Benjamin Duggan is a litigator and trial lawyer. Prior to joining the KJC Law Firm, Ben worked as a staff attorney for the Committee for Public Counsel Services in Lawrence, Massachusetts. Ben has represented hundreds of clients in the trial courts of the Commonwealth of Massachusets, in cases ranging from drug possession and operating under the influence of alcohol or drugs, to armed robbery and aggravated rape. At trial, Ben has successfully obtained not guilty verdicts on a variety of charges, including reckless operation, firearm possession, and assault with intent to murder. Ben has been equally successful in getting his clients’ cases dismissed prior to trial, prevailing in dozens of motions to dismiss and motions to suppress. And when his clients’ suffered adverse rulings, Ben obtained reversals on appeal to the Supreme Judicial Court and the Massachusetts Appeals Court. In one particular case, Commonwealth v. Jessica McDonald, No. 13-P-1365 (Nov. 13, 2014), Ben was able to convince the Appeals Court to reverse a decision against his client, based on a cutting-edge issue in Massachusetts law related to the decriminalization of marijuana. Due to his work in the case, Ben was asked to author a guide for defense attorneys on issues related to changes in Massachusetts marijuana laws. His article, “Recent Case Law Developments Related to Marijuana,” was published in June 2015 by Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education as part of their Cutting Edge Issues in Northern Massachusetts Criminal Law Practice seminar.
Ben has also worked on a wide variety of civil cases, including personal injury, wrongful death, medical malpractice, contract, consumer protection, employment, foreclosure, and intellectual property. He has written dozens of memoranda of law regarding motions to dismiss and motions for summary judgment, filed in Massachusetts District and Superior Court and the United States District Court. He has also written several appeals briefs, filed in the Supreme Judicial Court, the Massachusetts Appeals Court, and the First Circuit Court of Appeals.
Ben graduated summa cum laude from Suffolk University Law School in 2012. While at Suffolk, Ben was a member of the Suffolk Defenders student clinic, where he was appointed to represent indigent defendants in the Boston Municipal Court. Ben received several academic accolades, including awards for Dinstinguished Oral Advocate and Distinguished Brief. He was also a member of Suffolk’s nationally-ranked mock trial team, where he won a regional championship in the American Association for Justice’s annual competition, advanced to the regional final in the National Trial Competition, and was invited to compete, along with advocates from the top-16 mock trial programs in the country, in the “Top Gun” mock trial tournament at Baylor University, where he advanced to the semi-finals. Ben continues his involvement with Suffolk’s mock trial team by volunteering as a coach.