LYNN — There’s one rhyme that Schuyler Hogan, an attorney with Cherry Tree Legal, is sick of hearing.
“Lynn, Lynn, the city of sin, you never come out the way you come in.”
Hogan, who was raised in the city, said people who are not from Lynn often say the phrase to him. He wants them to know the city has much more to offer.
“I guess it depends on who you ask because, for the people who live in this city, we’ve always known the beauty and collectivity of our multicultural community,” Hogan said. “Still, from the outsiders, Lynn has been deemed a drug-infested gangland overrun with crime. And although crime exists here, it doesn’t define Lynn.”
Hogan takes pride in his roots and is committed to utilizing his abilities to enhance the city. He attended Lynn English before graduating from New England Law Boston. After passing the state bar exam, he became a practicing attorney with Cherry Tree, a law firm in downtown Lynn.
Hogan, who specializes in real-estate and estate-planning law, said his goal is to teach people how to obtain and properly transfer generational wealth.
He said Lynn has so many talented painters, musicians, and poets, and that the city of more than 100,000 people has great lawyers, doctors, scientists, entrepreneurs, and athletes.
“Lynn is what we call a gateway city, which means this is a place where you can start with nothing and strive to obtain the American dream. Greatness and excellence have come from and through this city,” he said.
Hogan said he understands the importance of having positive role models for the city’s youth, and volunteers his time and energy to mentor young people participating in the Lynn Youth Street Outreach Advocacy program.
In 2022, Hogan became the chair of the Red Cross Sickle Cell Initiative, which organizes and promotes reoccurring blood drives in the city to increase awareness about sickle cell amenia as a whole and the need for more African American and Latino blood donors.
Hogan said he is also looking to improve Lynn’s reputation by starting a social-media account to highlight successful businesses and entrepreneurs in the city.
His advice to the young people who look up to him is to “keep going. Fast money is attractive, but the street life isn’t sustainable.”
“You see the sweeps coming through our city. When you grind and start a business or go to college and pick a career, the knowledge and skillset you obtain will give you the ability to provide for yourself and your family for life. Nobody will ever be able to take that away from you,” Hogan said.
