Cherette M. Smith has seen the insurance industry from a variety of perspectives. She joined the firm after 8 1/2 years working for the Allstate Insurance Company. Cherette began with Allstate as a secretary. She transferred into a paralegal position while attending Rutgers University School of Law in Newark at night. After earning her J.D., Cherette continued with Allstate as a staff attorney, where she litigated tort actions through all phases of a lawsuit, including 6 cases tried to verdict.

Cherette was born in New York but as a result of her father's employment by the United Nations, was raised in Thailand to age 10 and then in Kenya to age 17, before returning to the United States to attend Vassar College.