imported>Americus55 at 23:34, 13 August 2024

2024-08-13T23:34:33Z

New page

{{short description|American lawyer}}

'''Hammond E. Chaffetz''' (July 9, 1907 – January 12, 2001) was a federal prosecutor and partner at [[Kirkland & Ellis]]. He helped turn the law firm into one of America’s largest law firms.

== Early life ==
Born in Massachusetts, Chaffetz graduated from [[Harvard Law School]] in 1930.
[[File:Hammond E. Chaffetz, Special Asst. to the Attorney General LCCN2016871436.jpg|thumb]]

== Career ==
He joined the U.S. Department of Justice, where he became a Special Assistant to the Attorney General, pioneering [[federal antitrust prosecution]] policies later upheld by the [[U.S. Supreme Court]] in ''[[United States v. Socony-Vacuum Oil Co.]]''<ref name="Janega">{{cite news|last=Janega|first=James|date=January 16, 2001|title=HAMMOND CHAFFETZ, ATTORNEY, FUNDRAISER|newspaper=[[The Chicago Tribune]]|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-2001-01-16-0101160205-story.html|access-date=October 10, 2020}}</ref><ref name="Johnston">{{cite news|last=Johnston|first=David Cay|date=January 17, 2001|title=H. E. Chaffetz, 93, Lawyer On Antitrust and Price Fixing|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/01/17/us/h-e-chaffetz-93-lawyer-on-antitrust-and-price-fixing.html|access-date=October 10, 2020}}</ref>

Chaffetz had been recommended for the position by one of his Harvard Law School professors, future [[U.S. Supreme Court]] justice [[Felix Frankfurter]].<ref name="Kirkland">{{cite web|author=Kirkland & Ellis|author-link=Kirkland & Ellis|date=January 15, 2001|title=Kirkland & Ellis Pays Tribute to Hammond Chaffetz|url=https://www.kirkland.com/news/press-release/2001/01/kirkland--ellis-pays-tribute-to-hammond-chaffetz|access-date=October 10, 2020}}</ref> Frankfurter, however, had also recommended one of Chaffetz's classmates, future accused Soviet spy [[Alger Hiss]], for the same position, and it was Hiss's decision to withdraw that Chaffetz believed opened the position to him.<ref name="Kirkland" />

His victory over 16 oil companies in a [[price fixing|price-fixing]] conspiracy soon caught the attention of [[Weymouth Kirkland]], who was defending one of the oil companies. Kirkland offered the young lawyer a partnership at the Washington offices of the firm.

During World War II, he took a leave of absence and became a Navy lieutenant commander.

He rejoined the law firm after the war, and was moved to the Chicago offices. He was key to the law firm’s expansion, by recruiting young law students. He withdrew from active law practice in the early 1980s, but remained advisor until his death.

Chaffetz was also an active supporter of the arts in Chicago, most notably the [[Chicago Symphony Orchestra]], the [[Goodman Theatre]], and the International Theatre Festival.

== Family ==
Chaffetz's parents were Jewish immigrants from Russia and his father was a shopkeeper.<ref name="FOIA">{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=2016|title=Maxwell Chaffetz Declassified FBI File|url=http://documents.theblackvault.com/documents/fbifiles/gangsterera/067E-HQ-10565.pdf|access-date=June 21, 2016|publisher=The Black Vault}}</ref> His brother was Maxwell (Max) Chaffetz, an [[FBI]] special agent whose grandson is former [[Congressman]] [[Jason Chaffetz]], and his second cousin was Washington, D.C. [[real estate developer]] and [[Philanthropy|philanthropist]] [[Morris Cafritz]].{{r|FOIA|pp=15, 59, 90,103}}<ref name="Cashman">{{cite news|last=Cashman|first=Greer Fay|date=July 14, 2016|title=Grapevine: A British diplomat in Mea She’arim|newspaper=[[The Jerusalem Post]]|url=https://www.jpost.com/not-just-news/grapevine-a-british-diplomat-in-mea-shearim-460452|access-date=October 10, 2020}}</ref><ref name="cafritz">{{cite news|last=Williams|first=Marjorie|date=February 25, 1990|title=CAFRITZ V. CAFRITZ|work=[[The Washington Post]]|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/magazine/1990/02/25/cafritz-v-cafritz/9f486a14-9672-4802-802e-0e470a9f1507/|access-date=October 10, 2020}}</ref>

==Sources==
*https://web.archive.org/web/20070928035821/http://www.illinoisbar.org/Association/012-1i.htm
*http://www.kirkland.com/ourFirm/history.aspx
*http://www.law.harvard.edu/alumni/bulletin/2001/summer/memoriam_main.html

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chaffetz}}
[[Category:1907 births]]
[[Category:2001 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century American lawyers]]
[[Category:Cafritz family]]
[[Category:Harvard Law School alumni]]
[[Category:People associated with Kirkland & Ellis]]
[[Category:United States Department of Justice lawyers]]
[[Category:United States Navy personnel of World War II]]

Hammond Chaffetz - Revision history

imported>Americus55 at 23:34, 13 August 2024