Benjamin Grimes

Ben Grimes helps lawyers become the law firm partners and senior legal leaders they aspire to be rather than becoming the stressed and disconnected attorneys under whom we too often grew up.   Through BKG Leadership Coaching, is able to support individual attorneys stepping into new positions of responsibility and to be a resource to law firms and legal organizations interested in empowering their partners with the resources to sustain collaborative and inclusive working cultures.

Ben retired from the Army Judge Advocate General’s (JAG) Corps after a 20-year military career and spent a further seven years in public service as the Deputy Director of the Department of Justice Professional Responsibility Advisory Office (PRAO) before following his passion to help shape legal leadership full time.

After graduating from the United States Military Academy at West Point, Ben began his military career as a helicopter pilot flying the UH-60 Blackhawk, serving in Alabama, Kentucky, and South Korea. He was selected for the Army’s Funded Legal Education Program and joined the JAG Corps and served in a variety of roles, primarily centered around criminal litigation, in Washington, Virginia, the District of Columbia, Germany, and Iraq.  Before retiring, Ben spent three years as Professor and Vice Chair of Criminal Law at the Judge Advocate General’s Legal Center & School, the nation’s only ABA-accredited federal educational institution. There he taught ethics and professional responsibility to military attorneys – from new Judge Advocates fresh out of law school to seasoned Military Judges of all military services working at both the trial and appellate levels. At the time of his retirement, he was the Deputy Staff Judge Advocate (Deputy General Counsel) at the Army Intelligence and Security Command, overseeing legal operations in support of the Army’s intelligence gathering and synthesis mission.

Ben partnered with the Director of PRAO in overseeing the organization’s provision of professional responsibility advice and training to Department of Justice attorneys and Assistant United States Attorneys worldwide. From 2014-1017 he was a member of the ABA Standing Committee on Professionalism, and he is currently an adjunct Lecturer in Law for Columbia Law School.