Columbia Law School. Photo: The original uploader was Behack at English Wikipedia ., CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jerome_L_Greene_Hall.jpg)
Columbia Law School. Photo: The original uploader was Behack at English Wikipedia ., CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jerome_L_Greene_Hall.jpg)
Palmer Hutcheson was an American lawyer who practiced in Houston for more than five decades. He was a partner of Baker Botts and later helped lead the Houston firm that became known as Hutcheson & Grundy. He also served as president of the Houston Bar Association and chaired the Texas Bar Association's tax section.
Background
Palmer Hutcheson was born in Houston, Texas, on August 1, 1887. He was the son of lawyer and former United States Representative Joseph Chappell Hutcheson and Harriet Elizabeth Palmer. His family was prominent in Houston legal and civic life; his half-brother Joseph Chappell Hutcheson Jr. later became mayor of Houston and chief judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Palmer Hutcheson married Eleanor Lee Thomson in Austin, Texas, on June 8, 1912, and they established their family residence in Houston.
Education
Hutcheson prepared at The Hill School in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, before entering Princeton University in 1905. He graduated from Princeton in 1909 with an A.B., having served as an editor of the Princeton Tiger, participated on the debating team, and belonged to the Cap and Gown Club. He then studied law at the University of Texas from 1909 to 1911, attended Columbia Law School's summer session in 1910, and received an LL.B. from the University of Texas in 1911.
Hutcheson was admitted to the Texas bar in June 1911 and practiced law continuously in Houston thereafter. He began his professional career as an attorney and junior member of Hutcheson & Hutcheson, the Houston firm associated with his father. In 1919 he joined Baker, Botts, Parker & Garwood, which later became Baker, Botts, Andrews & Wharton, and became a partner in the firm. He withdrew from Baker Botts on December 31, 1945, and that same day joined the Houston practice of Hutcheson, Taliaferro & Hutcheson. The firm was subsequently known as Hutcheson & Grundy, where he continued as a partner. His long Houston practice included representation before federal courts and participation in significant tax and commercial litigation, including his appearance as petitioner in Hutcheson v. Commissioner, decided by the United States Tax Court in 1951.
Practiced law continuously in Houston from his admission to the Texas bar in June 1911 until his death in 1966.
Served as president of the Houston Bar Association and helped organize the 1948 State Bar of Texas convention in Houston.
Built a career as a partner of Baker Botts before helping establish the Houston family law practice that became known as Hutcheson & Grundy.
Membership
Hutcheson was active in the organized legal profession in Texas and Houston. He served as president of the Houston Bar Association and was involved in planning the 1948 State Bar of Texas convention in Houston. He chaired the Texas Bar Association's tax section during the 1944–1945 and 1945–1946 terms.
Served as president.
Houston Bar Association
,
United States
Participated in planning the 1948 State Bar of Texas convention in Houston.
State Bar of Texas
,
United States
Served as chair during the 1944–1945 and 1945–1946 terms.
Texas Bar Association Tax Section
,
United States
1944 - 1946
Connections
Hutcheson's professional and family life was closely connected with Houston's legal community. He practiced with his father, Joseph Chappell Hutcheson, and later with members of the next generation of the Hutcheson family, including his son Palmer Hutcheson Jr., in the firm that became known as Hutcheson & Grundy. He and Eleanor Lee Thomson had three sons, including lawyer Palmer Hutcheson Jr. and attorney and Republican politician Thaddeus Thomson Hutcheson.
Wife:
Eleanor Lee Thomson Hutcheson
Married Hutcheson in Austin, Texas, on June 8, 1912, and maintained their family residence with him in Houston.
Son:
William Palmer Hutcheson Jr.
Born in Houston on April 17, 1913; became a lawyer and partner in the Houston firm later known as Hutcheson & Grundy.
Son:
Thaddeus Thomson Hutcheson
Lawyer, Republican political leader, and candidate for the United States Senate from Texas.
Son:
Edward Chappell Hutcheson
One of Hutcheson's three sons.
References
Princeton University, Class of 1909 Record
Documents Hutcheson's birth in Houston, education at The Hill School and Princeton University, early legal career, memberships, marriage, and first son.
1914
Hutcheson v. Commissioner
United States Tax Court decision documenting Hutcheson's Texas bar admission, continuous Houston practice, partnership at Baker Botts, and move to Hutcheson, Taliaferro & Hutcheson.
