About Kathleen
Kathleen Dumais is a Circuit Court Judge for Montgomery County, Maryland. She was appointed to the bench on December 2, 2021, after serving as a member of the Maryland House of Delegates since 2003. Prior to her judicial appointment, she was a senior counsel at Ethridge, Quinn, Kemp, McAuliffe, Rowan & Hartinger in Rockville, Maryland. Her legal practice focused on complex divorce and custody matters, domestic violence protective order cases, and serving as a court-appointed Best Interest Attorney for children in custody disputes. She was recognized as one of the top 50 divorce lawyers in the Washington Metropolitan area by Washingtonian Magazine for 20 years and named one of Maryland’s Top 100 Women by the Daily Record in 2005, 2007, and 2009. She holds a J.D. from the University of Maryland School of Law, earned in 1983, and a B.A. in Public Affairs and Government from Mount Vernon College, graduated cum laude in 1980. She is admitted to practice in Maryland and the District of Columbia. She served as the Vice Chair of the House Economic Matters Committee and chaired the Insurance Subcommittee. She was also the Majority Leader during the 2019 Legislative Session. She was a member of the House Judiciary Committee from 2003 through 2018 and served as its Vice Chair for eight years.
She was recognized with the Legislative Policy Award by the Maryland Legislative Agenda for Women in 2008 and the Legislative Champion Award by the Women Legislators of Maryland in 2018. She was also awarded the Maryland Leadership in Law Award by the Daily Record in 2010. She was born in La Jolla, California, on July 5, 1958. She attended St. Vincent Pallotti High School in Laurel, Maryland, and graduated from Mount Vernon College in 1980. She earned her J.D. from the University of Maryland School of Law in 1983. She was admitted to the Maryland Bar in 1987 and the District of Columbia Bar in 1993. She is a member of the Maryland State Bar Association and the Montgomery County Bar Association. She served as treasurer of the Montgomery County Bar Association from 1997 to 1998 and co-chaired its family law section from 1997 to 1998. She was president of the Montgomery County chapter of the Women's Bar Association of Maryland from 1999 to 2000 and served on its executive committee from 1995 to 2002. She was a fellow of the Maryland Bar Foundation and served on the board of directors of the Montgomery County Bar Foundation from 1998 to 2006.
She was a member of the Montgomery County Chapter of the American Inn of Court from 1990 to 1996 and the Alan J. Goldstein Chapter from 1997 to 2000. She served on the board of trustees of St. Vincent Pallotti High School in Laurel from 1998 to 2009 and was vice-president from 2003 to 2009. She served on the board of trustees of the Jewish Coalition Against Domestic Violence from 2003 to 2009. She was a member of the District 15 Democratic Club and the Women's Suburban Democratic Club. She was recognized as one of the top 50 divorce lawyers in the Washington Metropolitan area by Washingtonian Magazine in 2000 and 2004, and as one of the top 50 women lawyers by D.C. Magazine in 2010. She was named one of the top 25 women lawyers by Baltimore and Law & Politics magazines in 2008, 2009, and 2010. She was recognized for outstanding pro bono services by the Catholic Charities Legal Services Network in 2001 and 2004. She was named Woman of the Year by Montgomery County Business and Professional Women in 2005. She was named one of Maryland’s Top 100 Women by the Daily Record in 2005, 2007, and 2009, and is a member of its Circle of Excellence.
She received the Legislative Policy Award from the Maryland Legislative Agenda for Women in 2008 and the Legislative Policy Award from the Maryland Chapter of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel in 2009. She received the Award of Special Recognition from the Maryland Legal Services Corporation in 2010 and the Champion for Children award from the Department of Human Resources and the Maryland State Bar Association in 2010. She received the Beverly A. Groner Family Law Award from the Family and Juvenile Law Section of the Maryland State Bar Association in 2010 and the Rita C. Davidson Award from the Women's Bar Association of Maryland in 2010. She received the Dorothy Beatty Memorial Award from The Women's Law Center of Maryland in 2010 and the Maryland Leadership in Law Award from the Daily Record in 2010. She received the Legislator of the Year Award from the Maryland Access to Justice Commission in 2011 and the Arthur W. Machen, Jr. Award from the Maryland Legal Services Corporation in 2017. She received the Legislative Champion Award from the Women Legislators of Maryland in 2018 — She is married and has two children.