Cherita J. Raines 

Cherita J. Raines has always been driven to make a broader impact.

Cherita’s path to a career in law has taken a different path than most. Before entering law school, Cherita was a practicing family medicine physician and healthcare executive for twelve years. Originally from Eatonville, Florida, Cherita obtained her medical doctorate from Mount Sinai School of Medicine and Master of Public Health from Harvard University before moving west to complete her residency at the University of Washington. Cherita chose to stay in the Pacific Northwest to provide healthcare for her adopted local community.

The structural and logistical problems that persist in medicine informed Cherita’s decision to pursue a second career in law. “I am interested in law to have a bigger impact than I had with my patients,” she explains, “I was one-on-one with patients in improving their health, and law gives me the opportunity to do impact litigation where I can improve the health of an entire class of patients.”

Cherita returned to UW to pursue and earn her JD, and she was a summer associate at Keller Rohrback in 2024 and 2025, before returning as an associate attorney in 2026. The firm’s work in addressing public health crises such as the JUUL youth vaping and opioid epidemics, as well as the insulin overpricing scandal drew Cherita to KR as a place that she knew she would find a fit, as these were all issues she had to contend with directly as a medical provider and public health advocate. 

In her free time, Cherita enjoys spending time with her friends and family, traveling, dog sitting, hiking, and attending shows.