Maria Averill

Maria’s practice is focused on the areas of family law, education law, and probate. She is a family court mediator and also serves as a guardian ad litem in both family court and probate court. Maria received her law degree from the Charleston School of Law. During her time there she was honored with the CALI Award of Excellence in the areas of Family Law and Legal Research and Writing and received the Pro Bono Award at graduation for providing more than 100 hours of pro bono legal work. She also served as the Student Chair of the Academic Committee for the law school.

Prior to becoming an attorney, Maria was a practicing Board Certified Behavior Analyst in the Lowcountry. She founded a local company that provides therapy, testing, and psychiatric services for children with severe behavioral and psychological disorders. She received her Bachelor’s degree in psychology from Chapman University in Orange, California and her Master’s degree in Clinical Psychology, with a specialization in Marriage & Family Therapy, from Pepperdine University. She went on to complete post-graduate coursework through the University of Texas at Denton in Applied Behavior Analysis, receiving her Board Certification in Applied Behavior Analysis in 2008. In addition to having her own private practice, Maria also worked for Palmetto Behavioral Health for a number of years, serving as one of the supervisors of their MET team (Mobile Evaluation Team), which provided emergency psychological evaluations in several lowcountry Emergency Departments. Maria also taught for the graduate program at the University of West Florida for 2 years as an adjunct professor in the Department of Behavior Analysis and served as a clinical supervisor for individuals pursuing their board certification.

Maria served on the Board of the Walk for Autism-Charleston for many years, serving as the Interim President and as the Secretary.

Maria is a member of the American Bar Association (ABA), the Charleston County Bar Association (CBA), Dorchester County Bar Association, Berkeley County Bar Association, South Carolina Bar, the Children’s Law Committee of the South Carolina Bar, the Education Law Committee of the South Carolina Bar, the South Carolina Women Lawyers Association, the South Carolina Bar’s Ethics Advisory Committee, and the Mediation and Meeting Center of Charleston. She served as Vice President of the American Bar Association’s Family Law Division’s Families with Special Needs and of the American Bar Association and the Vice President of the American Bar Association’s Family Law Division’s Health and Wellness Division from 2019-2020. She is a member of the South Carolina Bar House of Delegates. Maria has been selected as Rising Star by Super Lawyers for 2021.