CAMDEN, Maine — C. Donald Briggs III was a successful lawyer who specialized in personal injury cases. But he also was a tireless supporter of the legal profession and had been president of the Knox County Bar Association for about 15 years before he died Sunday evening at the age of 60 after several months of declining health.
Rockland lawyer James Brannan went to Suffolk University Law School in Boston at the same time as Briggs, and the two lived next to each other on Beacon Hill.
“He was a real public servant,” Brannan said, referring to all the work Briggs did with bar associations.
Briggs also was generous with his time in assisting those who could not afford legal representation. He was involved with the Maine Volunteer Lawyers Project, served on the board of governors for the American Association for Justice and the board of directors for Pine Tree Legal Assistance.
In 2012, he represented a Camden woman who sued a man convicted of sexually assaulting her and threatening her life. The lawyer said last year that he knows that the woman may never get any money from the ruling but that money isn’t the only reason people file lawsuits. A judge ultimately awarded the woman $1.5 million.
“At both federal and local levels, rape survivors are urged to consider civil recourse for any number of reasons,” including the therapeutic value, Briggs said last year.
He was born and raised in Connecticut and graduated from Holy Cross College in Worcester, Massachusetts, before entering law school in Boston. He practiced law in Boston and Worcester for nine years.
Lawyer William “Sandy” Welte of Camden first met Briggs at Suffolk University, and they remained friends after law school. Welte came to the midcoast area in the early 1980s and joined the law firm of Cloutier & Associates. The firm had an opening, and he contacted his law school friend to see if he was interested in joining. He was interested, and Briggs moved to the area in 1988. He said Briggs had a very keen legal mind that was fueled by both curiosity and creativity.
Briggs was especially focused on helping victims of car accidents, medical malpractice and other personal injury negligence cases, his family said in his obituary.
Welte said that the time Briggs spent with the Volunteer Lawyers Project and with Pine Tree Legal was representative of his philosophy.
“He was very concerned about people having access to the law,” Welte said. In the past year, he was part of the Maine Bar Association’s effort to have lawyers volunteer their time in public libraries across the state to take questions from the public.
There will be calling hours 6-8 p.m. Friday at the Burpee, Carpenter and Hutchins Funeral Home, 110 Limerock St., Rockland. The funeral service is 10 a.m. Saturday at the funeral home.