Practice Areas

Brody, Hardoon, Perkins and Kesten, LLP is, first and foremost, a litigation firm. We are experts in evaluating a controversy and working aggressively to achieve our clients’ goals, whether those goals are best achieved through negotiation, alternative dispute resolution or trial. On behalf of our clients, we have obtained multiple trial verdicts and settlements in the millions. As defense counsel, we have had cases dismissed before trial, won major defense verdicts, and made precedent-setting case law. We concentrate in the following areas of litigation.

• Civil Rights
• Commercial Litigation
• Employment Law
• Environmental and Land Use Litigation
• Municipal Liability
• Personal Injury
• Premises Liability
• Professional Liability
• Sexual Abuse and Other Crime Victim Recovery
• Trust and Estates Litigation
• White Collar Criminal Defense
• Other Litigation

Civil Rights

Led by founding partner Leonard H. Kesten, BHPK represents municipalities and individuals in civil rights cases in Massachusetts state and federal court and the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination. Our cases have involved the following:

• public accommodations
• hate crimes
• claims of discrimination based on race, age, religion, gender, disability, sexual orientation and national origin
• right of association
• police use of force
• police searches and seizures
• whistleblowers

On behalf of our municipal clients, we have had cases dismissed before trial and obtained no probable cause findings and major defense verdicts. On behalf of individuals, we have obtained verdicts and settlements in the millions, and helped to improve municipal practices and procedures.

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Commercial Litigation

BHPK, led by founding partner Samuel Perkins, represents large and small businesses in a variety of complex litigation matters including:

• contract disputes
• unfair trade practices
• shareholder disputes
• employment matters
• violations of non-competition agreements
• breach of fiduciary duty
• trade disparagement
• trade secrets
• internet “cybersquatting” domain-name theft
• regulatory matters

We also provide pre-litigation counseling to avoid lawsuits. We would prefer to help our clients further their business interests without litigation.

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Employment Law

At BHPK, we represent employers and employees in all aspects of the employment relationship, from pre-litigation counseling to complaints with the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination to lawsuits. We have handled employment matters involving claims of:

• race, gender, age, national origin, disability and sexual orientation discrimination
• sexual harassment
• wrongful or constructive discharge
• non-compete agreements and other breach of employment contract

BHPK also offers pre-litigation services to employers to ensure compliance with employment laws and prevent or minimize the effects of litigation. We work with human resource departments to review or draft employer sexual harassment manuals and develop training presentations about sexual harassment, workplace discrimination and internal investigations. We counsel clients about particular controversies as they arise during the employment relationship, including compliance with the Family and Medical Leave Act, employee performance reviews and discipline. We also conduct workplace investigations.

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Environmental and Land Use Litigation

BHPK represents municipalities, developers and other property owners in a wide range of environmental matters before Massachusetts state and federal courts and administrative bodies. Matters handled include:

• toxic torts, including exposure to lead-based paint, pesticides, molds and other toxic substances
• represent developers to ensure compliance with environmental laws
• zoning and permits
• flood damage to private property
• wetlands

In addition to litigation services, BHPK also provides ongoing counseling to its clients to ensure compliance with state and federal environmental laws.

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Municipal Liability

BHPK is the pre-eminent municipal liability practice in Massachusetts. Led by founding partner Leonard H. Kesten, we have represented dozens of municipalities in the Commonwealth in hundreds of cases. Mr. Kesten has tried more than fifty municipal liability cases and has been responsible for numerous published appellate decisions about municipal liability. He lectures widely on civil rights and other municipal liability issues. BHPK has written supporting briefs to the Supreme Judicial Court in a number of cases on behalf of the Massachusetts Municipal Association. BHPK regularly handles matters involving municipalities and:

• employment law
• civil rights
• land use
• personal injury

We defend police officers, town administrators and school personnel in state and federal courts. BHPK has an excellent reputation for success. We have often not only defeated claims against our clients, but also obtained awards for the return of costs and fees to our clients that have been wrongfully sued.

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Personal Injury

BHPK handles the full range of personal injury cases. Sample cases involve:

• sexual harassment, sexual assault and other violent crimes
• athletic facilities
• schools, camps and universities
• injuries caused by animals
• exposure to toxic substances
• motor vehicle crashes
• manufactured products
• slip and fall
• wrongful death

On behalf of individual and institutional clients, BHPK has achieved favorable results for plaintiffs and defendants. We have won multi-million dollar verdicts, achieved million dollar settlements and defeated multi-million dollar claims.

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Premises Liability

Led by founding partner Richard E. Brody, a nationally recognized expert who has written and lectured widely about the subject, BHPK handles a full range of premises liability cases, including those based on:

• failure to maintain property safety
• negligent security
• fire loss litigation

On behalf of individuals, we have obtained substantial financial awards and settlements and forced institutions and property owners to take necessary measures to improve security and property maintenance and to prevent future injuries. We assist our clients in obtaining advice from the best security experts in the field to perform security audits in order to minimize their exposure to liability. On behalf of property owners, we have had cases dismissed before trial and obtained significant defense verdicts. We have often minimized the financial and other costs of litigation by devising creative resolutions to disputes.

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Professional Liability

BHPK, led by founding partner Samuel Perkins, represents professionals and individuals in matters involving professional malpractice of lawyers, architects and engineers. BHPK acts on behalf of individuals and insurers in matters brought in state and federal court and before state disciplinary boards.

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Sexual Abuse and Other Crime Victim Recovery

Led by founding partner and former senior prosecutor Larry Hardoon, BHPK has helped hundreds of crime victims obtain justice. We seek recovery not only from the criminal, but also from other responsible parties -- schools, universities, hospitals, employers, property owners, security companies, and religious organizations whose failure to adequately protect victims helped the assailant commit the crime.

In addition to scores of victims of clergy sex abuse in Boston, including victims of the Reverends Shanley, Burns and Cotter, we have represented victims of incest, child sexual abuse in schools and camps, sexual assault on campus, assault and battery, motor vehicle crashes, medical malpractice, domestic violence, stalking and sexual harassment. On behalf of our clients, we have obtained multi-million dollar awards and settlements and forced institutions to improve maintenance and security procedures and security equipment.

For more information about crime victims and the law, please visit BHPK’s companion website, http://www.CrimeVictimLaw.com/.

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Trust and Estates Litigation

Founding partner Samuel Perkins supervises BHPK’s representation of individuals in trusts and estates litigation in the Massachusetts Superior Court and Probate and Family Court, including complex will contests and disputes over estate distribution.

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White Collar Criminal Defense

Jeremy Silverfine, the former chief of the Public Integrity Unit in the Office of the Attorney General and the Special Prosecutions Unit in the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office, concentrates on white collar criminal defense, including:

• embezzlement
• financial fraud
• computer and cybercrimes
• public corruption

BHPK provides court representation from grand jury through trial. When a civil lawsuit is filed simultaneously with a criminal prosecution, we coordinate both cases to best protect our client, and advise clients on managing their business interests during litigation.

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Other Litigation

While BHPK specializes in the types of matters described above, we are, first and foremost, a litigation firm. If you would like us to handle a litigation matter that is not described above, please call us at (617) 880-7100.

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