Djuna Elizabeth Perkins | Attorney

Djuna Perkins is an associate with Brody, Hardoon, Perkins and Kesten, LLP. She has tried dozens of civil and criminal cases in the Superior and District Courts of Massachusetts. She appears regularly before the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination (MCAD) and has appeared before the Massachusetts Appeals Court.

Practice Areas

Ms. Perkins' practice focuses on civil recovery for victims of crime, sexual harassment, and discrimination. She has helped countless victims of crime, sexual abuse, harassment and discrimination obtain substantial compensation for their injuries. She also frequently obtains non-monetary concessions such as staff trainings and internal policy changes. Recent representative clients include: 

• The family of Julissa Brisman, the young woman murdered by "Craigslist killer" Philip Markoff;
• A fourth grader molested by her friend's father;
• A woman impregnated by her therapist;
• A young woman sexually molested by her music teacher;
• A man raped and sodomized repeatedly as a child by a neighborhood priest;
• An African-American man repeatedly passed over for promotions and then fired by a major financial institution;
• A hotel clerk sexually harassed by her boss;
• A coffee shop employee sexually harassed by a co-worker;
• A receptionist sexually assaulted by a co-worker; and
• A server at a national restaurant chain who was sexually harassed by a co-worker.

In 2005, Ms. Perkins wrote an amicus brief for Jane Doe, Inc. and other victim advocacy groups in Commonwealth v. King, 445 Mass. 217 (2005), a case in which the Supreme Judicial Court preserved and expanded upon the rule allowing hearsay testimony to corroborate a sexual assault victim's first report of the assault.

Prior Experience

Ms. Perkins joined BHPK following ten years working as a prosecutor in the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office and the Office of the Attorney General. Most recently, Ms. Perkins served as Chief of the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office Domestic Violence Unit, which focused on the prosecution of felony domestic violence and sexual assault cases. As an assistant district attorney, Ms. Perkins prosecuted hundreds of offenders. Known for her attention to detail and sensitivity to victims, Ms. Perkins' tenacious prosecutions persuaded dozens of serial batterers to plead guilty, sparing their victims from testifying in court. Ms. Perkins also established and implemented protocols for the prosecution of domestic violence cases in the Dorchester Domestic Violence Court.

Before becoming an Assistant District Attorney, Ms. Perkins worked as an Assistant Attorney General in the Narcotics and Special Investigations Division, the Appellate Division and the Victim Compensation Division.

Teaching and Publications

Ms. Perkins has taught Criminal Law to graduate students at Northeastern University's College of Criminal Justice. She has also lectured extensively on domestic violence, trial advocacy and the criminal justice system for the following organizations:

• Municipal Police Training Committe, Foxboro Police Academy
• Harvard Law School
• Boston University School of Law
• Northeastern University School of Law
• Suffolk University Law School
• Massachusetts District Attorneys Association
  National Institute for Trial Advocacy
• Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education Seminar, "Trying Domestic Violence Cases in Massachusetts: A Practical Overview of the Prosecution and Defense of Domestic Violence Cases"
• Boston University School of Public Health
• Boston Police Academy
• Boston Police Department
• New England Campus Police Conference
• Attorney General's Conference, Building Bridges of Support for Moms Who Are Victims of Violence, domestic violence training for law enforcement
• Revere Citizen Police Academy
• Boston Center for Adult Education Retired Persons Association
• Association of Residential Security Managers
• New England Area Housing Managers Association
• Boston Community Health Center
• Saheli

Ms. Perkins is the author of the following publications:

• "Rethinking the Fresh Complaint Rule in Sexual Assault Cases: A Response to Commonwealth v. Montanez," 89 Mass. L. Rev. 2 (2004)
• "When Does a Police Officer's Failure to Act Result in Liability?" Law Enforcement Newsletter, Quinlan Publishing Company, Boston, Massachusetts (1997)
• "Must Police Inform a Custodial Suspect of the Presence of an Attorney He Did Not Request?" Law Enforcement Newsletter, Quinlan Publishing Company, Boston, Massachusetts (1996)
• "The Nose Knows: Using Trained Dogs to Detect Drugs," Law Enforcement Newsletter Special Report, Quinlan Publishing Company, Boston, Massachusetts (1995)

Awards and Honors

In 1999, Ms. Perkins was selected as a trainer for Project Harmony's International Domestic Violence Community Partnership Program, a U.S. State Department funded program to provide grassroots support and training about domestic violence in Russia and the Ukraine.