surfaceoncology We’re excited to introduce a new series called SURFer Stories, which aims to provide insight into the best part of #LifeUnderTheSurface: our SURFers!
First up is Ben Montgomery, Senior Director, Corporate Counsel.
“I wanted to be a film actor in undergrad but wanted job stability. I started working behind the camera while trying to break in as an actor. I worked for an attorney, Jeff Garmel, at WGBH; he inspired me that being an entertainment lawyer might be as rewarding as acting. I moved to NYC to clear music for Chappelle’s Show on Comedy Central….while trying to break into acting. After a few years, I decided to go to law school to be an entertainment lawyer. As fate would have it, I graduated in 2009, and entertainment lawyer jobs were quite scarce. Another brilliant attorney, Phil Liston-Kraft, took me under his wing. He knew I was trained to protect creative intellectual property, and knew I could help protect the more scientific intellectual property being produced at Mass General & Brigham hospitals. So I sort of fell into Life Sciences! Attached is a photo of me during a scene from “Matinee Queen” (a 2005 short film directed in Broadstairs, England) with Christina Cole (“What a Girl Wants,” “Hex”). That was as close as I got to being a real actor.”