PBN 2021 Business Women Awards
Industry Leader Professional Services: Diana Ducharme, Cervenka Green & Ducharme LLC
A Rhode Island native, Cervenka Green & Ducharme LLC partner Diana Ducharme’s career began like many other attorneys. As her graduation from Providence College approached, she was encouraged to go to law school by close family friends who were judges.
Ducharme enrolled in Villanova University’s Charles Widger School of Law, earning her law degree in 1990 and joining Partridge, Snow & Hahn LLP as an associate that same year.
Over the next nine years, Ducharme diligently worked at advancing her career and also welcomed the first two of her three children. Juggling work and family began to take a toll.
“Like a lot of working parents, I had been wearing two full-time hats,” Ducharme said. “Just as I should have been gaining traction professionally, I felt burned out and no longer had the energy or motivation to stay on the traditional path.
“I jumped off of the hamster wheel and decided to take time to rest, recharge and refocus, thinking I would keep my feet in the water working on contract matters for my dad’s construction company,” she said.
Shortly thereafter, a few of Ducharme’s former clients approached her with potential opportunities. Rather than jump back into a traditional in-house position, she worked with each client to develop a flexible schedule that allowed her to choose when and where to work. This approach not only enabled Ducharme to be more present for her children while doing fulfilling legal work but also gave her the very rewarding taste of entrepreneurship and self-sufficiency.
In 2005, Ducharme was approached about a position by business law firm Hinckley Allen & Snyder LLP, which had represented the seller in a commercial real estate sale to one of her clients. Presented with the opportunity to retain some flexibility in her scheduling and invigorated to be part of a 20-plus member commercial real estate law department working on complex real estate development and finance legal matters, Ducharme joined the firm.
By 2016, craving the freedom to again pursue her own interests, Ducharme left to start the boutique law firm now called Cervenka Green & Ducharme LLC in Providence with current partners Jennifer Cervenka and Rachelle Green, and their associate, Emily Migliaccio.
These days, at any given time you will find Ducharme and her partners working on a number of real estate development projects, ranging from college graduate student housing, charter schools, solar farms, health centers, construction and term loans on industrial and mixed-use projects, and even a local farmers market.
“Although a women-owned business is not a unique concept, our firm was founded by women attorneys and is operated and managed 100% by women attorneys,” Ducharme said. “We all came together from three different, and at times competing, regional ‘big law’ firms as a result of relationships we developed over several years. Most importantly, we respected each other’s expertise and professional reputation and genuinely liked and admired each other.”
Christina Rouse, who heads up marketing and operations at Providence-based Sweeney Real Estate & Appraisal, routinely recommends Ducharme to her clients.
“Diana’s work helps businesses in the Rhode Island market stay protected, well-advised and empowered to make strong decisions,” Rouse said. “Diana is one of the top real estate lawyers in the state and she is beyond humble. She not only showcases her leadership through her profession but also through her community action.”
Ducharme’s community work includes mentoring for Year Up. She is also part of the Diversity & Inclusion Committee for the Providence Foundation.
Four years in, Cervenka Green & Ducharme has experienced great success that Ducharme believes will continue due to the passion and dedication she shares with her partners.
“My work is part of the foundation of my clients’ success stories,” Ducharme said. “My job is to protect my clients’ best legal interests and serve them effectively and efficiently. … I feel vested personally in each project and outcome.”
