Greenberg Traurig Endows the Larry J. Hoffman Greenberg Traurig Distinguished Professorship In The Business of Law in Honor of Founding Partner Larry J. Hoffman, J.D. ‘54

When Greenberg Traurig, the seventh largest law firm in the country, sought to honor Larry J. Hoffman, J.D. ‘54, founding partner and Chairman of the Board, the firm asked Hoffman to designate a recipient for an endowment on his behalf. Hoffman immediately requested that the firm direct its gift to the University of Miami School of Law. “The University of Miami School of Law has always been an important part of our family,” Hoffman explained.

The Hoffman family’s ties to the University of Miami span over fifty years. In addition to Hoffman, his wife Deborah, son Kenneth and a niece and nephew all graduated from the School of Law. In fact, Deborah and Kenneth both graduated in the class of 1983, making them the first mother and son to graduate from the School of Law together. She also received an undergraduate degree from the University, as did Hoffman’s brother, Bob. The Hoffman’s daughter-in-law, Hillary Hoffman, is an adjunct professor of statistics in the psychology/neuroscience department and their grandson is currently enrolled as an undergraduate. In 2004, Hoffman chaired the Reunion Committee for the Class of 1954 and Deborah Hoffman participates on committees planning various tribute dinners in connection with the Alumni Office at the School of Law.

“Establishing the Larry J. Hoffman Greenberg Traurig Distinguished Professorship in the Business of Law endowment is a fitting tribute to Larry Hoffman,” stated Cesar Alvarez, President and Chief Executive Officer of Greenberg Traurig. “Larry is a true visionary of the legal community,” Alvarez explained, “He was the leader that created transformational change at Greenberg Traurig by taking us from a local firm to an international firm that now ranks at the very top of the legal marketplace. He did this by recognizing that law firms are a ‘business’ of professionals.”

According to Dean Dennis O. Lynch, the endowment will be used to fund a professorship that will focus on research and teaching students about the structure and management of law firms, including the relationships between law firms and clients and, within law firms, between partners and associates. “This will provide an opportunity to University of Miami law students to graduate with a much better understanding of some of the important concepts they will be dealing with as lawyers.” stated Hilarie Bass, head of Greenberg Traurig’s national litigation practice and chairperson of the School of Law’s fundraising campaign.

President Donna Shalala, accepting the gift from Greenberg Traurig, stated, “On behalf of the University of Miami and our Law School I want to thank Cesar Alvarez and all of Larry Hoffman’s colleagues for your wonderfully generous gift to our School of Law in honor of Larry. Debi and Larry are the quintessential ‘Canes family.” President Shalala continued, “This endowment is a fitting tribute to Larry Hoffman and his legacy of integrity and professionalism. This generous gift is an investment in our community and University of Miami, so we are deeply grateful for this gift.”

“When I attended the University of Miami School of Law, I never planned to actually practice law,” recalled Hoffman, who expected to use his legal training as a businessman. In fact, he explained, “If there had not been a fine law school in Miami, I probably would not have attended law school at all.” Once in school, however, Hoffman found that his classes at the School of Law “created a real spark in my mind that maybe I would be interested in actually practicing law.” Directly after law school Hoffman followed his initial plan and went into business. However, when that business was sold several years later, Hoffman decided to pursue his newly found interest in law and began his career in private practice as a corporate lawyer.

A few years later, in 1967, Hoffman joined together with two other attorneys, Mel Greenberg and Robert Traurig, to start their own firm. “From the beginning,” recalls Hoffman, “Mel was the driving force behind the vision for the firm. He wanted to be a ‘Wall Street’ firm, producing the highest quality legal work. We started the firm with only one associate and junior partner.”

Throughout his career at Greenberg Traurig, Hoffman earned a reputation as an exceptional mentor. “Larry really made me into a securities lawyer,” explained Susan Lipton, the first woman partner at Greenberg Traurig. “When I graduated from law school in 1971, there were no women in law firms. Mel Greenberg hired me and assigned me to Larry. I was a lucky woman.” Describing Hoffman as the consummate business lawyer, Lipton recalled how Hoffman always treated her like a business and professional equally, an unusually experience for a woman in the 1970’s. “Larry taught me to understand business and what was important in a business relationship. He was one of the most ethical straightforward bosses or lawyers I ever worked with.” Lipton credits her training under Hoffman with her professional successes as an attorney and an investment banker on Wall Street.

Although the three founding partners always planned to grow the firm, they initially were not interested in opening offices outside of Miami and Fort Lauderdale, much less becoming an international law firm. It was in 1991, after Hoffman became the firm’s managing partner, that the firm began to consider greater expansion: “We began to consider the idea of moving into other cities, beginning with offices in Tallahassee and West Palm Beach,” Hoffman stated. With typical modestly, Hoffman insists that he had no grand plan to grow the firm at that time, asserting that the extraordinarily successful expansion of Greenberg Traurig in the past 15 years arose from an “incremental vision.”

It was a few years later, when Greenberg Traurig open its New York office that Hoffman realized the firm had unique qualities that supported expansion. As he describes it: “The firm was able to attract very fine lawyers from other fine firms because the firm culture had something special to offer the lawyers. We found these lawyers joined because we had begun to talk about and define our culture, which was unique.” Hoffman describes the culture of the firm as one of “empowering and motivating individuals and fostering collaboration and coordination between lawyers.”

As the firm has grown, Hoffman believes that its distinctive culture has only become stronger. Hoffman explained that the firm has worked very hard to integrate their attorneys, staffs and offices into a cohesive unit. To do so, the firm sponsors introductory weekends for new attorneys, and several different types of retreats – regional, practice and shareholder – in order to educate attorneys about the firm culture and enable attorneys from different geographical or practice areas to get to know each other. In planning these get-togethers, the firm tries, when possible, to include the families to build a sense of community.

Attorney retreats are nothing new to the firm. Although much larger in scope now, in the early days, Deborah Hoffman would plan the firm’s picnics and retreats. Mrs. Hoffman describes the firm culture, then and now, as focusing on the individuals that make up the organization: “The law firm treats people with respect; they like each other and care about each other as human beings, not just professional colleagues.” Like her husband, she believes this culture remains strong at the firm. Comparing the growing firm to a growing family, she explained “The culture is a constant in the firm regardless of its size.”

Another aspect of the Hoffman’s personal philosophy, and the Greenberg Traurig culture, is an emphasis on service to the community. In addition to their activities on behalf of the University of Miami, Deborah Hoffman has been involved in numerous organizations, including founding “Fifty Over Fifty,” now called Funding Arts Network, an organization which brings together women in the community to provide funding to local arts groups. Further reflecting this sense of responsibility to the larger community, the partners of Greenberg Traurig have unanimously agreed to donate a percentage of their annual compensation each year to specific charitable organizations in each city in which Greenberg Traurig has an office.

“I see many parallels between the growth of the School of Law and the growth of Greenberg Traurig.” said Hoffman, “Both came from humble beginnings, both have risen to be admired institutions important within their industries, both try to deliver the best and most creative services, both have a strong culture dedicated to the profession and committed to the community. Most importantly, both have a commitment to continue to change, grow and improve.”

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