Peter J. Maassen

Peter Jon Maassen (born January 14, 1955) is an American lawyer who served as the chief justice of the Alaska Supreme Court from 2023 to 2025. He was appointed in 2012, serving concurrently as an associate justice until 2025.

Education

Maassen received a Bachelor of Arts from Hope College in 1977 and a Juris Doctor from the University of Michigan Law School in 1980.

Career

From June to August 1979 Maassen was a law clerk in general litigation practice Maun, Green, Hayes, Simon, Murray and Johannesen in Minneapolis. From January 1980 to 1987 he was a law clerk turned associate with Burr, Pease and Kurtz, P.C. in Anchorage. In 1988 he worked in the Office of General Counsel at the United States Department of Commerce. From November 1988 to September 1989, he was an associate with Bishop, Cook, Purcell and Reynolds in Washington, D.C., he returned to Alaska and from 1990 to 1994, he was a partner with Burr, Pease and Kurtz, P.C. From 1994 to 2012, he was a founding partner with Ingaldson, Maassen and Fitzgerald, P.C.

In November 2022, he was named Chief Justice of the Alaska Supreme Court, succeeding Daniel Winfree. His term as chief justice began on February 7, 2023.