Spencer A. Hill
A first-year litigation associate at the Biglaw firm of Ballard Spahr, Spencer A. Hill, 37, was shot on Monday on his way home from the firm’s Philadelphia office in what authorities are saying was a botched robbery attempt. He is expected to make a full recovery.
According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, while walking Hill heard someone approaching him from behind, and when he stopped there was a man in a dark hood and blue jeans who shot him just below the chest. Wounded, he was able to make it to his nearby home, and his wife called emergency services. Hill was taken to Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, where surgeons located the bullet, but decided not to remove it. Had the bullet hit Hill an inch or so lower, he might not have been as fortunate:
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“I realize just how close it could have been,” [Hill] said. “It hurts to be walking around, but it feels good.”
Ballard Chair Mark Stewart said another attorney at the firm was a victim of violence in October, so born out of a sense of frustration, the firm is offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the perpetrator in Hill’s case. According to Stewart, “So, we asked, ‘What can we do?’”
Stewart also noted to Law.com how unusual it is for a Biglaw firm to find itself in the position of offering a reward in a shooting case:
“Among all the things I thought I’d be doing a chair as a firm, the idea of announcing an award for information on the shooting of an associate is not what I had in mind,” he said. “Neither the firm or I are experts in this and I never hope to be.”
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Hill dedicates time to pro bono work to advance prisoner rights and criminal justice reform. Given Hill’s dedication to these causes, Stewart said it makes it particularly hard that he was a victim of violence:
“It’s unthinkable that a guy like Spencer who has devoted his life to helping other people” could be the victim of a shooting, Stewart said.
Those with information on the shooting are asked to call 215-686-TIPS.
Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, and host of The Jabot podcast. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter (@Kathryn1).