William J. Hunt, a partner in the Litigation Department of Gregg, Hunt, Ahern & Embry, has been a civil trial lawyer for all of his professional life. For over 40 years, he has tried and settled impact lawsuits, protecting the rights of individuals, companies and organizations.
Early in his career, as a Peace Corps Volunteer, he drafted the first statute for The Federated States of Micronesia, which established that new nation’s territorial waters. Later in his career, as a Deputy Attorney General of Pennsylvania, he won the first reported case to help determine under what circumstances the state may be sued. After helping found Gregg, Hunt, Ahern & Embry, he won important federal cases establishing the rights of disabled students in a university setting and protecting the rights of individual landowners in the context of cell tower construction.
In recent years, Mr. Hunt has helped injured clients recover millions of dollars for their injuries. He has tried cases throughout the northeast. In recognition of his accomplishments, he has been elected to two of the most prestigious legal honorary societies, the International Society of Barristers and the American Board of Trial Advocates. He holds an “AV” rating (highest rating) from Martindale Hubbell and has been selected as a New England Super Lawyer, as published annually by Boston Magazine. He has been honored by various groups for his work on behalf of disabled individuals.
His commitment to legal education is internationally known. Mr. Hunt is an adjunct faculty member for the trial advocacy programs at Emory University and the University of San Francisco. He is on the USF Intensive Advocacy Program Advisory Committee and has been honored by the USF advocacy program with the Excellence in Teaching Award. He is a program director, team leader and instructor for the National Institute for Trial Advocacy (NITA) in many cities throughout the United States and many nations abroad, including the United Kingdom, Ireland and the Republic of Palau. Under the auspices of NITA and the American Bar Association Central European and Eurasian Law Initiative (ABA-CEELI) he designed the first ever trial advocacy programs for the former Soviet republics served by ABA-CEELI and ran the first trial advocacy and advocacy teacher training programs in Chisinau, Moldova and Istanbul, Turkey, respectively. He inaugurated the first trial advocacy training program for prosecutors in Bosnia and was invited twice by the Japan Federated Bar Association to assist in the training of Japanese attorneys involved in the new Saiban-In jury trial system. In recognition of these efforts he has been honored by NITA with the Robert E. Keeton Faculty Award for professionalism and ethics.
He earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Dickinson College and a Juris Doctor degree from Suffolk University Law School.
Mr. Hunt is a member of the Massachusetts and Rhode Island Bar Associations and is a Chartered Property and Casualty Underwriter (CPCU). He is active in his community, serving as Chairman of the Town of Topsfield Board of Health.
Litigation Percentage
- 100% of Practice Devoted to Litigation
Published Works
- Rhode Island Rules of Evidence with Objections with Bocchino and Sonenshein, NITA, 1994
- An overview of healthcare issues in the A.D.A. and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act? with Newman and Bies , Health Care Law and Litigation A.L.I.-A.B.A., 2002
Representative Cases
- Guckenberger v. Boston University, 974 F. Supp 106 (USDC – MA 1997)
- Metheny v Lang et al, 352 F.3d 458 (USCA – -First Circuit 2003)
Classes/Seminars
- Trial Techniques Program (Atlanta, Georgia), Emory University School of Law
- Intensive Advocacy Program, (San Francisco, California), University of San Francisco School of Law
- Northeast Regional Trial Skills Program (Hofstra University, Hempstead, New York), National Institute for Trial Advocacy
- New England Deposition Program (Boston, Massachusetts), National Institute for Trial Advocacy
- Pacific Regional Program (San Diego, California), National Institute for Trial Advocacy
- West Coast Teacher Training (San Francisco. California), National Institute for Trial Advocacy
- New England Deposition Program (Cleveland, Ohio), National Institute for Trial Advocacy
- Trial Techniques Program (Atlanta, Georgia), Emory University School of Law
- Intensive Advocacy Program, (San Francisco, California), University of San Francisco School of Law
- Northeast Regional Trial Skills Program (Hofstra University, Hempstead, New York), National Institute for Trial Advocacy
- New England Deposition Program (Boston, Massachusetts), National Institute for Trial Advocacy
- Pacific Regional Program (San Diego, California), National Institute for Trial Advocacy
Professional Associations and Memberships
- Martindale-Hubbell, ?AV? Rating
- International Society of Barristers
- American Board of Trial Advocates
- Massachusetts Super Lawyer
- Massachusetts Bar Association
- Rhode Island Bar Association
- NITA Advocate
- NITA Faculty
- Executive Committee, USF School of Law Intensive Advocacy Program
- Chartered Property and Casualty Underwriter (CPCU)
- Program Director, National Institute of Trial Advocacy ? New England Deposition Program
- Boston Inn of Court
- Justice Award Winner: LD Access Foundation
- Massachusetts Recording for the Blind, Honoree
- Robert E. Keeton Faculty Award Winner: NITA
- Advocacy Teaching Award: USF School of Law
Pro Bono Activities
- Chairman, Town of Topsfield Board of Health, 2003 – Present
- Honorary Committee, Fundraising, East End House Charity 2004 , 2008 – Present
- Member, Town of Topsfield Transportation Committee , 2000 – 2001
- Member, Borough of Princeton Recreation Board, 1984 – 1986
- Peace Corps Volunteer, 1978 – 1979
Ancillary Businesses
- Adjunct Faculty Trial Advocacy Emory Law School
- Adjunct Faculty Trial Advocacy University of San Francisco Law School
- Adjunct Faculty Trial Advocacy Emory University School of Law
Fraternities/Sororities
- Beta Theta Pi