In Memoriam – Larry A. Hammond

We regret to announce that our partner, Larry Hammond, a founding member of our firm, passed away yesterday following a long illness. A nationally renowned criminal defense attorney who was committed to assuring equal access to justice for all, Larry had a reputation for taking on tough, high-profile criminal cases and winning.

The most senior member of Osborn Maledon’s investigations and criminal group, Larry came to the predecessor of this firm in 1974, establishing a practice that focused on capital defense representation and white-collar crime. Over the years, he won numerous national awards and recognitions. But he probably was most proud of founding the Arizona Justice Project, the fifth Innocence Project in the nation, for which he served as president for 22 years. Larry most recently was recognized by the prestigious American College of Trial Lawyers as an Access to Justice Distinguished Pro Bono Fellow for his work with the Project.

His legal career, spanning more than 50 years, began no less notably. After clerkships on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, Larry clerked for two U.S. Supreme Court Justices, Hugo L. Black, and Lewis F. Powell, Jr., and later served as an assistant Watergate Special Prosecutor, and later serving as a deputy assistant attorney general in the U.S. Justice Department during the Carter administration.

He is survived by his wife, Frances, three children, and nine grandchildren.