Choate, Hall & Stewart

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Choate, Hall & Stewart LLP
ChoateHallStewartLogo.jpg
Headquarters Boston
No. of offices1
No. of attorneys170
Major practice areasBusiness and Technology, Finance & Restructuring, Litigation, Intellectual Property, Private Equity, Wealth Management
Revenue$274.7 million (2021)
Profit per equity partner$3.24 million (2021)
Date founded1899 (1899)
FounderCharles F. Choate Jr., John Hall, Ralph A. Stewart
Company type LLP
Website www.choate.com

Choate Hall & Stewart LLP, commonly referred to as "Choate", is a Boston-based law firm. [1] The firm is known for having a one-office approach to its operations. [2]

Contents

Recognition

In 2019, The Vault named Choate one of the top ten law firms to work for in the United States. That same year, the Firm's summer associate program was ranked number seven in the country. [3]

History

Choate, Hall & Stewart was founded in 1899 by Charles F. Choate Jr. and John L. Hall, later joined by Ralph A. Stewart. [4] Choate was the nephew of William Gardner Choate, the founder of the Connecticut school Choate Rosemary Hall, and the grand-nephew of lawyer Rufus Choate, whose statue appears in the Suffolk County Courthouse in downtown Boston. [5] Poet Archibald MacLeish practiced at the firm for three years in the early 1920s. [6] The firm, and Charles F. Choate Jr., represented the United States Industrial Alcohol Company in its defense against litigation stemming from the Boston Molasses Disaster of 1919. [7] Mr. Choate presented the company's case that the disaster had been caused by sabotage by anarchists. [7]

The firm long held the reputation as one of the most genteel of the "Boston Brahmin" white shoe firms. [8] In 2005, the firm hired a number of attorneys fleeing the collapse of Testa Hurwitz, a heavily Jewish and Catholic firm focusing on business and venture capital, giving the firm an immediate presence in the life sciences and technology fields. [9]

In 2018, Choate, Hall & Stewart joined other national law firms in raising salaries for first-year associates. [10] During the same year, the firm acted as legal counsel for Phoenix Tower International during its purchase of telecommunication assets in the Dominican Republic. [11]

In 2019, Choate, Hall & Stewart represented Dennis Publishing in their acquisition of Kiplinger Washington Editors Inc. [12]

Choate, Hall & Stewart has long engaged in the practice, common only among Boston law firms, of serving as an investment broker, particularly in the 21st century. [13] The firm’s money management affiliate goes by the name of Choate Investment Advisors. [14] In 2023, several wealth management partners joined Choate Investment Advisors from Boston-based law firm Ropes and Gray, bringing trusts controlling more than $2 billion to Choate. [15]

References

  1. ↑ Ryan, Greg (February 3, 2016). "Three more partners leave Locke Lord, this time for Choate Hall & Stewart". Boston Business Journal. Retrieved October 9, 2016.
  2. ↑ "Can Choate Keep Living Large by Thinking Small?". The American Lawyer. Retrieved July 3, 2019.
  3. ↑ "Best companies to work for|Vault.com". Vault. Retrieved July 17, 2019.
  4. ↑ "Choate Celebrates 125th Anniversary". Choate. Choate Hall & Stewart LLP. Retrieved September 3, 2025.
  5. ↑ Bresler, Ken (June 6, 2019). "Rufus Choate a familiar face in Adams Courthouse". Mass Lawyers Weekly. Retrieved September 3, 2025.
  6. ↑ Kahlenberg, Richard (1999). Broken Contract: A Memoir of Harvard Law School. University of Massachusetts Press. p. 109. ISBN   1558492348 . Retrieved November 8, 2016.
  7. 1 2 Puleo, Stephen (2003). Dark Tide: The Great Boston Molasses Flood of 1919. Boston: Beacon Press. p. 237.
  8. ↑ Margolick, David (December 1, 1989). "In Which Boston Brahmin Law Firms Slug it Out. Genteelly, Of Course". The New York Times. Retrieved September 3, 2025.
  9. ↑ Ryan, Greg (May 19, 2017). "A decade after firm's demise, the Testa Hurwitz diaspora is thriving". Boston Business Journal. American City Business Journals. Retrieved September 3, 2025.
  10. ↑ "Choate, WilmerHale join parade of law firms raising associate pay to $190K". Boston Business Journal. Retrieved July 3, 2019.
  11. ↑ "Phoenix Tower International enters agreement to purchase 1,049 telecommunication assets in the Dominican Republic". Market Watch. Retrieved July 3, 2019.
  12. ↑ "Longtime D.C. publisher acquired by UK media company". Washington Business Journal. Retrieved July 3, 2019.
  13. ↑ Clifford M. Marks (July 15, 2010). "Watch Out Hedge Funds, Here Come the Law Firms". Law Blog, Wall Street Journal. Retrieved November 10, 2016.
  14. ↑ "Five things you should know about Todd Millay". Boston Globe. Retrieved July 3, 2019.
  15. ↑ "Choate Adds Five Partners from Ropes". May 16, 2023.
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