Practice Areas: Employment & Labor, Employment Litigation, Appellate; view more
Licensed in Massachusetts since: 2008
Education: Syracuse University College of Law
Selected to Super Lawyers: 2021 - 2023 
Selected to Rising Stars: 2017 - 2020 Details
Benjamin Flam is an attorney at Gordon Law Group LLP in Boston, Massachusetts. Mr. Flam concentrates his practice on employment law and represents clients throughout Boston. He has over a decade of experience litigating in front of state, federal and appellate courts, as well as administrative agencies.
In his employment practice, Mr. Flam represents private individuals, contractors and various government workers. He has experience with domestic and international law and devotes a major portion of his employment law practice to executive advocacy. He is an experienced litigator and negotiator who recognizes that each case is different and requires a different strategy to achieve the best possible resolution.
Before joining Gordon Law Group LLP, Mr. Flam worked for the Boston Housing Authority as a reasonable accommodation coordinator and a civil rights investigator. He chaired the organization’s mediation and diversity project. He continues to speak on housing law and policy at educational institutions for various organizations.
Mr. Flam serves on the Massachusetts Fair Housing Coalition and is vice-chair of the Massachusetts Employment Lawyers Association Legislative Committee and MCAD/EEOC Committee. He regularly testifies as an expert witness in international employment litigation. Recognizing his contributions to employment and housing law, Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly named him an “Excellence in the Law Honoree” in 2018.
A magna cum laude graduate of the University of Rhode Island, Mr. Flam also holds a master’s degree in international relations from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. He earned his law degree from Syracuse University College of Law, graduating cum laude. He is qualified to practice in Massachusetts and New York, as well as before several federal and appellate courts.
Practice areas
Employment & Labor: Employee, Employment Litigation: Plaintiff, Appellate, Civil Litigation: PlaintiffFocus areas
Appeals, Employment Discrimination, Employment Law - Employee, Retaliation, Sexual Harassment, Wage & Hour Laws, Whistleblower, Wrongful Termination
- 40% Employment & Labor: Employee
- 40% Employment Litigation: Plaintiff
- 10% Appellate
- 10% Civil Litigation: Plaintiff
First Admitted: 2008, Massachusetts
Professional Webpage: http://www.gordonllp.com/attorneys/benjamin-flam/
- De Thomas v. Cumberland Farms, Suffolk Superior Court CA No. 1681CV03554 - Secured Order resulting in obtaining over a thousand attorney-client privileged documents (and testimonial evidence) from defendants under the "at issue" principle. Hayes v. Boston Public Health Commission, et al., CIVIL ACTION NO. 11-cv-11859-MLW After several years of litigation in Federal District Court, Ben secured reinstatement with back pay for a municipal attorney in a landmark “reverse discrimination” case. Notably, Ben was able to secure a denial of the Defendants' motion for summary judgment on the papers, without the need for oral arguments. Cotter v. Office of Personnel Management (2012), Federal Circuit Court of Appeals Case No. 2012-3088 Ben secured the reinstatement of the client’s top secret security clearance, and then proceeded to successfully litigate her claims for disability discrimination and failure to provide reasonable accommodations through: (1) the agency’s internal investigative process; (2) the Merit Systems Protection Board; and (3) the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. In the Matter of: Applicant for Security Clearance, ISCR Case No. 09-06202 Litigating before the U.S. Department of Defense’s Office of Hearings and Appeals, Ben successfully obtained the continuation of his client’s top-secret national security clearance. In the Matter of: Erin Lee Sears, Applicant for Security Clearance, ISCR Case No.14-01719 Litigating before the U.S. Department of Defense’s Office of Hearings and Appeals, Ben successfully obtained the continuation of his client’s top-secret national security clearance. Davis v. Norton Housing Authority Ben partnered with the Massachusetts Office of the Attorney General’s Civil Rights Division to prosecute a case of race and disability discrimination in connection with a public housing authority’s admissions process.
- SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF LAW, Syracuse, NY Dec. 2007 Juris Doctor Degree; Recipient of Dean’s Scholarship Award. Honors: Top 25% of Class, Graduated Cum Laude, Chancellor’s List, Dean’s List Member, Criminal Law Moot Court Trial Team THE MAXWELL SCHOOL OF SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY, Syracuse, NY Dec. 2007 Master’s Degree, International Relations INSTITUTE FOR NATIONAL SECURITY AND COUNTERTERRORISM, Syracuse, NY Dec. 2007 Certificate of Advanced Study in Security Studies UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND, Kingston, RI May 2003 Bachelor of Arts, English and Communication Studies Double Major Sociology and French Minors. Honors: Graduated Magna Cum Laude, Dean’s List
- MEMBERSHIPS Bar of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts 6/2008 United States District Court, District of Massachusetts 10/2008 United States District Court Pro Bono Program 10/2008 United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit 11/2011 United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit 2/2012 Board of Directors, Massachusetts Bar Association, Young Lawyers Division 6/2009 Diversity Chair, Massachusetts Employment Lawyers Association 8/2010 Membership Committee, Massachusetts Employment Lawyers Association 8/2010 MCAD Committee, Massachusetts Employment Lawyers Association 2010-2014 Public Policy Chair, Massachusetts Fair Housing Coalition 2013-2014
- MEMBERSHIPS Bar of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts 6/2008 United States District Court, District of Massachusetts 10/2008 United States District Court Pro Bono Program 10/2008 United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit 11/2011 United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit 2/2012 Board of Directors, Massachusetts Bar Association, Young Lawyers Division 6/2009 Diversity Chair, Massachusetts Employment Lawyers Association 8/2010 Membership Committee, Massachusetts Employment Lawyers Association 8/2010 MCAD Committee, Massachusetts Employment Lawyers Association 2010-2014 Public Policy Chair, Massachusetts Fair Housing Coalition 2013-2014
- United States District Court Pro Bono Program 10/2008Board of Directors, Massachusetts Bar Association, Young Lawyers Division 6/2009Diversity Chair, Massachusetts Employment Lawyers Association 8/2010Membership Committee, Massachusetts Employment Lawyers Association 8/2010MCAD Committee, Massachusetts Employment Lawyers Association 2010-2014Public Policy Chair, Massachusetts Fair Housing Coalition 2013-2014
- Draft Amicus Brief on behalf of Massachusetts Employment Lawyers Association for the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts., 2018, 2018
- Secured reversal and remand at the First Circuit Court of Appeals in Dahua Technology USA, Inc. v. Feng Zhang, a case concerning whether a $10.8 million severance agreement should be reformed due to a mutual or unilateral mistake., 2021
- Secured jury verdict in DeThomas v. Cumberland Farms, proving that Cumberland Farms acted in bad faith in terminating the plaintiff to deprive him of his contractually guaranteed severance and defeating Cumberland Farms' counterclaims of over $1 million., 2021
- Secured reversal and remand at the First Circuit Court of Appeals in Fournier v. Commonwealth of Massachusetts, et al., a case concerning whistleblower retaliation and wrongful termination of a high ranking court employee., 2021
- Hayes v. Boston Public Health Commission, et al. (2015) After several years of litigation in Federal District Court, Ben secured reinstatement with back pay for a municipal attorney in a landmark “reverse discrimination” case. Cotter v. Office of Personnel Management (2012) Ben secured the reinstatement of the client’s top secret security clearance, and then proceeded to successfully litigate her claims for disability discrimination and failure to provide reasonable accommodations through: (1) the agency’s internal investigative process; (2) the Merit Systems Protection Board; and (3) the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. In the Matter of: Applicant for Security Clearance, ISCR Case No. 09-06202 Litigating before the U.S. Department of Defense’s Office of Hearings and Appeals, Ben successfully obtained the continuation of his client’s top-secret national security clearance. Davis v. Norton Housing Authority (2010) Ben partnered with the Massachusetts Office of the Attorney General’s Civil Rights Division to prosecute a case of race and disability discrimination in connection with a public housing authority’s admissions process.
- Hayes v. Boston Public Health Commission, et al., CIVIL ACTION NO. 11-cv-11859-MLW After several years of litigation in Federal District Court, Ben secured reinstatement with back pay for a municipal attorney in a landmark “reverse discrimination” case. Notably, Ben was able to secure a denial of the Defendants' motion for summary judgment on the papers, without the need for oral arguments. Cotter v. Office of Personnel Management (2012), Federal Circuit Court of Appeals Case No. 2012-3088 Ben secured the reinstatement of the client’s top secret security clearance, and then proceeded to successfully litigate her claims for disability discrimination and failure to provide reasonable accommodations through: (1) the agency’s internal investigative process; (2) the Merit Systems Protection Board; and (3) the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Anthony v. Symmons Industries, Civil Action No. 1:14-cv-11445-PBS. Ben litigated this matter to the summary judgment phase and secured a settlement on behalf of a technical writer who was misclassified as exempt under the FLSA and the Massachusetts Wage Act. In the Matter of: Applicant for Security Clearance, ISCR Case No. 09-06202 Litigating before the U.S. Department of Defense’s Office of Hearings and Appeals, Ben successfully obtained the continuation of his client’s top-secret national security clearance. In the Matter of: Erin Lee Sears, Applicant for Security Clearance, ISCR Case No. 14-01719 Litigating before the U.S. Department of Defense’s Office of Hearings and Appeals, Ben successfully obtained the continuation of his client’s top-secret national security clearance. Davis v. Norton Housing Authority Ben partnered with the Massachusetts Office of the Attorney General’s Civil Rights Division to prosecute a case of race and disability discrimination in connection with a public housing authority’s admissions process.
Selections
- Super Lawyers: 2021 - 2023
- Rising Stars: 2017 - 2020
