WASHINGTON DC – (September 15, 2014) – Squire Patton Boggs, with great sadness, today announces that the firm’s Chairman Emeritus Thomas Hale Boggs, Jr. died last night unexpectedly. He was 73 years old.
“This is obviously a very sad day for our firm, the Boggs family and all of those who, as I did, called Tom a friend and colleague. He was a one-of-a-kind individual who pioneered the now widely imitated combination of law and public policy and played key roles in shaping the policy and political agenda for decades,” said Don Moorehead, who served alongside Boggs as Vice Chairman of Patton Boggs and is a member of the Global Board of Squire Patton Boggs. “More than that, he was that rare combination of a creative leader (is there a Steve Jobs of law firms?) who inspired all of us and a great friend to whom no personal matter was too trivial to discuss and resolve. His monument is and will remain the law firm that he built and guided into a Washington powerhouse and then into a combination that resulted in one of the world's preeminent law firms. And yet, in the end, he was to all of us, the best of friends and to those of us who have spent much of our professional careers as his partner, he remains, and will remain, one of those larger than life figures who never lost his humanity.”
Former Louisiana Senator John Breaux, Co-Chair of the Squire Patton Boggs Public Policy Department, noted his longtime friendship with Boggs. “I am proud to say that Tom had a tremendously positive effect on my life both professionally and personally. I know firsthand that countless people in Washington and around the world can say the same thing. He was the smartest man I have ever met and he used his talents to help government work with compassion and concern for everyone. His personality created a family atmosphere here at the firm, and I feel very lucky to have been able to work with him for many years. He was the best at his craft and he will be missed by many.”
Funeral and viewing arrangements will be released as they become available.