Leonard H. Kesten

Leonard H. Kesten is one of the preeminent trial lawyers in Massachusetts.  Mr. Kesten has conducted over 100 jury trials in the United States District Court and the Superior Court. He has also conducted numerous public hearings before the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination. He has argued appeals before the Supreme Judicial Court, the Massachusetts Court of Appeals, and the United States Court of Appeals.  Many of the reported decisions obtained by Mr. Kesten and BHPK appellate specialist Deidre Regan have established important precedents in the areas of civil rights, employment, and school liability.

Mr. Kesten devotes much of his practice to the representation of Cities and Towns in Massachusetts and their officials and employees. He is considered one of the leading defenders of Police Officers as he has developed an extensive expertise in the areas of use of force, the constitutionality of searches, and the right to arrest.

He is also considered an expert in discrimination and all forms of employment litigation. He has litigated high profile employment matters in the areas of gender and race discrimination as well as wrongful discharge in violation of public police and sexual harassment. He has successfully represented both employers and employees and has obtained a number of significant verdicts in these matters.

Mr. Kesten has lectured extensively in the areas of trial practice, civil rights, and employment, both nationally and in Massachusetts.  He has been recognized as a Lawyer of the Year by Lawyer's Weekly, has been designated as a Super Lawyer each year that the award has been given, has been named as one of the 100 top trial lawyers in Massachusetts by the American Academy of Trial Lawyers, and is rated a perfect 10 (superb) by AVVO.  He has been honored with a Citizens Award given by the Town of Yarmouth Police Department and has been honored by the United States Police K9 Association for his work in the areas of canine use of force.

Mr. Kesten was born in Poland and is a child of Holocaust survivors. He and his family moved to Israel and then to the United States when he was 10 years old. He was raised on a farm in Connecticut.

Before becoming an attorney, Mr. Kesten worked in both the Connecticut and Massachusetts Departments of Correction, and ended that career as a Prison Superintendent.  He also was a special education teacher in the Boston Public Schools.

After his graduation from law school, Mr. Kesten joined Morrison Mahoney and Miller where he became a partner in 1990. In 1995, he was one of four founding partners of Brody, Hardoon, Perkins & Kesten, LLP.