Nelson received the Distinguished Jurist Award in 2008 from the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, Southern California Chapter.
She has served as a speaker for the Association of Certified Family Law Specialists' 18th Annual Spring Seminar, and as a panel judge for the 2017 Annual California Complex Courts Symposium.
She has also written articles for the Los Angeles County Bar Association.
