Born in Queens, Cecchi graduated from the Bronx High School of Science in 1982.

She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Barnard College in 1986 and a Juris Doctor from the Fordham University School of Law in 1989.

Cecchi is a fellow of the American Bar Association, a director to the Historical Society of the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey, and a master of the William J. Brennan, Jr./Arthur T. Vanderbilt American Inn of Court.

[3] On the recommendation of Senators Frank Lautenberg and Robert Menendez, Cecchi was nominated to the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey by President Barack Obama on December 1, 2010, to a seat vacated by Joseph A. Greenaway Jr., who was elevated to the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit on February 24, 2010.

James is a partner at Carella, Byrne, Cecchi, Brody & Agnello in Roseland, New Jersey.