Attorney Allison S. Cartwright sworn in as Clerk of  Supreme Judicial Court for Suffolk County

Special to the Journal

Allison S. Cartwright, Esq., was sworn in January 1 as Clerk of the Supreme Judicial Court for the County of Suffolk by SJC Chief Justice Kimberly S. Budd, in a ceremony that took place in the Great Hall of the John Adams Courthouse in Boston.

Attorney Cartwright was elected in November 2024 by the voters of Suffolk County to become the SJC Clerk for the County of Suffolk, and fills the position being vacated by Maura Sweeney Doyle, Esq. Clerk Doyle was appointed to the position in 1996, and was subsequently elected in 1998, serving for 28 years before retiring on December 21, 2024. Attorney Cartwright is the second woman and first black person to hold this position since its inception in 1693.

“For nearly three decades, we have been fortunate to have Maura Doyle serving in this position, and she has done so with professionalism, passion, and dedication,” said Chief Justice Kimberly S. Budd. “Today, we are equally fortunate to have Allison Cartwright stepping into this role. As an experienced lawyer and manager, she is well prepared to lead the county clerk’s office, and my colleagues and I look forward to working with her.”

The SJC Clerk for the County of Suffolk is responsible for the management of the Court’s single justice caseload, which is comprised of petitions seeking review of lower court rulings under the SJC’s general superintendency power and various rules of court; bail review; appeals from State registration boards and agencies; all matters relating to Bar Admission and the practice of law in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts; and administrative disciplinary matters filed by the Board of Bar Overseers affecting members of the bar.

“I am excited and honored to have the privilege of serving as the next Clerk of the SJC for the County of Suffolk,” said Attorney Cartwright. “My team and I recognize the important role the Clerk’s Office has to ensure that our state’s highest court maintains its independence and delivers justice in a manner that is fair, equitable, and accessible to the people of Massachusetts.”

Retired Supreme Judicial Court Chief Justice Roderick L. Ireland served as Master of Ceremonies. The Pledge of Allegiance was recited by Attorney Cartwright’s son, Jonathan S. Cartwright. Mr. Meyer Chambers, the Director of the Archdiocese of Boston Black Catholic Choir, led a musical rendition of America the Beautiful (arr. by Ray Charles). Speakers included Boston Mayor Michelle Wu and State Sen. Lydia M. Edwards. Rev. Rahsaan Hall, Esq., Associate Minister of St. Paul AME Church in Cambridge, delivered the Benediction. 

Attorney Cartwright began her career at the Committee for Public Counsel Services (CPCS), as a trial attorney, working in the Roxbury office for four years. She then worked for the City of Boston as Assistant Corporation Counsel, before opening Cartwright & Coleman, a civil and criminal litigation law firm, from 1997 to 2001. In 2001, she opened Cartwright Law Office. During that time, she also mentored attorneys for the Suffolk Lawyers for Justice, Inc; from 2011 to 2019, she worked as the organization’s Supervising Attorney. In 2019, she returned to CPCS as Attorney-In-Charge and then Managing Director of the Central Region, where she managed offices in in Suffolk and Norfolk Counties.

Attorney Cartwright is a graduate of University of Michigan, Michigan State University and Boston College Law School.