Maria Laura Santana Maia (born 1937) is a Portuguese lawyer who became the first female member of the Supreme Court of Justice of Portugal in May 2004.
Maia was born on 8 October 1937 in Ponte de Sor in the Portalegre District of Portugal’s Alentejo region.
Her father, António Maria Santana Maia, who originally came from the nearby parish of Mouriscas in the Santarém District, was a lawyer and notary as well as a farmer.
After the overthrow of the Estado Novo by the Carnation Revolution of April 1974 it became possible for women to become judges and she served in this capacity in Serpa, Mértola and Cartaxo.
She joined the 17th Civil Court of Lisbon, the Portuguese capital, in 1988 and also lectured at the Judicial Studies Centre, which provides training for future judges and prosecutors.