Maria Adebayo, a Law School Admissions Consultant at Juris Education

Maria earned a JD from the University of California, Berkeley School of Law and a Master’s in international affairs and economics from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. She brings over a decade of mentorship experience and served in admissions roles at both Berkeley Law and Johns Hopkins University—she was a student representative on the Berkeley Law admissions committee and an admissions intern and student interviewer at Johns Hopkins University.

Maria completed a Bachelor’s degree in sociology and international studies with a minor in Spanish from Johns Hopkins University. Throughout her higher education journey, Maria has received numerous honors, including departmental honors in both majors, the Bloomberg Scholarship, the James Coleman Sociology Award, the Dean Fellowship, the MCCA–Microsoft Scholar designation, and the Dean’s Undergraduate Research Award. During undergrad, she was involved with Sigma Iota Rho, Alpha Kappa Delta, the African Students Association, and the Incentive Mentoring Program. During law school, she served as Director of the James Patterson McBaine Honors Competition and Recruitment Chair for Law Students of African Descent and was a member of the Berkeley Journal of African-American Law & Policy.

Maria began her legal career at Covington & Burling and Latham & Watkins, top-tier law firms in Washington, D.C., where she advised global technology companies on fintech, cloud, and emerging technology transactions, including AI-enabled products and data-driven platforms. She later served as Assistant General Counsel at a private equity firm, leading legal strategy across M&A, intellectual property, and commercial contracting for multiple portfolio companies operating nationally and internationally. She is the Founder of VM Consulting Group, a legal advisory firm supporting small businesses, startups, investors, and technology-driven companies navigating intellectual property, regulatory compliance, and complex technology transactions.

Maria has also advised African governments and startups on electronic payments regulation, cross-border compliance, and crisis-response initiatives, and has conducted research for international institutions on governance and human rights. She has contributed to the Nigeria Startup Act, spoken at international conferences on African fintech and innovation, and regularly publishes thought leadership on venture capital and startup strategy in Africa. She has authored and co-authored legal and policy-focused thought leadership on technology, data, and innovation, with particular emphasis on fintech, emerging technologies, and Africa-focused business ecosystems in Lexology.

As a counselor, Maria draws from a deep background in legal practice and public policy. Maria is deeply committed to mentorship and supporting students in building impactful, globally oriented legal careers. She draws on her mentorship and admissions experience to help students craft compelling law school application narratives.

Outside of law and business, Maria is interested in fashion and photography. She is also trilingual; she speaks English, Spanish, and French.