Top Rated Criminal Defense Attorney in Westwood, MA

Pro bono/Community Service

• Member of the Board of Directors at the Westwood Media Center (previoulsy Westwood Cable Access Television, http://westwoodmediacenter.tv/government-channel) for approximately eight years from 2007-2015.  
• Member of Rotary Club (Westwood, MA chapter, http://www.westwoodrotary.com) since 2006, and volunteer for a number of community charitable and civic services that our club sponsors. 
• Regularly represents criminal defendants who cannot afford a lawyer, and who do not want to accept a court-appointed public defender.  One such pro bono representation of a client garnered the attention of the CBS Radio affiliate in Boston, who ran several news stories on my efforts to represent a nurse who provided critical home care for a severely brain-damaged young boy.   

Bar/Professional Activity

• Lobbied individual state representatives and senators on bills and legislative proposals affecting tort reform, liability insurance issues and consumer law issues.
• Member of the following Practice Sections within the Massachusetts Bar Association: Judicial Administration Section - Criminal Justice Section - Civil Litigation Section - Dispute Resolution Section  
• Admitted to practice before the United States District court in Boston since 1988, as well as the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, in Boston. 
• Admitted and sworn into practice before the United States Supreme Court in March 2019
• Participate in the Massachusetts Bar Association's Dial-A-Lawyer Program, a monthly free service provided to the public, who can call in to the MBA to speak to a volunteer lawyer without charge, about various legal issues and problems. 
• Nominated in December 2018 for the annual Pro Bono Public Award conferred by the Massachusetts Bar Association, as part of its Access to Justice Program. 
• Active member of the Massachusetts Bar Association
• Served as a Public Defender with the Norfolk County Massachusetts Bar Association from 1995 to 1998, service as public counsel to indigent criminal defendants in various courts within Norfolk County Massachusetts.
• By appointment of the Norfolk County Massachusetts District Attorney in 1993, I previously served as a Special Assistant District Attorney for Norfolk County Massachusetts until 1995, advising on a variety of special prosecutions within the Norfolk County District Attorney's Office.
• Testified before House, Senate and Joint Conference Committees on legislative proposals impacting the following legal practice areas:   - Motor vehicle liability insurance and legal issues -  Medical malpractice liability issues -  Product Liability issues -  Workers Compensation liability issues -  Premises liability issues -  Toxic tort liability issues.

Newsletters

• I publish and email to my clients and new legal contacts an e-Newsletter every 6 weeks or so, containing information on current legal developments and legal issues of interest to everyday Massachusetts residents.     A link to my recent Newsletter campaigns on Constant Contact is here:  https://campaign-ui.constantcontact.com/campaign/campaigns/list  , Constant Contact Client Newsletter

Educational Background

• Suffolk Univeristy Law School, JD, Trustee Scholarship Recipient, 1985
• Boston College - Bachelor's degree in Economics and Political Science.  (In addition to Law School listing, in "Law School" category, above., 1980

Videos

• Massachusetts Injury Law Primer video on my Injury law practice website.  NOTE:  I have approximately thirty (30) more videos on various injury law topics, on my Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=attorney+william+d.+kickham.  These videos can also be viewed on my injury law website:  www.kickhamlegal.com., Injury Law Primer, 2016
• Primer of Massachusetts law on sex offense crimes and charges., Massachusetts Sex Offense Charges, 2020
• Massachusetts Criminal Law Primer video on my criminal law defense practice website.  NOTE:  I have approximately thirty (30) more videos on various injury law topics, on my Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=attorney+william+d.+kickham.  These additional videos can also be viewed on my criminal law defense website:  www.criminal.kickhamlegal.com., Massachusetts Criminal Law Primer, 2015

Other Outstanding Achievements

• I have donated to and volunteered to assist in the efforts of a charitable organization that assists homeless people and those at risk of becoming homeless, the Boston Rescue Mission (https://www.brm.org).  The Boston Rescue Mission provides emergency overnight shelter to homeless people and to those in need in the Boston area. The Mission also provides residential recovery programs for women and men who are transitioning from being homeless to reaching independent living status.  It also provides temporary housing for adult men who have been sober for at least 30 days; and veterans who have been continuously homeless for more than a year.  Though I am a solo practitioner who is responsible for every aspect of my practice from 'A to Z', and thus have little free time, I have assisted the Boston Rescue Mission whenever I can, through financial donations and offering to volunteer. Separately, as part of my civic involvement and activities in my local Rotary International club, I have participated in several community organizing events to raise funds for various Rotary charitable efforts, including Rotary's partnership with ShelterBox, an organization that provides emergency relief to communities devastated by natural disasters such as hurricanes, floods and earthquakes.  https://www.rotary.org/en/shelterbox-and-rotary-help-disasters.  Shelterboxes include family-size tents, providing contents that differ depending on the disaster and climate where they are deployed. Many are packed with solar lights, water storage and purification equipment, thermal blankets, and cooking utensils. Depending on particular needs, the organization might deliver ShelterKits, which are smaller aid packages which provide tools, ropes, and heavy tarpaulins to provide emergency shelter and repair damaged structures. Our efforts on the local level have been to raise community awareness about Rotary's joint partnership with ShelterBox, and the need to fund this program so that adequate resources are ready and available to ship to crisis areas when needed.  Additionally, as part of my charitable activities associated with my local Rotary club, I have donated to and supported a battered and homeless women's transition to work project called On The Rise (https://www.ontherise.org.) I have in these program and efforts because while I believe that it's important to promote the cause of justice for my individual clients, it's also of equal importance to reach out and relieve human suffering, many miles from the comfort of home., 2017

Honors/Awards

• Honor given to only a select group of lawyers for their superior skills and qualifications in the field. Membership in this exclusive organization is by invitation only, and is limited to the top 100 attorneys in each state or region who have demonstrated excellence and have achieved outstanding results in their careers in either civil plaintiff or criminal defense law. www.thenationaltriallawyers.org.  , Top 100 Trial Lawyers - Criminal Defense, The National Trial Lawyers Association, 2017
• Awarded 10 of 10 Rating by Justia, a nationally recognized legal portal and legal information provider to the public.  See profile link at:  https://lawyers.justia.com/lawyer/william-d-kickham-esq-1412732, 10 Out of 10 To Attorney Rating , Justia, 2019
• Awarded a 10.0 out of maximum 10.0 rating.  Elevated to "Superb/Excellent" category., Superb Rating, Avvo, 2018
• Award given by impartial third-party attorney rating service.  By Invitation only -  Recognizing excellence of practitioners in this field.   www.AIOPIA.ORG., "Ten Best Attorney" Selection for Massachusetts, American Institute of Personal Injury Attorneys, 2018

Scholarly Lectures/Writings

• Analysis of impact of construction site inquiries on opiod epoidemic as impacting workers compensation claims & liability exposure of property/casualty insurers for subrogation to health insurance carriers., Author, Massachusetts Construction Site Injuries Fueling Opioid Epidemic, Construction, Labor, 2018
• Analysis of current liability issues surrounding subject matter-specific toxic tort litgation. , Author, Background on Roundup Cancer Litigation, 2019
• Anaylsis of proposed changes to evidentiary standards applied in allegations of sexual assault in educational organizations covered by Title 9 USC., Author, Federal Regulations Impacting College Campus Sex Assault Investigations, College/University Undergraduate & Graduate Students/Consumers, 2018
• Analysis of existing and proposed regulations governing nursing home contracts relating to arbitration clauses., Author, Federal Regulations & Forced Arbitration of Nursing Home Contracts, Nursing Home Patients And Advocates, 2016

Special Licenses/Certifications

• License to practice before the United States Supreme Court., 2019
• Certified Specialty in Plaintiff's tort litigation, Massachusetts Academy of Trial Attorneys., 2015