Ben is a partner at Douglas, Leonard & Garvey. Ben’s practice is focused on employment law, personal injury and workers’ compensation, and cases involving property rights disputes.
Ben has been honored as a Super Lawyer from the New England region in the category of representing employees in employment discrimination cases. Only 5% of the lawyers in New England receive the Super Lawyer honor.
Ben has also earned the respect and gratitude of his clients. His clients have given him a rating of “preeminent” through the Martindale-Hubbell lawyer rating service.
Ben has been elected by other employment lawyers to serve as President of National Employment Lawyers Association, New Hampshire Chapter.
Ben tries cases before New Hampshire juries, Superior Court judges and State administrative agencies. He has successfully represented many employees in a variety of wrongful termination cases, discrimination claims and claims for workers’ compensation benefits. He regularly appears before the New Hampshire Department of Labor, the New Hampshire Commission for Human Rights, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and state and federal courts.
Professional Activities
Professional Recognition
- Recipient of the 2008 Union Leader's 40 Under 40 Award, recognizing New Hampshire leaders under the age of 40
Noteworthy
Ben has earned the respect of the judiciary, his fellow lawyers and his clients. In 2013, the New Hampshire Federal Court appointed Ben to his second term on the Federal Court Advisory Committee, in which capacity Ben advises the Federal Court on Court procedures and issues facing federal court practitioners.
Ben also frequently presents at continuing legal education seminars and in recent years Ben has given presentations to such groups as the New England Chapter of the National Employment Lawyers Association, the New Hampshire Bar Association’s employment law and Federal practice sections, and the New Hampshire Adjusters Association on such issues as new case law governing employee rights and recent amendments to the law under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA). Ben’s peers have elected him President of the New Hampshire Association for Justice for the 2015-16 year. Ben has authored the “Superior Court Digest” for the Association’s magazine, the Trial Bar News, for the past ten (10) years.
An experienced appellate lawyer, Ben has also argued several appeals before the New Hampshire Supreme Court and the First Circuit Court of Appeals:
In re Fontaine, 157 N.H. 640 (2008) (Family Law – Whether the father’s physical incapacity was the result of a voluntary act was not relevant to whether the father was voluntarily underemployed).
Bennett v. ITT Hartford Group, Inc., 150 N.H. 753 (2004)(Insurance – Bad Faith and Unfair Practices. Fact issues as to whether the insurer breached the duty of good faith precluded summary judgment).
In re Petition of Bennett, 151 N.H. 130 (2004)(Insurance – Bad Faith and Unfair Practices. Hearing officer improperly dismissed Commissioner’s notice of hearing on unfair settlement practices).
Glick v. Chocorua Forestlands Ltd. Partnership, 157 N.H. 240 (2008)(Real Property – Vendor and Purchaser. Right of first refusal agreement granted an irrevocable option to purchase adjacent land).
The appeal of Kelly, 167 N.H. 489 (2015)(Labor and Employment — Workers’ Compensation. Claimant’s employment was a substantial contributing factor to an injury suffered after the claimant fell asleep while driving from job site to the company shop).
The appeal of Bergeron, 144 N.H. 681 (2000)(injured employee’s 1994 hip surgery was the direct and natural result of 1986 work injury and was compensable through workers’ compensation).
Ben has been publicly recognized for his leadership and contributions to New Hampshire. In 2008, the Union Leader named Ben to its “40 Under Forty” list honoring young adults who make New Hampshire a better place to live. The Portsmouth Herald also recognized Ben in 2011 when the Herald received the Nackey S. Loeb First Amendment Award, citing Ben’s filing on the paper’s behalf of a Right to Know petition to compel the State of New Hampshire to disclose records of a police cruiser crash.
Ben is active in the community in addition to his professional activities. He served as Vice-Chair of the Rye Zoning Board of Adjustment for many years. He also regularly volunteers his time to coach students in mock trial competitions and judge such competitions.
Each attorney at Douglas, Leonard & Garvey, P.C. is committed to New Hampshire through community service organizations and volunteer work, serving on boards of organizations and through the firm’s financial contributions. Please see a list of community support to which we have most recently given our time and financial support.
