Press Release
January 18, 2012

Goodwin at 100: Goodwin and Procter's First Hires - 1913

Goodwin at 100: Goodwin and Procter's First Hires - 1913

With an office established in a small suite on the fifth floor of Boston’s India Building at 84 State Street, Goodwin and Procter’s caseload began to grow, and so did the fledgling firm.

The partners hired their first associate in 1913 - another Harvard Law School graduate - Harris H. Gilman. He started at $15 a week, the same salary the firm’s secretary earned. Gilman assisted the partners until he was called off to serve in World War I, but later returned to the firm and became a partner in 1922.

Goodwin and Procter also attempted to hire their first partner in 1913, but Arthur Ballantine, also a Harvard Law School graduate, opted to work on the Federal Income Tax legislation of 1913. Ballantine later reconsidered and joined the firm in 1914, when it was renamed Goodwin, Procter & Ballantine, one of several names changes the firm would undergo in its 100 year history.

Ballantine was called to Washington, D.C. to serve in the U.S. Revenue Bureau’s Legal Department during World War I, and relocated to New York City to join another firm after the war.

For more on our firm's history, click here.