Practice Areas

One thing everyone can agree on in life: No one wants to end up as a defendant in a criminal court. It’s one of the scariest things that can ever happen to you. For the majority of people, it never happens. However, it sometimes can, and quite unexpectedly. “How?” you ask. “I’m not a criminal. I’m a law-abiding person.” That may well be. But consider:

• Pass a bad check, innocently and with no intent to defraud, and you can be arrested and charged with Larceny By Check.
• Drive carelessly, while talking on a cell phone or for any other common reason, and you can be arrested and charged with Reckless Operation of a Motor Vehicle, or Driving To Endanger.
• Engage in a heated argument with a neighbor, store clerk or anyone, and if any bodily contact is involved, you can be charged with assault and/or battery.
• Offer a well-meaning compliment or touch a member of the opposite sex who happens to take offense easily, and you can be charged with sexual assault (an entirely different offense from civil sexual harassment in the workplace).
• And, of course, if you drive with even the hint of alcohol on your breath, are stopped and a police officer smells the alcohol and believes you to be impaired, you will be arrested and charged with Driving Under the Influence (DUI/OUI).

You needn’t be hardened criminal or an evil person to end up charged with a crime. Being charged with a criminal offense is often something most people think “would never happen to me.” And hopefully, it won’t. But if and when it does, you need the experience and expertise of a relentless criminal defense attorney. Criminal defense is one-half of what our practice specializes in.

Some people might ask: “What do personal injury law and criminal defense have in common?” The answer: A great deal indeed – and a lot more than you might think. These two practice areas share much in common: They both involve clients who have been deeply upset by a traumatizing event, and they both involve clients who are up against powerful adversaries: Criminal defendants face the power of state prosecutors and police departments seeking to punish them – even jail them - for charges they may be not guilty of. The victim of an injury faces powerful insurance companies who do everything they can to deny the victim’s needs to be fairly compensated for their injuries. Both of these legal adversaries are very powerful, and both are very persistent in winning their cases.

Each of these areas of legal practice requires a very similar type of attorney: One who is relentless in the pursuit of his clients' interests; one who knows when to be aggressive; and knows when to negotiate. Our firm has handled many different types of criminal defense. We know how to locate and exploit the weaknesses in the police and the District Attorney’s case. We are relentless in our defense of our clients accused of criminal offenses. Our Principal, Attorney William D. Kickham, has defended numerous criminal cases in Massachusetts. He is a former Special Assistant District Attorney for Norfolk County, and as such knows the prosecutorial side of criminal cases: He knows how they are strategized, he knows how they are assigned, and he knows how they are negotiated down to lesser offenses, when that strategy is needed.

Attorney Kickham is also a certified public defender/bar advocate for the Committee on Public Counsel Services in Massachusetts, and is skilled in the defense of complex criminal cases in the District and Superior courts. Our office works with a wide network of attorneys who specialize in these cases, and if due to scheduling Attorney Kickham is unable to appear in court for you on the day your case is scheduled, we will provide another attorney for you. All our attorneys specialize in criminal law in Massachusetts, and practice in all District Courts and Superior Courts throughout Massachusetts. Before becoming a client of ours, we would explain all necessary procedures and information, and if someone other than Attorney Kickham appears on your behalf, you would assent to a reasonable division of your fee (divided between our office and the attorney appearing for you) pursuant to Massachusetts Rules of Professional Conduct 1.5(e).

If you or someone you know has been arrested or charged with a crime in Massachusetts, contact us for a free consultation. We would be happy to provide you with the critical help and guidance you need at this stressful time. Our legal fees for criminal defense are very reasonable, and will depend on a variety of factors that are present in your situation. Contact us and we can explain these to you in full.