The Boston Globe Remembers Bill Looney

"William F. Looney Jr., mentor to many Boston lawyers"

When William F. Looney Jr. walked into his law firm’s offices each day, it was as if he were stepping into the present from a bygone era. He set an example for young lawyers through his own actions, which he supplemented with a few basic rules.

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In Memoriam

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our firm’s founder, William F. Looney, Jr. on November 4, 2011 in Needham, Massachusetts.

Bill graduated from Boston Latin School in 1949 and Harvard University in 1953.  Following his service as an artillery officer in the United States Army, Bill attended Harvard Law School, graduating in 1958.  After a clerkship with R. Ammi Cutter, Associate Justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, and service as an associate at Goodwin Procter & Hoar and as an Assistant United States Attorney in Boston, Bill entered private practice in 1965, founding the firm that continues to bear his name.

Bill’s intellect was brilliant.  He was unapologetically curious about life and passionate about challenging social and legal injustices.  He was a lawyer’s lawyer in every sense of that term, receiving many of his clients by referral from lawyers, and representing many lawyers as clients. Bill also recognized that lawyers had responsibilities beyond the courtroom. He served as President of the Boston Bar Association, Founder and Chair of the Boston Latin School Association, Director of the Coast Guard Foundation, and Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers.  His commitment to his law firm, the legal profession, his community, local charities and political activities was infectious, and he leaves a legacy of lawyers who have been guided by his spirit and example.

While Bill loved his profession, his greatest love was for his family, most deeply for his wife Connie, and his four children and twelve grandchildren. Bill’s wit was as dry as it was keen, and he most enjoyed regaling all he met with tales of success and failure.

Bill’s life is aptly summarized in the words of Ralph Waldo Emerson:

To laugh often and much: to win the respect
of intelligent people and the affection of
children; to earn the appreciation of honest
critics and endure the betrayal of false friends;
to appreciate beauty; to find the best in others;
to leave the world a bit better whether by a healthy
child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social
condition; to know even one life has breathed
easier because you have lived. This is to have
succeeded.

By that measure Bill’s life was a resounding success, but perhaps his spirit is best captured by his own words. Upon returning from the funeral of another co-founder of the firm, he said, “I now know two things I have to tell my relatives for my funeral. First – if they have to say something, keep it brief; and second, just say that I was a good guy – as far as they knew."

He was a good guy, and we knew it.