Benjamin Gould
Seattle
1201 Third Avenue, Suite 3400
Seattle, WA 98101
Benjamin Gould makes the law work for his clients. Ben, a Seattle native, practices in Keller Rohrback’s nationally recognized Complex Litigation Group. His ability to clearly and efficiently communicate factual and legal issues to his clients and courts allows him to advance the interests of those who have been harmed by others’ misconduct.
Ben has extensive experience in appellate litigation, and has secured successful results for his clients before the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the First, Second, Sixth, Eighth, and Ninth Circuits, as well as before numerous state appellate courts. Ben also maintains an active practice outside the appellate arena. He has represented clients in individual and class actions involving pensions, securities, and consumer-protection law, among a wide range of other subjects.
Before joining the firm, Ben worked as a Legal Fellow of the ACLU Drug Law Reform Project, litigating cases related to drug policy and civil rights. He also served as a clerk to two federal appellate judges: the Honorable Betty Binns Fletcher of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and the Honorable Diana E. Murphy of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.
Professional & Civic Involvement
King County Bar Association, Member
Washington State Bar Association, Member
Washington State Association for Justice, Member
Washington State Association for Justice, Eagle Member
Honors & Awards
Best Lawyers in America®, Appellate Practice, Seattle, Washington, 2025 (Recognized since 2024)
Selected to Super Lawyers list in Super Lawyers - Washington, 2020-2024
Selected to Rising Stars list in Super Lawyers - Washington, 2013-2019
Recipient of the 2010 Burton Award for Legal Achievement for the article, The Continuing Applicability of Rule 23(b)(1) to ERISA Actions for Breach of Fiduciary Duty, Pension & Benefits Reporter, Bureau of National Affairs, Inc., September 1, 2009
Articles & Presentations
Author, Courts Should Abandon Case Nixing Class Action Rep’s Award, Bloomberg Law (April 25, 2023).
Author, Alphabet Soup: Exploring Washington’s Unique ‘ABC Rule’ on Attorney Fees From Collateral Litigation, Washington State Bar News (Feb. 9, 2023).
Author, On the Lawfulness of Awards to Class Representatives, Cardozo Law Review de novo (2023).
Author, An Update on COVID-19 Coverage Litigation in Washington, Washington State Association for Justice: Trial News (Nov. 2022).
Author, Washington’s Flawed ABC Rule, 58 Willamette L. Rev. 251 (2022).
Author, Inoculation Altercation: What Critics Misunderstand About the Washington Supreme Court Vaccination Order, Washington State Bar News (Oct. 21, 2021).
Author, Subject-Matter Jurisdiction in the Washington Supreme Court: Unsettling the Settled, NWSidebar (Nov. 2, 2020).
Author, Vaccine Law: An Overview of Current Law and a Look at the Future, NWLawyer (November 2019).
Author, Radical Jurisprudence, 93 Wash. L. Rev. Online 49 (2018).
Speaker, Rule 23(f) and Class Action Appeals, American Bar Association 19th Annual National Institute on Class Actions, New Orleans, LA (2015).
Author, A Review of Antonin Scalia and Bryan A. Garner, Reading Law (2012), Trial News (March 2014).
Co-author with Derek W. Loeser & Erin M. Riley, 2010 ERISA Employer Stock Cases: The Good, the Bad, and the In Between-Plaintiffs' Perspective, Pensions & Benefits Daily, Bureau of National Affairs, Inc. (Jan. 28, 2011).
Co-author with Derek W. Loeser, Point/Counterpoint: Is Rule 23(b)(1) Still Applicable to ERISA Class Actions?, ERISA Compliance and Enforcement Library of the Bureau of National Affairs, Inc. (May 1, 2009).
Co-author with Derek W. Loeser, The Continuing Applicability of Rule 23(b)(1) to ERISA Actions for Breach of Fiduciary Duty, Pension & Benefits Reporter, Bureau of National Affairs, Inc. (Sept. 1, 2009).
Practice Emphasis
Education
Yale UniversityB.A., 2002, summa cum laude
Yale Law School J.D., 2006; Editor, Yale Law Journal; Editor-in-Chief, Yale Journal of Law and the Humanities
Bar and Court Admissions
2007, California
2010, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
2011, Washington
2011, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington
2012, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington
2013, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
2013, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
2013, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
2013, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
2014, U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
2015, Supreme Court of the United States
