Ben Grimes helps professionals in organizations, law firms, and corporate legal departments become the managers and leaders they aspire to be rather than becoming the stressed and disconnected “bosses” under whom we too often grew up. He supports individual professionals stepping into new positions of responsibility and organizations interested in empowering their people with the resources to sustain collaborative and inclusive working cultures. He also helps lawyers in private practice hone their business development skills by applying proven networking and relationship-building strategies. He is a senior Faculty member at LeadWise Group and the founder of BKG Leadership Coaching.
After graduating from the United States Military Academy at West Point, Ben began his military career as a helicopter pilot flying the UH-60 Blackhawk, serving in Alabama, Kentucky, and South Korea. He was selected for the Army’s Funded Legal Education Program, joined the JAG Corps, and served in a variety of roles, primarily centered around criminal litigation, in Washington, Virginia, the District of Columbia, Germany, and Iraq.
Ben retired from the Army Judge Advocate General’s (JAG) Corps after a 20-year military career and spent a further seven years in public service as the Deputy Director of the Department of Justice Professional Responsibility Advisory Office (PRAO) before following his passion for developing leaders full time.
Ben holds a B.S. in German from the United States Military Academy, a J.D. from NYU School of Law, and an LL.M. from The Judge Advocate General’s Legal Center & School. He is currently an adjunct Lecturer in Law for Columbia Law School. He received his Executive Certificate in Executive Coaching from Georgetown University and is credentialed by the International Coaching Federation.
FUN FACTS ABOUT BEN
A native of central Pennsylvania, Ben spent the formative years of 8-12 in Heidelberg, Germany, where the seeds were planted for his love of new places, people, cultures, and food. He’s mountain biked in Timor-Leste, driven the length of the Atacama Desert in Chile, hiked a glacier in Argentina, seen the border between South Korea and North Korea, and run from border to border in Liechtenstein (it’s not too far). Ben knows that learning lies in our differences, and grace can be found in all the ways we are the same.
Among Ben’s not-so-closely-held secrets are his love of making Halloween costumes for his family, the focus he finds in a problem to solve, and his aspiration to spend more time on the athletic challenges that bring him joy.
AREAS OF FOCUS:
- Leadership development
- Executive coaching
- Career advancement coaching
- Business development & networking
- Strategic relationship building
- Effective communication
- Ethics training and program development
- High-performance teams
- Effective management skills
- Diversity, equity, and inclusion
EDUCATION & CERTIFICATIONS:
- Master of Laws (LLM) | The Judge Advocate General’s Legal Center & School
- Juris Doctor (JD) | NYU School of Law
- Bachelor of Science (BS) | United States Military Academy at West Point
- Executive Certificate in Leadership Coaching | Georgetown University