Hill & Barlow was a law firm in Boston, Massachusetts that was dissolved in 2002. Founded in 1895, the firm had been one of the city's oldest and most elite firms, and was also the 12th largest in Boston at the time of its dissolution, employing 138

lawyers A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solicitor, ...

. The firm was founded by Arthur Hill, known for defending the anarchists

Sacco and Vanzetti Nicola Sacco (; April 22, 1891 – August 23, 1927) and Bartolomeo Vanzetti (; June 11, 1888 – August 23, 1927) were Italian immigrant anarchists who were controversially accused of murdering Alessandro Berardelli and Frederick Parmenter, a ...

. Hill & Barlow was dissolved when approximately one third of the firm, mostly the real estate group, left, eventually joining

Piper Rudnick DLA Piper is a multinational law firm with offices in over 40 countries throughout the Americas, Asia Pacific, Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. In 2021, it had a total revenue of US$3.47 billion, an average profit per equity partner of U ...

(now

DLA Piper DLA Piper is a multinational law firm with offices in over 40 countries throughout the Americas, Asia Pacific, Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. In 2021, it had a total revenue of US$3.47 billion, an average profit per equity partner of ...

) in 2003. (A group representing authors and movie producers were the first to leave for

Fish & Richardson Fish & Richardson P.C. is a global patent, intellectual property litigation, and commercial litigation law firm with more than 400 attorneys and technology specialists across the U.S. and Europe. Fish is one of the most sought-after firms for both ...

.) Remaining attorneys reported feeling "blindsided" by the unexpected upheaval, but those departing felt that the planned restructuring was coming too late.

Notable alumni

Notable alumni of the firm include: *

Robert Mueller Robert Swan Mueller III (; born August 7, 1944) is an American lawyer and government official who served as the sixth director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) from 2001 to 2013. A graduate of Princeton University and New York ...

, director of the

Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, ...

* Michael S. Greco, President of the

American Bar Association The American Bar Association (ABA) is a voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students, which is not specific to any jurisdiction in the United States. Founded in 1878, the ABA's most important stated activities are the setting of acad ...

, the Massachusetts Bar Association, the New England Bar Association, and the New England Bar Foundation * Former

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

governors

Endicott Peabody Endicott Howard Peabody (February 15, 1920 – December 2, 1997) was an American politician from Massachusetts. A Democrat, he served a single two-year term as the 62nd Governor of Massachusetts, from 1963 to 1965. His tenure is probably ...

Michael Dukakis Michael Stanley Dukakis (; born November 3, 1933) is an American retired lawyer and politician who served as governor of Massachusetts from 1975 to 1979 and again from 1983 to 1991. He is the longest-serving governor in Massachusetts history a ...

and William Weld * Deval Patrick, the first

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

Governor of Massachusetts The governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is the chief executive officer of the government of Massachusetts. The governor is the head of the state cabinet and the commander-in-chief of the commonwealth's military forces. Massachuset ...

and former U.S. assistant attorney general for Civil Rights under Bill Clinton * Former federal district court judge

Reginald C. Lindsay Reginald C. Lindsay (March 19, 1945 – March 12, 2009) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts. Education and career Born in Birmingham, Alabama, Lindsay received a Bachelor of ...

of the District of Massachusetts * Former Massachusetts State Senator

Jarrett Barrios Jarrett Tomás Barrios (born October 16, 1968) is the chief executive officer of the American Red Cross Los Angeles Region, a former politician and activist. Prior to this, he served as the CEO of the American Red Cross of Massachusetts. Barrios ...

* John A. E. Pottow, professor of law at the

University of Michigan Law School The University of Michigan Law School (Michigan Law) is the law school of the University of Michigan, a Public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Founded in 1859, the school offers Master of Laws (LLM), Master of C ...

* Herbert P. Gleason, former corporation counsel of Boston * Richard W. Renehan, President of the Boston Bar Association, President of Boston College Alumni

References

External links

''Esq. RIP''Anatomy of a breakup Hill & Barlow employees analyze firm’s demise, impact
Law firms based in Massachusetts Defunct law firms of the United States Law firms established in 1895 Companies disestablished in 2002 Defunct companies based in Massachusetts Companies based in Boston 1895 establishments in Massachusetts {{US-law-firm-stub