History

If you want to understand Foley Hoag and our personality, take a look at our history. We were started in 1943 by two extraordinarily diverse individuals. Henry Foley and Garrett Hoag sought to establish a different kind of law firm. They were determined to hire the very best lawyers based entirely on individual merit, a departure from the exclusionary practices common in that era. Today, nearly 250 Foley Hoag lawyers practice law at the highest level in business transactions and litigation matters throughout the United States and around the world.

Our distinguished alumni include global business leaders, general counsel of leading companies, U.S. Senators, accomplished state policy leaders, university presidents, and the first African-American partner to be named to a Boston law firm.

Yet the firm’s evolving history, perhaps, can best be measured in the accolades afforded us by the marketplace that we serve and as a result of our commitment to the communities in which we live and work. Here are some of the recent accolades of which we are especially proud:

  • Chambers USA: The Client’s Guide cited 25 individual lawyers and 14 Foley Hoag practices in its 2008 “America’s Leading Lawyers for Business.”
  • Working Mother magazine named Foley Hoag among 50 firms to its prestigious 2008 Top Law Firms list, citing such firm attributes as advancement opportunity, recruitment and retention policies, quality of life, and professional development.
  • Foley Hoag is ranked 12th on Vault's "Best 20 Law Firms for Diversity" list, 12th on its "Diversity for Minorities" list, and 10th on its "Diversity for Gays & Lesbians" list for 2009.
  • The highly regarded publisher of referral guides, The Best Lawyers in America, named 29 lawyers from Foley Hoag in its 2008 edition. Individual lawyers practicing across many Foley Hoag service areas have also been ranked by leading publications such as PLC: Which Lawyer? and The Legal 500.
  • Foley Hoag recently joined The American Lawyer’s “A-List 2008” of the top 50 law firms in America, a prestigious grouping of firms based on diversity, pro bono, associate satisfaction, and revenues per lawyer. The American Lawyer also consistently ranks Foley Hoag among the 100 Best Places to Work in its annual “The Associate’s Survey.”
  • Greater Boston Legal Services (GBLS) has honored Foley Hoag two years running with the top honor of “Largest Donation” in its annual Associates Drive. Many of the firm’s approximately 20,000 hours of pro bono legal work annually are devoted to matters stemming from our close relationship with GBLS.
  • Foley Hoag’s clients named the firm a “Go-To-Firm” in both Intellectual Property and Technology recently, as reported in Corporate Counsel magazine.
  • The Human Rights Campaign Foundation, the educational arm of the nation’s largest advocacy group for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Americans, has honored Foley Hoag with a perfect score in its 2009 Corporate Equality Index and Best Places to Work Survey.
  • Multicultural Law magazine regularly cites Foley Hoag among its Top 100 firms for diversity.
  • The publication “Presumed Equal: What America’s Top Women Lawyers Really Think About Their Firms” ranked Foley Hoag 24th in the nation on the satisfaction of women lawyers on the issues of advancement, firm attitudes and atmosphere, and balancing work and family life.  

On the firm's recent "A-List" ranking, our Managing Partner Robby Sanoff said it best: "For Foley Hoag, being included in the 'A-List' is a special honor because it acknowledges the values that are most important to the firm. We are proud of the strong economic growth Foley Hoag has enjoyed over the past few years, but great firms are more than engines of economic production. Great firms require an unstinting commitment to professional excellence, client service, and community. Those are the values upon which Foley Hoag's culture has been built."