SHERIECE M. PERRY is the Senior Manager of the Department of Support Services for the Massachusetts Trial Courts Office of Court Management. Within this position, Ms. Perry provides state-wide oversight of the Court Service Centers, Law Libraries and Judicial Response System.
Court Service Centers, most notably, provide self-represented litigants with neutral legal information about court rules and procedure, one-on-one help filling out legal forms, direct referrals to appropriate legal and social service organizations, and access to self-help tools and public computers. A large population of the litigants served at Court Service Centers are poor, low income, Limited English Proficient, low literacy, and suffer from mental health or substance abuse. Under Ms. Perry’s leadership, the six currently operating Court Service Centers have assisted over 130,000 pro se litigants throughout Massachusetts since opening in 2014.
The Trial Court Law Libraries that Ms. Perry oversees, provide free legal research tools to self-representing litigants and attorneys who cannot afford the exorbitant cost of legal materials. The Law Libraries provide these resources in person and through other alternatives such as online chat, text, email, written letters from individuals who are incarcerated, and phones calls.
Ms. Perry also works on a variety of access to justice initiatives for individuals who cannot afford to hire attorneys to represent them, and she serves on multiple committees including committees regarding civil-criminal cross over matters, family law and housing eviction matters.
Prior to this appointment, Ms. Perry developed and managed the Edward W. Brooke Courthouse Court Service Center. Ms. Perry has spent time as a private practitioner handling family law, probate law, and real estate law; and was a Staff Attorney at Volunteer Lawyers Project.
Ms. Perry teaches Street Law at Bunker Hill Community College as Adjunct Faculty in the TRiO Talent Search Program at Chelsea High School during Fall semester. Ms. Perry has led various trainings on guardianship and family law matters. She also has served as faculty and presented at the 1st and 2nd Legal Services Conferences, and the Probate and Family Court: Lawyer of the Day Trainings hosted by the Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education. Ms. Perry authored a chapter on Guardianship of Minors in Guardianship and Conservatorship Practice under the Massachusetts Uniform Probate Code.
Ms. Perry has received numerous awards for her accomplishments in the legal community and community engagement work.
Ms. Perry graduated from George Washington University and Suffolk University Law School.