Of his 20 years practicing law, Ben Zimmermann has spent 19 at Sugarman & Sugarman P.C. in Boston. After finishing his studies at Fordham University School of Law, he got his start in the corporate litigation group of a large New York City firm. His path quickly changed and took him to SUGARMAN, where he has emerged as a leading trial lawyer in New England, and the managing partner of a firm with a 60-year history of excellence in litigating and trying serious personal injury cases.
Raised in Iowa, where his father and uncle were both lawyers, Mr. Zimmermann was thrilled to join SUGARMAN, where he could represent individuals. “I always thought of a lawyer as someone who was in a courtroom representing a person who needed help. I gravitated to that, and also I couldn’t wait to raise my family in Boston,” he says.
Like any trial lawyer, experience and success didn’t always come easy. “In one of my first cases, in the middle of trial, the judge leaned over the bench and said ‘Mr. Zimmermann, this jury isn’t going to give your client anything.’” That jury came back with a $7.5 million verdict, teaching him a valuable lesson. “Some cases just need to be tried. If you put in the work and stay true to the facts, you can get a good result even if no one else thinks you can.”
Mr. Zimmermann took that lesson and put it to use, notching a string of seven-figure verdicts in recent years, from the precedent-setting $20.6 million wrongful death verdict against Toys “R” Us for a defective pool slide, to seven-figure verdicts in construction, motor vehicle, and medical malpractice cases. “Every good result is a team effort, and a trial lawyer can never, ever forget that. I am really lucky to be in a firm with a long line of accomplished trial lawyers to learn from, both practicing and retired. That learning never stops, and the people who benefit the most from it are the clients.”
As far as running a firm with the history of founding partners Paul and Neil Sugarman, “All I can say is that I am deeply humbled that Paul and Neil and have trusted me to run the firm; they have spent decades instilling their values in everyone here, from partners to our incredible associates and staff; and motivate all of us every day to carry on the excellence that they have embodied.”
According to Mr. Zimmermann, the firm’s frequent, significant verdicts and settlements are a function of the fact that every partner at the firm has been successful in the courtroom. “There is a need out there for lawyers and firms who will do the work, who will get in the courtroom and put their client’s case in front of a jury,” says Mr. Zimmermann. “Just like every good verdict, every good settlement requires the knowledge and skill to get on your feet and try your client’s case.” That is, at heart, the mission at SUGARMAN.
