Hill and Barlow

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Hill & Barlow was a law firm in

By 1965, the firm, now called Hill Barlow Goodale & Adams, had 11 partners and 7-8 associates.[1] In this same year, Hill Barlow Goodale & Adams merged with Peabody Koufman & Brewer and changed the firm name to Hill & Barlow.^[1] This was the first merger in Boston in 30 years and created one of the largest firms in the city with 31 lawyers.^[1]

The firm was incorporated in the early 1990s, meaning that employees could enjoy the tax benefits available to employees of a corporation. By this time, H&B had grown to 123 lawyers and was considered a mid-size firm.^[1]

Prior to its dissolution in 2002, Hill & Barlow attempted to prevent liquidation by focussing more on individual practice groups and cutting back on staff.^[5]

A group representing authors and movie producers were the first to leave for

Remaining attorneys reported feeling "blindsided" by the unexpected upheaval, but those departing felt that the planned restructuring was coming too late.[7]

Attorney compensation

One of the main gripes that dissatisfied staff had with H&B was economics and compensation. By the late 1980s and '90s, the real estate sector of the firm had become by far the most lucrative practice.^[1] Many real estate litigators on staff felt that they were carrying the firm's economic viability; thus being unfairly compensated (the same as less-lucrative attorneys and sectors within the practice).^[1]

From 1965 until 1999, H&B used a formula system administered by an autonomous compensation committee. In the mid 1980s, the firm attempted to minimize the disparity between the top producing partners from the bottom by taking out 20% of the profit and distributing it as rewards for service or for need. In the 1990s, additional compensation was distributed based on one’s contribution to the firm, i.e. managing partner role etc. Whatever portion of the 20% was not allocated by need or service was equally distributed among the partners.^[1]

In 1999, the firm adopted a judgment system of compensation. The management committee became fully responsible for distributing the profits, and decisions regarding distribution were made in advance and paid at the beginning of the year rather than a calculation of a three year average paid in December.^[1]

Historical cases

In the 1920s, Hill appealed the guilty verdicts of anarchists Sacco and Vanzetti.

During the McCarthy era of the early 1950s, H&B attorneys John Saltonstall and Calvin Bartlett defended individuals accused by McCarthy's House on UnAmerican Activities in a time when other firms refused to do so.^[1]

Notable alumni

Notable alumni of the firm include:

• David Alan Hoffman, John H. Watson, Jr. Lecturer on Law at Harvard Law School
• Robert Mueller, director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation
• Michael S. Greco, President of the American Bar Association, the Massachusetts Bar Association, the New England Bar Association, and the New England Bar Foundation
• Former
  William Weld
• African American Governor of Massachusetts
  and former U.S. assistant attorney general for Civil Rights under Bill Clinton
• Former federal district court judge
  District of Massachusetts
• Former Massachusetts State Senator Jarrett Barrios
• John A. E. Pottow, professor of law at the University of Michigan Law School
• Herbert P. Gleason, former corporation counsel of Boston
• Richard W. Renehan, President of the Boston Bar Association, President of Boston College Alumni
• Jonathan C. Lipson, professor of law at Temple University-Beasley School of Law

References

External links

• Esq. RIP
• Boston Business Journal
• Anatomy of a breakup Hill & Barlow employees analyze firm’s demise, impact