Prominent Boston Attorney

James Starke Dittmar was born on July 13, 1944 in Mount Lebanon Pennsylvania. Jim was a product of the post-war American suburbs and high quality public education.

Jim graduated magna cum laude and as “First Citizen” in the Amherst College Class of ‘66, where he was student body President. He then studied at the London School of Economics and Harvard Law School.

Jim brought creativity and intellectual passion to his work as a trial lawyer and became a nationally recognized securities law expert. Jim began and ended his career at the Boston office of Goodwin, with stints in between at various firms including Hutchins, Wheeler, and Dittmar. He tried a broad array of civil cases ranging from railroad disasters, to international synthetic diamond theft, to a dispute involving one of the world’s greatest private collections of rare books. He was personal counsel to Ned Johnson, the chair of Fidelity Investments, and represented the Boston Bruins. Jim was most proud of his appearance before the

U.S. Supreme Court representing minority firefighters in Boston, where he advocated for diversity hiring protection in the Fire Department.

Jim traveled widely and read voraciously. He was an avid collector of books and the arts and crafts of other cultures. Jim loved living in the Back Bay and spending time with his family in Little Compton, Rhode Island. Some of his happiest times were traveling to France to visit his beloved sister and to London, where his wife’s family and his son live.

Jim was diagnosed with Lewy Body Dementia in 2015, a vicious disease that causes confusion, difficulty with daily activities and hallucinations. He remained remarkably aware of his condition, eloquently commenting a week before he died that he was “dying in slices.”

Jim is survived by his wife Deborah Kay, his sister Susan Thobois and brother-in-law Jean-Yves Thobois, his son Jeremiah Dittmar and daughterin-law Stephanie Sherman, his stepson Ryland Stanley and daughter-in-law Kathleen Stewart, and stepson Miles Stanley and daughter-in-law Anna Rose Ott.

In lieu of flowers, please send donations to the ACLU Foundation of Massachusetts in his memory. A memorial service will be held in the Spring.