Anderson Ken About 242x300Ken joined the firm when it was called Finneran, Byrne, Drechsler & O’Brien back in 1998, and has remained with the firm through its various changes. Ken has extensive trial experience and has tried a wide variety of civil and criminal cases in all of the courts of the Commonwealth, as well as in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts. He has been involved in several hundred trials and has tried over one hundred jury trials to completion. He also has handled numerous cases defending police officers and other public employees in civil rights and excessive force claims in both courtrooms and in administrative settings. Ken frequently represents law enforcement officers in Internal Affairs investigations, in Anti-Corruption investigations, in local appointing authority termination/disciplinary hearings, and in appeals before the Massachusetts Civil Service Commission and labor arbitrators. Ken has also practiced before the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination, the State Ethics Commission, the Board of Bar Overseers, and before various local pension boards. Ken has extensive appellate experience, having argued before the Massachusetts Appeals Court, the Supreme Judicial Court, the First Circuit Court of Appeals, and the Appellate Division of the District Court, resulting in over twenty reported appellate decisions. He focuses his practice upon defense of public employees, private criminal defense, insurance defense, and has also represented plaintiffs in personal injury and medical malpractice trials.

He can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.


Reported Appellate Decisions

  • Commonwealth v. Grassie, 482 Mass. 1017 (2019)(murder/mitigation)
  • Commonwealth v. Larsen, 94 Mass.App.Ct. 1107 (2018)(police/misleading law enforcement)
  • Commonwealth v. Grassie, 476 Mass. 202 (2017)(murder/grand jury/self-defense/mitigation)
  • United States v. Coughlin, 609 Fed. App. 659, 2015 WL 2124763 (1st Cir. 2015)(civil right violation/police excessive force/assault and battery)
  • Sonia v. Town of Brookline, 914 F. Supp. 2d 36 (D. Mass. 2012)(civil rights)
  • Commonwealth v. Phillips, 78 Mass. App. Ct. 1116 (2010)(dismissal of complaint/separation of powers/accord and satisfaction/police officers)
  • Hadfield v. McDonough, 407 F.3d 11 (1st Cir. 2005)(First Amendment/employment/civil rights)
  • Kelley v. LaForce, 288 F.3d l (1st Cir. 2002)(police civil rights/due process)
  • Rogers v. Vicuna, 264 F.3d 1 (1st Cir. 2001)(police civil rights)
  • Rogers v. Town of Northborough, 188 F. Supp.2d 10 (D. Mass. 2002)(police civil rights)
  • Rogers v. United States, 108 F. Supp.2d 65 (D. Mass. 2000)(police civil rights/sovereign immunity)
  • Picard v. Thomas, 60 Mass. App. Ct. 362, further app. rev. denied, 441 Mass. 1106 (2004)(wrongful death/motor vehicle/negligence)
  • Commonwealth v. Qualls, 425 Mass. 163 (1997)(murder/state of mind evidence)
  • Commonwealth v. Futch, 38 Mass. App. Ct. 174 (1995)(jury empanelment/preemptory challenges)
  • Commonwealth v. Jackson, 417 Mass. 830 (1994)(murder/prior conduct to establish identity)
  • Commonwealth v. Noble, 417 Mass. 341 (1994) S.C. 34 Mass. App. Ct. 415 (1993) (murder/use of prior grand jury testimony)
  • Commonwealth v. Jenkins, 416 Mass. 736 (1994)(murder/jury instructions/coercion of jury)
  • Commonwealth v. Willis, 415 Mass. 814 (1993)(search and seizure/firearms)
  • Commonwealth v. Randolph, 415 Mass. 364 (1993)(murder/jury instructions/reasonable doubt)
  • Commonwealth v. Coplin, 34 Mass. App. Ct. 478 (1993)(drug trafficking/Miranda)
  • Commonwealth v. Greenberg, 34 Mass. App. Ct. 197 (1993)(murder/destruction of evidence)
  • Commonwealth v. Smith, 33 Mass. App. Ct. 947 (1992)(assault with intent to murder/ confession/corroboration)
  • Cowans v. City of Boston, 2007 WL 28419 (D. Mass. 2007)(exercise of Fifth Amendment privilege)
  • Montanez v. Arbella Mutual Insurance Company, 2000 Mass. App. Div. 199, 2000 WL 558902 (2000)(insurance/personal injury protection)

About Ken Anderson

Ken is a former Suffolk County Assistant District Attorney (1992-1998), having worked in the Appellate Division (1992-1993), the District Court Division (1994-1995), and the Superior Court Division (1995-1998). While in the District Attorney’s office, Ken served on the Homicide Response Team, the Search Warrant Assistance Team, and was a lead arson prosecutor. He also worked as an instructor teaching legal updates and search and seizure for the Massachusetts Criminal Justice Training Council. Ken has appeared as an author in MCLE publications. Ken formerly coached youth soccer, hockey, and baseball. He is a former triathlete who ran the Boston Marathon twelve times. In his spare time Ken enjoys CrossFit, gardening, reading historical biographies, and competing in Spartan Races.

Education

Suffolk University Law School (J.D. – 1990, National TrialTeam – 1989)
Wake Forest University School of Law (1987-1988)
Wheaton College, Illinois (B.A. – 1986)

Bar Admissions

Commonwealth of Massachusetts
United States District Court – Massachusetts
United States Court of Appeals – First Circuit
United States Supreme Court

Professional Memberships

Boston Bar Association