Paul J. Hanly Jr., shareholder with top asbestos firm Simmons Hanly Conroy, died May 22 at his home after a battle with anaplastic thyroid cancer.
Hanly, 70, is remembered as an accomplished litigator after a 40-year career.
“There are no words to fully capture what the legal community has lost or the impact he had on our lives, especially my own. It will be Paul’s magnanimous spirit, his championing of his clients and colleagues, and his unflinching kindness and decency that will live on in the hearts and minds of all fortunate enough to have known him,” said Jayne Conroy in a tribute by Hanly’s firm Simmons Hanly Conroy. Conroy has been Hanly’s law partner for more than 30 years.
“All of us at Simmons Hanly Conroy are committed to continuing Paul’s legacy,” said Chairman John Simmons. “We will continue to fight in his memory.”
According to his tribute, Hanly grew up near the firm’s New York office. His grandfather was the chairman of the Democratic Party in New Jersey.
Hanly earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Cornell University, a Master of Arts degree from Cambridge University and his Juris Doctor from Georgetown University. Following graduation, Hanly worked as a law clerk to U.S. District Judge Lawrence A. Whipple in the District of New Jersey.
He founded the Hanly Conroy firm in 2002 with Jayne Conroy and became a shareholder of the New York law firm Hanly Conroy Bierstein Sheridan Fisher & Hayes LLP, where he managed the firm’s complex litigation group. His firm was merged with the former Alton firm Simmons Browder Gianaris Angelides & Bernard LLC in July 2014 to form Simmons Hanly Conroy.
“Being a lawyer, doing this kind of work, is the greatest job anybody could have,” Hanly said at the time of the merger. “It makes me feel as if I’m doing my grandfather’s work - helping out people who need a hand.”
According to Hanly’s tribute, he litigated and tried jury cases in “virtually all areas of civil litigation,” including opioid, terrorism, toxic tort and more.
“He fought to give voice to the voiceless and help every human being, regardless of financial standing or socioeconomic status, fight for justice against corporate wrongdoing,” his tribute states. “As a skilled trial lawyer and legal strategist, his prowess in the courtroom was rivaled only by the boldness of his wardrobe.”
Hanly is remembered for his “exhaustive trial preparation, imaginative trial strategies, nearly photographic memory of the contents of documents, and cross examinations that are tightly controlled and disarmingly effective.”
Hanly held leadership positions in some of the largest multidistrict cases in the country, including the opioid MDL in Ohio, metal-on-metal hip implants, 9/11 terrorist attacks, Vioxx, Bextra and more.
In the opioid MDL, Hanly was one of two lead counsel for the plaintiffs appointed by U.S. District Judge Dan Polster.
“Thanks to his leadership, Simmons Hanly Conroy became a leading national law firm focused on helping individual consumers and small businesses hold large corporations accountable for wrongdoing,” his tribute states.
Hanly was awarded the Elite Trial Lawyers’ Lifetime Achievement Award in 2020 by the National Trial Lawyers Association in partnership with The National Law Journal. He was also recognized as a “Best Lawyer” in Mass Torts & Class Actions - Plaintiffs by U.S. News & World Report/Best Lawyers.
Locally, Hanly had a history of donating to local Democratic candidates running for judicial seats. He also sought to represent Madison County in 2017 when former state's attorney Tom Gibbons was deciding whether to pursue opioid litigation on behalf of the county.
Simmons Hanly Conroy shareholder John Simmons could not be reached for additional comment.
Hanly leaves behind two sons, Paul J. Hanly II and Burton J. Hanly, and a daughter, Edith D. Hanly.