844-MBLAW-FL or 202-489-0845
844-MBLAW-FL or 202-489-0845
844-MBLAW-FL or 202-489-0845
Maria Bates is licensed in Florida and Washington D.C. and the principal of Maria Bates Law PLLC. She received her B.A. in Human Development with a minor in Latin American Studies from Eckerd College in 1997, her J.D. from Stetson University College of Law in 2007, and her LLM in Business Law from Florida State University in 2021.
Although Maria is a lawyer, she first started her career as a counselor for teenagers dealing with addictions and mental health issues. She then transitioned to special projects consulting where she designed systems, new departments, policies and procedures, and strategic plans. She also worked on unique events and projects including fundraising for a political campaign. Ready to take her career to the next level, she returned to law school. After law school, she founded two private adoption agencies, served as Executive Director and Agency attorney and assisted hundreds of clients in building their families through adoption and assisted reproduction. After a decade of practice, she returned to school for her Master’s of Law in Business Law and has added on business, food and farm law to her practice areas.
Maria serves her clients from a place of passion, knowledge, and experience - having started and run her own small businesses and nonprofits and built her own family through adoption as a single parent. Maria is passionate about helping build families and working with business owners and nonprofits to effect real community change.
Maria is actively involved in community organizations and pro bono work. She is a member of the Board of Directors for Family Equality. Maria is also involved in the American Bar Association, serves as an advisory board member to the Florida Adoption Information Center, and has provided commentary and specialized trainings on adoption interventions, foster care adoptions, special needs children, and other family and community focused issues.
When Maria isn’t working, she is spending time with her four wild and wonderful children on the road or at their small family farm. Together with her children, they have been to almost all 50 states (will finish the 49 in Summer 2022) by car, train, plane, or travel trailer.
Maria loves seeing new places, experiencing new cultures and languages, and meeting incredible people. She also enjoys dancing, off-roading in her Jeep, and participating in community activism. Her family is her greatest joy and she doesn't believe she would be the lawyer she is today without her experiences as a mother.
She loves helping people along their journeys, which is why building families, organizations, and communities (even when the task may seem daunting) is her life's work.
LinkedIn profile: Maria Teresa Bates, Esq. | LinkedIn
Saint Petersburg, FL
(727) 739-0236
**All meetings by appointment only**
333 S Garland Ave, FL 13
Orlando, FL 32801
(407) 787-9236
**All meetings by appointment only**
1455 Pennsylvania Ave NW
Washington, DC 20004
(202) 489-0845
**All meetings by appointment only**
Please visit our related sites:
Building Business Dreams by Maria Bates Law PLLC
https://www.facebook.com/MBLawBusiness
https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/MBLawBusiness
https://www.twitter.com/MBLawBusiness
https://www.instagram.com/MBLawBusiness
Building Nonprofit Dreams by Maria Bates Law PLLC
https://www.facebook.com/MBLawNonprofit
https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/MBLawNonprofit
https://www.twitter.com/MBLawNonprofit
https://www.instagram.com/MBLawNonprofit
Estate & Special Needs Planning by Maria Bates Law PLLC
https://www.facebook.com/MBLawEstateSpecialNeedsPlanning
https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/mblaw-estate-special-needs-planning
Let's Make Babies - Assisted Reproduction Law by Maria Bates Law PLLC
https://www.facebook.com/letsmakebabiesART
https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/mblaw-lets-make-babies
https://www.instagram.com/letsmakebabiesfamilylaw
The Farmer Lawyer - Food & Farm Law by Maria Bates Law PLLC
https://www.facebook.com/thefarmerlawyer
https://www.linkedin.com/company/thefarmerlawyer
https://www.twitter.com/thefarmerlawyer
https://www.instagram.com/thefarmerlawyermb
The Business of Best Interest by Maria Bates Law PLLC