Law Class of 2021 Speaker Information

Serge Georges Jr., JD’96

Associate Justice, Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court

Serge Georges Jr., JD’96, has earned a reputation not only for legal brilliance, but also for the humanity he brings to his work as both a jurist and as an adjunct law professor at Suffolk University Law School, his alma mater.

When Governor Charlie Baker nominated Georges to the high court last fall, he noted that many lawyers considered him “their favorite judge—not because he gives them the answer they want, but because he knows the law, does his homework and treats everyone in his courtroom with dignity and respect.”

In addition to being only the fourth Black person ever to serve on the 328-year-old SJC, Georges is one of the few justices ever nominated to the high court from the district court level. The governor said that Georges’ “real-world experience on the District Court will improve the quality of the discussion and debate, and ultimately, the quality of the decisions that will be rendered.”

The son of Haitian immigrants, Georges grew up in Dorchester, blocks from the Boston Municipal Courthouse where he would one day preside. After graduating from Boston College and Suffolk Law, he spent more than 17 years in private practice, before then-Governor Deval Patrick appointed him to the city’s municipal court in 2013. From 2014 to 2018, he presided over the Dorchester Drug Court.

He is the third Suffolk Law graduate currently serving on the seven-member court, joining Justices Frank Gaziano and Elspeth Cypher.