Howrey Founder, Hal Baker, Dies at 87

Firm’s Managing Partner for Thirty Years Oversaw Success of Washington Firm

Washington, DC, November 11, 2008. Harold “Hal” Baker, one of the four lawyers who founded Howrey Simon Baker & Murchison in 1956, died today in Washington DC after a long illness. Mr Baker was 87.

In announcing Mr. Baker’s death to the firm, Robert F. Ruyak, the firm’s current Chairman and CEO, and a protégé of Mr. Baker, said, “Howrey and the entire Washington legal community have lost a giant, and several of us have lost a mentor and dear friend. Hal’s imprint on Howrey and on the practice of antitrust law is indelible. He loved the law and believed in thorough, straightforward preparation as the key to its successful practice. As Managing Partner from 1956 to 1986, Hal stressed the fundamentals – client service; hard, smart work; and a winning record for clients - many of whom, such as Anheuser-Busch, International Paper and Mead Westvaco, as he was always proud to note - are still with the firm. We will miss his warm heart, his hearty laugh and endearing presence.”

Hal Baker was born in Moriah, New York in 1921 and attended Asbury College in Kentucky. He enlisted in the U.S. Army Signal Corps in 1941, and served in the South Pacific as a Company Commander on Saipan. After the war, he entered George Washington University Law School, graduating at the top of his class. In law school, he worked with Professor S. Chesterfield Oppenheim (“Oppie”) for two years on Oppie’s 1948 Antitrust Casebook. He said that Oppie’s inspiration changed his life, and introduced him to his life’s love in the law, antitrust.

On July 1, 1956, Hal joined Jack Howrey, Bill Simon, and Dave Murchison to establish the firm of Howrey Simon Baker & Murchison, which was to become the world’s leading antitrust litigation firm. Hal was the firm’s first Managing Partner and guided the development of the firm for more than three decades.

He was one of the architects of the modern law firm, recognizing that law firm management was both an art and a science. Hal’s visionary approach to law firm branding led him to shorten the firm’s name- even though doing so removed his own name from the marquee. He played a major role in making Howrey & Simon, as the firm then became known, into a leader in all respects, both administratively and in the trial of antitrust cases. Hal’s friendly and unassuming manner helped create a unique and fiercely loyal staff at Howrey, one that was the envy of other law firms. He emphasized the absolute necessity for a superior staff, one dedicated to the highest levels of quality, to serve the growing and ever-changing demands of trial lawyers.

Hal was also one of the first to identify the importance of technology to the practice of law and developed the firm’s use of technology in both the firm’s administration and practice, resulting in the firm’s recognition as being on the cutting edge in technology, law firm administration, and training of young lawyers, a reputation it enjoys to the present day.

On his watch, moving into the era of broadened opportunities, the ratio of women lawyers at Howrey, including partners, to that of law school enrollments, was realized. In short, under his management, the firm grew in size and prominence to become the leading antitrust litigation firm in the country, with over 150 lawyers by 1986, the year of his retirement.

In addition to his administrative achievements, Hal was a gifted and tenacious trial lawyer who tried some of the most complex antitrust cases in American history. He was convinced that intense preparation, especially regarding documentary proof and the cross examination of critical witnesses, was the key to trial success.

Hal, with varied and intense interests in such things as horticulture and antiques, had the demeanor of a country lawyer, but was trusted by the largest and most sophisticated companies in America to represent them in their most important antitrust matters. The respect of his peers was shown by his election to the American College of Trial Lawyers, and a long tour of duty as a member of the Board of Trustees at the George Washington University, where he chaired the Medical Committee.

During his retirement he engaged in the horticulture of unusual specimens and ran a virtual pro bono legal practice for many years from his farm in Maryland.

He is survived by his wife, Cozy; his daughter, Barbi (Davis Richardson); son, Brant (Kris) and four grandchildren, Davey, Kevin, Andrew and Jaime. Mr. Baker’s son Randall died in April 1981.