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Barbara Lenk was confirmed on Wednesday as the first openly gay Supreme Court justice on Massachusetts' highest court.
The Governor's Council, a bipartisan group of eight elected individuals, voted 5 to 3 to confirm Lenk.
"I thank the members of the Council who concluded, as I did, that Justice Lenk's sharp intellect, vast experience, and deep sense of humanity will make her an outstanding Associate Justice of the Supreme Judicial Court," said Governor Deval Patrick in a statement.
"The people of the Commonwealth will be well served by having her extraordinary talents and wisdom join our highest court," he said.
Lenk, 60, who married after Massachusetts became the first U.S. state to legalize same-sex marriage in 2004, was nominated by Patrick for the role last month.
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"I like the idea of firsts, and I'm proud of this one, but first and foremost this is a very well prepared and highly qualified candidate," said Patrick, a Democrat, at the time of her nomination.
Lenk will be replacing retiring justice Judith Cowin.
Lenk previously practiced law at the Boston firm now known as Brown Rudnick Berlack Israels where she focused on civil litigation with a specialty in First Amendment issues.
She was appointed as a Superior Court judge in 1993 and to the Appeals Court in 1995 by then Governor William Weld.
"I will bring with me the sympathy and understanding of one who has experienced a full life from both inside and outside the mainstream," Lenk said previously of her nomination.
Lenk, a native of Queens, New York, is the daughter of a book-binder and a housekeeper.
After graduating from Fordham University she received a PhD in political philosophy from Yale University and law degree from Harvard.
