Ben Couture knew from the get-go he’d rather represent David than Goliath. “I am not the corporate type,” he explains. “I like fighting for the little guy, and I don’t want to spend all of my time in a boardroom. Mostly, I love working in the courtroom, making the strongest possible argument for my client.”

Clients too Ill to Fight

Couture’s clients need a good fighter who’s well-prepared and who can work under pressure. Many of the people he represents are going up against large, well-funded corporations—and they don’t have much time. They have been diagnosed with an asbestos related illness and some of them only have months to live.

“Working with asbestos victims is a very sobering job,” Couture says. “Those who have been exposed to asbestos are usually working people who may never have needed a lawyer before. They are not only coping with major medical issues, but they are facing a very personal tragedy, which is usually compounded by significant financial loss. One of the most satisfying yet difficult aspects of my work is the personal connection I develop with my clients during such a stressful time.”

Working with the Right Team

When Couture graduated from Southern Methodist University’s Dedman School of Law in 2003, he knew he wanted to devote his career to representing asbestos victims. After working for several years at a premier plaintiffs’ firm in Texas, he took a position at one of the nation’s leading asbestos law firms, Bergman Draper & Frockt, located in Seattle.

“We have eight lawyers and more than 60 years of collective experience litigating asbestos cases,” says Couture. “That’s all we do. We are a firm of attorneys devoted to providing our clients with responsive, thoughtful and aggressive representation.”

The firm has developed exceptional knowledge of the specific medical issues that arise in asbestos cases, the companies that manufactured and used asbestos products, the legal theories of liability, the defenses that companies assert to avoid responsibility, and the national trends in asbestos litigation. The firm has won tens of millions of dollars for clients, including a $30 million asbestos settlement with the Halliburton Corporation, believed to be the largest settlement of its kind in the Northwest.