About Ben
Ben Coughlan studied journalism at Northwestern University before turning to the law. He earned a B.S. in journalism in 2005 and went on to receive his J.D. from the University of San Diego School of Law in 2012. He later completed the TIPS/ABOTA National Trial Academy, an advanced program for trial advocacy. That mix of media training and formal legal education has shaped an unusual path to the courtroom.
Early career stops read like a cross-section of media and sports. Coughlan worked in media relations for the San Diego Padres and held internships with CLTV News and the Chicago Bears. Those communications roles preceded legal internships and summer clerkships, including time at Grimes and Warwick and a stint in the legal department of the San Diego Padres. He moved into trial work soon after law school, joining Gomez Trial Lawyers as a trial lawyer and partner.
In 2020 he co-founded Coughlan & Vinel LLP. He remains a partner there and splits his time between trial practice and teaching. He returned to the University of San Diego School of Law as an adjunct professor, bringing courtroom experience into the classroom. Students encounter a teacher who knows trial logistics and how to tell a story under pressure.
Coughlan’s professional affiliations run deep in trial circles. He is a fellow of the American Board of Trial Advocates National Trial College and an instructor for the National Institute for Trial Advocacy. He serves on the University of San Diego School of Law Alumni Board of Directors and has held an associate position in local American Inns of Court chapters. He edits the Torts Section of Trial Bar News and has been active in consumer and plaintiff lawyer organizations at both the state and local levels. Outside the bar groups, he has served as vice president of the San Diego Brain Injury Foundation.
Those roles reflect the areas of litigation he most often pursues. His courtroom practice centers on tort litigation and serious personal injury matters, including brain injury cases. He has focused on developing trial skills through both practice and instruction, teaching younger lawyers and law students trial advocacy techniques he uses in his own cases.
Colleagues describe a lawyer who moves easily from media strategy to courtroom presentation. He balances teaching responsibilities, bar leadership and trial work. He is licensed to practice in California and represents clients through his firm, Coughlan & Vinel LLP, where his current practice focuses on complex personal injury and tort litigation, including brain injury cases.
