Maria A. Audero was appointed as a U.S. Magistrate Judge in 2018. Prior to her appointment, Judge Audero was an employment law litigation partner at Paul Hastings LLP and co-chair of the firm’s Los Angeles Employment Law Department. During her practice at Paul Hastings, Judge Audero served as Judge Pro Tem for the Los Angeles Superior Court and was appointed by Governor Edmund G. Brown as Commissioner of the California Fair Political Practices Commission. Judge Audero was co-chair of the American Bar Association's Section of Labor and Employment Law Committee on Federal Labor Standards Legislation – Family and Medical Leave Act and was Editor-in-Chief of the annual Mid-Winter Report. She also sat as Chair of the Board of Directors of the Employment Round Table of Southern California. Judge Audero is a former member and advisor of the Executive Committee of the California Bar Association’s Labor & Employment Law Section. Judge Audero received her undergraduate degree from U.C.L.A. and her J.D. degree from Southwestern University School of Law, serving as Associate Editor of its law review and graduating magna cum laude.