Hall Estill Explained

Firm Name:Hall Estill
Headquarters:Tulsa
Num Offices:4
Num Attorneys:150
Practice Areas:Antitrust, corporate, labor & employment, energy, oil & gas, intellectual property, litigation, Native American law, real estate, regulatory, restructuring/bankruptcy, and tax
Date Founded:1966
Company Type:Professional corporation
Homepage:www.hallestill.com

Hall Estill is an American law firm headquartered in Tulsa, Oklahoma with additional offices in Oklahoma City, Northwest Arkansas, and Denver, Colorado. Hall Estill ranks among the 400 largest U.S. law firms by domestic attorney headcount.[1] In 2015, Law360 recognized Hall Estill for having the fourth-highest percentage of minority partners among America's large and mid-size law firms and named the firm as one of the "50 Best Firms for Minority Partners."[2]

Hall Estill is currently headquartered in Santa Fe Square at 521 East 2nd Street, Suite 1200 in downtown Tulsa. The Oklahoma City office is located in BancFirst Tower

History

In 1966, Harvard Law School graduate Walter Hall founded the firm now known as Hall Estill in response to a request for outside counsel made by the Tulsa-based Williams Companies (today a Fortune 500 energy company).[3]

In 1980, Hall Estill attorneys represented defendant Worldwide Volkswagen in the landmark personal jurisdiction case World-Wide Volkswagen Corp v. Woodson, which was ultimately decided in the defendant's favor by the U.S. Supreme Court.[4]

In 1996, Hall Estill partner Judith Colbert became the first minority woman partner of a large law firm in Oklahoma history.[5]

In 2010, Hall Estill attorneys successfully defended noted author John Grisham in claims arising from his book , later turned into a Netflix documentary series.[6] In 2014, Hall Estill represented country music singer Garth Brooks in a highly-publicized lawsuit in which Brooks challenged an Oklahoma hospital's use of what the court deemed to be a restricted donation.[7]

In 2017, political scientist Adam Feldman identified Hall Estill as one of the four law firms that had appeared most frequently in front of recently-appointed U.S. Supreme Justice Neil Gorsuch during his time on the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit.[8]

Growth and expansion

Hall Estill opened its second office in 1986 in Oklahoma City.[9] In 1997, Hall Estill opened its first Northwest Arkansas office in Fayetteville, Arkansas, staffed with attorneys lured away from the Rose Law Firm (where Hillary Clinton practiced). In 2016 Hall Estill opened its Denver office, initially focusing on oil and gas and transactional work.[10]

Hall Estill has on occasion grown through mergers and acquisitions. In 2000, Hall Estill acquired Nichols Wolfe, a Tulsa corporate law firm founded in 1965.[11] In 2018, Tulsa corporate and litigation law firm Newton, O'Connor, Turner & Ketchum merged with the larger Hall Estill.[12]

Notable attorneys and firm alumni

Notes and References

  1. News: Violante. Cristina. Law360 Reveals 400 Largest US Firms. 6 April 2018. Law360. 24 March 2016.
  2. News: Schaefer. Ralph. Hall Estill enriched by diverse backgrounds. 6 April 2018. Tulsa World. 23 June 2015.
  3. News: Schaefer. Ralph. Hall Estill firm strong, growing 50 years later. 6 April 2018. Tulsa World. 16 May 2016.
  4. Adams. Charles W.. World-Wide Volkswagen v. Woodson-The Rest of the Story. Nebraska Law Review. 1993. 72. 1122.
  5. News: Law Firm Shareholder. Ebony. August 1996.
  6. Web site: Peterson v. Grisham (10th Cir.) . Findlaw . 1 February 2019.
  7. News: Hawthorne. Fran. When a Donation Steers Off Course. 6 April 2018. New York Times. 6 November 2014.
  8. Web site: Feldman. Adam. Judge Gorsuch by the Numbers. Empirical SCOTUS. 16 April 2018. 1 February 2017.
  9. News: Rutherford. Dan. State's Law Firms Late to Embrace Branch Craze. 6 April 2018. Tulsa World. 1 June 1996.
  10. News: Proctor. Cathy. Oklahoma law firm setting up shop in Denver. 6 April 2018. Denver Business Journal. 20 April 2016.
  11. News: Stancavage. John. Hall Estill Acquiring Firm. 6 April 2018. Tulsa World. 1 June 2006.
  12. News: Newsmaker: Hall Estill merger to be complete April 2. 6 April 2018. Tulsa World. 23 March 2018.
  13. News: Watts. James D.. Tulsan's novel gets attention. 6 April 2018. Tulsa World. 30 December 1991.
  14. News: McGuigan. Patrick. On Judge Egan's Middle Name. 6 April 2018. Daily Oklahoman. 27 January 2002.
  15. News: Sulzberger. A.O.. Less Price-Rule Advice. 6 April 2018. New York Times. 26 December 1978.
  16. Web site: Ehrling. John. Judge Lee Roy West Interview. Voices of Oklahoma. 6 April 2018.
  17. News: Tulsa attorney now a federal judge. 22 March 2018. KOTV News. 30 September 2003.