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Hammond still cultivates his love of the law

Hammond still cultivates his love of the law

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Larry Hammond (Staff photo by Kevin Harnack)
Larry Hammond (Staff photo by Kevin Harnack)

Litigator Larry Hammond may be retired, but the 90-year-old is not slowing down.

Hammond, who worked for Quarles & Brady for 40 years, remains active, lending his hand to multiple projects at Eastcastle Place in Milwaukee, the senior living community that he now calls home.

The former litigator not only serves on the resident council, runs movies for residents to watch on Wednesday and Saturday nights and teaches bridge on Mondays, he also oversees Eastcastle Place’s sprawling garden.

Several years ago, he began helping a fellow resident with tending to the center’s garden. They came up with a plan involving seven volunteers. Each would take a different day of the week.

“On that day, you are in charge of weeding, any planting, watering and cultivating,” Hammond said. “It worked out well.”

The other resident eventually turned over control of the garden to Hammond, who continues to tend it with help from a small group of volunteers.

“When new residents move in, some bring a favorite perennial flower from their yard and I help them find a place for it. We also buy plenty of annual flowers to fill in,” he said. “I really enjoy the opportunity to use my green thumb again, something I didn’t get to do much during my career.”

Still sharp and easily able to recall scenes from his legal career, Hammond said preparation was crucial to his success in the courtroom.

“Being an attorney, especially a litigator, is a challenge. Ninety-eight percent of the job is hard work and 2 percent is pure joy. That 2 percent comes when you’re in the courtroom and you can’t experience it unless you put in all of that hard work,” he said. “I am proud to say I never got surprised in a courtroom, but I definitely surprised some people due to the hard work of being prepared and doing my research.”

In addition to his work with the law firm, Hammond played a crucial role in developing one of the city’s most famous events: Summerfest. During the 1960s as a member of the Milwaukee Bar Association, he and other members were charged by then Mayor Harry Maier to start what is now known as the World’s Largest Music Festival.

After Summerfest’s first several years, Hammond said organizers had an opportunity to purchase the Nike Missile Installation property along Milwaukee’s lakeshore, which closed in 1969.

“It was a big mud hole with ammunition dumps in it. It had been pretty much abandoned and was a real mess,” Hammond said. “We took it over, spent a lot of time and money to cultivate it and get it organized, and it became the permanent home for Summerfest.”

After retiring from his law practice in 1994, Hammond continued to stay busy handling mediation and arbitration cases for 10 years. He also volunteered for 14 years as an ombudsman for the State of Wisconsin, representing nursing-home residents and helping them speak out for their rights.

“I made sure that the care was good and that everyone was treated well. I was a buffer between the nursing-home management and the state’s rigid regulations,” he said.

While he no longer practices law, Hammond said people still ask him legal questions. “I don’t mind. I answer the questions or give advice, but it’s all given at no charge,” he joked.

Wisconsin Law Journal: What made your work important to you?
Larry Hammond: I always liked practicing law. I hated to retire. As a lawyer, I felt like I was making a contribution. I represented a lot of different people and did a lot of pro bono work. That gave me an opportunity to help people who couldn’t afford a lawyer.

WLJ: Who is your hero in the legal field?
Hammond: I had a mentor when I first started, Assistant Attorney General Mortimer Levitan. He hired me to work at the attorney general’s office while I still a law student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. I used to write briefs for him and try state cases before I was even a lawyer. He got me a license to practice before the Industrial Commission, a state agency.

WLJ: What’s one thing many people get wrong about what you did as an attorney?
Hammond: People forget that you’re an officer of the court and that you have many requirements that they may not understand; that you have a duty to be very candid and straight forward and honest with everything you do with the court. You can’t fudge or lie or make an argument that you don’t know is correct.

WLJ: What’s your favorite memory from law school?
Hammond: I had a lot of them. I was editor in chief for the Law Review, I won the moot court trial and I had some of the best professors in the world. I had a lot of funny memories and a lot of great memories.

WLJ: Is there a certain case that stands out to you?
Hammond: I have a lot of cases that stand out: a bus company condemnation case, the Milwaukee school desegregation case where I represented the school board and oil platform cases overseas. I argued cases in front of the Wisconsin Supreme Court many, many times and argued two cases in front of the United States Supreme Court.

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