Attorney Cherie McKenna is a 1998 cum laude graduate of Suffolk University Law School and a 1995 summa cum laude graduate of the University of New Hampshire. Licensed in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and the U.S. District Courts of Massachusetts and Rhode Island, Attorney McKenna has been practicing for over 16 years with a wide range of experience, including criminal defense, appellate practice, insurance defense litigation and family law, and thoroughly enjoys providing compassionate representation for people during their time of need. After graduating with honors from Suffolk University Law School and becoming admitted to practice in 1998, Attorney McKenna spent three years in the public service sector by providing criminal defense representation to under-privileged clients in the District Courts of Middlesex County. Attorney McKenna was also accepted to the Post Conviction Relief Panel of public defenders, wherein she represented criminal defendants at the appellate level. She has written several criminal appellate briefs, has presented oral argument before the Appeals Court of Massachusetts, and successfully reversed a criminal conviction on the basis of Fourth Amendment search and seizure violations. Attorney McKenna entered private practice in 2001, where she began practicing civil litigation with a boutique law firm in Boston, focusing on the investigation of fraudulent insurance claims, personal injury liability defense practice, and insurance coverage issues. In 2011, Attorney McKenna left her law firm to begin the pursuit of her own law practice. Attorney McKenna has established herself in the areas of family law, criminal defense, and personal injury practice, and is also a trained mediator, and a member of the Hampden County Bar Association Mediation Arbitration Panel of Attorneys. She is an active Member of the Hampden County Bar Association, a member of the Massachusetts Council on Family Mediation, and was recently appointed to the panel of attorneys for the Children's Law Project of Hampden County. When Attorney McKenna is not working, she is an avid supporter of the arts. She frequents local theater, museum and symphony events with her husband, participates in tap and jazz dance classes in Easthampton, and loves to sing and dance, especially with her daughter. She is proud to be on the Board of Directors for the Community Music School of Springfield, and is actively involved on several sub-committees, from fundraising to strategic planning. She is also a committee member of the West of the River Chamber of Commerce, and a volunteer mentor for West Springfield High School Students. Above all else, Attorney McKenna enjoys the thrills and challenges of raising a child, and is a devoted, loving mother and wife.