Barbara Joan Pariente (born December 24, 1948) is an attorney and jurist from Florida. She was chief justice of the Florida Supreme Court from July 1, 2004, until June 30, 2006. Pariente is the second woman to hold the position of chief justice and served on the court from 1997 to 2019. From 1993 to 1997 she was a judge on Florida's Fourth District Court of Appeal. Early life and education Pariente was born in New York City in 1948. She attended public schools in New York and lived in Tenafly, New Jersey, where she graduated from Tenafly High School in 1966. She attended Boston University, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree in communications with the highest honors. Pariente later attended the George Washington University Law School, receiving her Juris Doctor in 1973, graduating fifth in her class, and was elected a member of the Order of the Coif. Clerkship and private practice In 1973, Pariente moved to Fort Lauderdale, Florida for a two-year clerkship under Judge Norman C. Roettger, Jr. of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida. After finishing her clerkship in 1975, Pariente moved to West Palm Beach and joined the civil law firm of Cone, Wagner and Nugent, becoming a partner in 1977. In 1983, Pariente formed the law firm of Pariente & Silber. During Pariente's 18 years in private practice, she was active in the Florida Bar—serving on the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit Grievance Committee, Florida Bar Civil Rules Committee, and Fifteenth Judicial Circuit Nominating Commission—and organized Palm Beach County's first Bench-Bar Conference. Pariente also was a founding member and master of the Palm Beach County chapter of the American Inns of Court and was a longtime member of the board of directors of the Palm Beach County chapter of the Legal Aid Society. Service on the Fourth District Court of Appeal and Florida Supreme Court In September 1993, Pariente was appointed to Florida's Fourth District Court of Appeal by Governor Lawton Chiles(D). She served on the district appellate court until December 10, 1997, when Chiles appointed her a justice of the Florida Supreme Court. During Pariente's term on the court, she worked to reform the family law system in Florida and served as liaison and later the chair of the Supreme Court's Steering Committee on Families and Children in the Courts. Pariente was also a member of the Governor's Advisory