By Alberto Suris
Governor Charlie Baker nominated Andover attorney Salim Tabit to serve as Associate Justice of the Massachusetts Superior Court.
Salim Tabit has been practicing law in Massachusetts since 1994, when he was first hired as a prosecutor in the Essex County District Attorney’s Office. His vast experience in criminal law extends to all areas of criminal defense. Mr. Tabit has handled the most serious of criminal offenses and taken cases to trial in the Commonwealth ranging from disorderly conduct to life felonies.
His trial experience reaches beyond the criminal arena, however, as Mr. Tabit has handled numerous complex civil cases all the way through trial both in State and Federal courts. He has settled or gone to trial on a multitude of cases, obtaining large money settlements and verdicts for his clients.
Additionally, Mr. Tabit is bilingual, fluent in English and Spanish. His language skills have been a tremendous asset to the firm as many lenders and banks in the area choose him to close commercial and residential loans for their Spanish-speaking clients. Mr. Tabit can proceed through the paperwork in the borrower’s own language, thus shortening the closing process and ensuring the borrower is made fully aware of the documents he/she is signing.
In 1998, he opened his own firm, handling criminal and civil litigations focusing primarily on matters of immigration and family reunification. In 1999, he became an associate at Broadhurst, Lakin & Lakin, where he handled a wide variety of legal matters and often provides pro bono work in poor and underrepresented communities.
Tabit is a Founding Partner at Broadhurst Tabit LLP, a general practice law firm specializing in civil litigation, real estate conveyance work, small business representation, immigration and criminal defense work. Tabit began his legal career in 1995 as an Assistant District Attorney in Essex County and was later assigned to the Lawrence District Court where he would serve as Head of the Juvenile Justice Unit.
He graduated from Carleton College with a B.A. in Political Science in 1991 and from Boston College Law School in 1994.
The Superior Court is comprised of 82 justices in 20 courthouses across all 14 counties and is a statewide court of general jurisdictions that handles a broad variety of civil litigation in matters of contract, injury, civil rights, and others with amounts in controversy exceeding $25,000. In addition, the Court oversees criminal matters including homicide, sex offenses, robbery, and financial fraud.
Approximately 65% of the cases are civil lawsuits and the remaining 35% are criminal proceedings. Judicial nominations are subject to the advice and consent of the Governor’s Council. Applicants for judicial openings are reviewed by the Judicial Nominating Commission (JNC) and recommended to the governor.
Governor Baker established the JNC in February, 2015 pursuant to Executive Order 558, a non-partisan, non-political Commission composed of volunteers from a cross-section of the Commonwealth’s diverse population to screen judicial applications. Twenty-one members were later appointed to the JNC in April, 2015.
The son of Cuban Immigrants, A. Eddy Tabit and M. Cloty Tabit, both retired living in North Andover. Salim Tabit is married to Dr. Jean Chambers-Tabit. They have two children, Catalina and Isabel Tabit.
