S. Benjamin Bryant, Attorney

For over thirty years, Ben’s practice has focused on the trials and appeals of civil and criminal cases in the federal and state courts. After serving as law clerk to Charles H. Haden II, Judge of the U.S. District Courts for the Northern and Southern Districts of West Virginia, Ben became a federal prosecutor. As an Assistant United States Attorney for eleven years, Ben conducted investigations, grand jury proceedings, trials and appeals of all manner of federal criminal cases, including: public corruption, fraud, tax, regulatory offenses, environmental crimes, defense contracting, healthcare fraud and abuse, civil rights, occupational safety and, of course, drugs and violent crimes, including arson and murder.

Ben was a partner in Allen Guthrie & McHugh, a mid-sized Charleston litigation firm for nine years, and also a partner in a small general practice firm in Huntington, West Virginia for four years.

When he joined Carey, Scott, Douglas & Kessler in 2005, he had broad and varied trial and appellate experience, including cases involving antitrust, contract and business disputes, civil rights and First Amendment issues, sexual harassment, insurance coverage, insurance bad faith, professional responsibility and licensing issues for lawyers and physicians, state and local government operations, mass tort, chemical exposure and personal injury litigation. His clients have included many individuals and The West Virginia State Bar, state and local government officials and bodies, global corporations, citizen action groups and other non-profits, coal mining companies and coal miners, physicians and other healthcare providers, a television broadcaster, small family owned businesses and multinational chemical manufacturers. Alone and as lead counsel, Ben has tried over one hundred jury trials to conclusion, and handled numerous appeals in the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit and the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals.

Since joining Carey, Scott, Douglas & Kessler, Ben’s practice primarily involves complex commercial litigation, mass torts, insurance coverage and bad faith, representation of doctors and other health care professionals and providers in civil, criminal and administrative healthcare fraud and abuse proceedings, white collar criminal defense, and representation of individuals and businesses in federal grand jury investigations.

Ben is admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of the United States, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia and all state and federal trial courts in West Virginia. He graduated from the College of Law, West Virginia University, J.D. in 1978, where he was an associate editor of the West Virginia Law Review; and Marshall University in 1973. Bar memberships include The American Bar Association and The West Virginia State Bar. Ben has served as an instructor in legal studies at Marshall University and the West Virginia College of Graduate Studies; as an instructor at the United States Department of Justice, Attorney General’s Advocacy Institute; and is a frequent presenter for continuing legal education programs, lecturing in evidence, procedure and environmental law.