Hon. Susan H. McNeil is an associate justice for Region 3 of the Massachusetts District Court. She was appointed to the bench by Governor Charlie Baker in 2020. She filled the vacancy created by the retirement of the Hon. Martine Carroll (Ret.).
McNeil was initially appointed to serve as an associate justice of the Lawrence District Court. In Region 3, she has presided in the Haverhill, Lynn, Newburyport, and Salem District Courts. Region 3 also consists of the Cambridge, Malden, Chelsea, Gloucester, Ipswich, Peabody, and Somerville District Courts.
McNeil received a B.B.A in finance from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 1990. She then completed a J.D. at Suffolk University Law School in 1993.
After law school, McNeil joined Carrigan & Erickson as an associate, where she practiced for one year before becoming an assistant district attorney with the Essex County District Attorney’s Office in 1994. During her tenure there, McNeil held an assignment in the Lawrence District Court and served as supervisor of the Lawrence Juvenile Division. She also served as a member of the Training Committee for new assistant district attorneys and the Child Sexual Assault Team. She remained with the District Attorney’s Office until 1999.
It was at that time, McNeil left the public sector to open her own private solo practice. She maintained her general law practice, which concentrated on criminal defense in both the State and Federal Courts, until her appointment to the District Court bench.
Her memberships included the Lawrence Bar Association, the Essex County Bar Association, the Massachusetts Bar Association, and the American Bar Association. McNeil also served as a volunteer and advisor to the Board of Directors of AbilityPLUS Adaptive Sports, which provides access to athletics and recreation for disabled individuals.
She was born in Lawrence, Massachusetts.