Maine's oldest law firm, serving the Downeast community since 1883.
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Hale
& Hamlin traces its ancestry to 1831, when Thomas Robinson
opened his law office in Ellsworth. In 1857 Robinson hired a
19-year-old youth named Eugene Hale. We don't know what his
duties entailed, but Hale probably "clerked,"
laboriously writing deeds, wills, and letters in long-hand
under Robinson's direction, "reading law" in his
spare time.
Hale & Hamlin was born when Eugene Hale joined with Lucilius A. Emery in 1883 to form the firm of Hale & Emery. Soon thereafter, they hired young Hannibal E. Hamlin, son of the Vice President during Abraham Lincoln's first term. Together they practiced law for a short time as Hale, Emery & Hamlin. Within a few months, however, Emery left the firm to serve as Justice of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court, eventually becoming Chief Justice. By the time 1883 came to a close, Eugene Hale and Hannibal Hamlin were practicing law as Hale & Hamlin. The firm has remained Hale & Hamlin to the present day. The lawyers of Hale & Hamlin and its predecessors have played central roles in their community and the State of Maine. Eugene Hale went on to serve five terms in the United States Senate. Hannibal Hamlin served as Attorney General of Maine and President of the Maine Senate. He died in 1938. |
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