Rya W. Zobel

Rya Weickert Zobel (December 18, 1931 – July 4, 2026) was a United States District Court Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts.

Education and career Born in Zwickau, Saxony, Germany, Zobel received a B.A. degree from Radcliffe College in 1953 and a Bachelor of Laws from Harvard Law School in 1956. She was a law clerk to George Clinton Sweeney, then Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts from 1956 to 1966. She was in private practice in Boston, Massachusetts from 1967 to 1979. She was the first woman made a partner in Goodwin, Procter & Hoar, now Goodwin Procter.

In 2020, she received the Edward J. Devitt Distinguished Service to Justice Award, the highest honor bestowed upon an Article III federal judge in the United States.

In 2021, she was a recipient of the Outstanding Americans by Choice award from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. The award recognizes the outstanding achievements of naturalized U.S. citizens.

Death Zobel died on July 4, 2026, at the age of 94.