Steven T. Hoort is an American lawyer whose career centered on the Boston law firm Ropes & Gray, where he worked as an associate from 1978 and as a partner from 1984. He studied at Grand Valley State College and the University of Michigan Law School, and was admitted to the bar in Michigan in 1977 and in Massachusetts in 1978.
Background
Hoort's documented education began in Michigan. Grand Valley State College, the institution he attended for his undergraduate degree, was established as a state-supported four-year college in the Grand Rapids area after the Michigan legislature passed an act in 1960 to create it.
The college's early years coincided with the expansion of public higher education in Michigan during the 1960s. Its campus was located in Allendale, west of Grand Rapids, and it opened to students in the early 1960s, so Hoort's undergraduate studies took place in one of the state's newer public institutions.
Education
Hoort received a Bachelor of Arts degree in philosophy with High Honors from Grand Valley State College in 1972. The college had been established by the Michigan legislature in 1960, admitted its first students in 1963, and held its first commencement in 1967. Its name was Grand Valley State College during Hoort's years there; it was later changed to Grand Valley State Colleges in 1973 and, in 1987, to Grand Valley State University.
Hoort earned a Juris Doctor from the University of Michigan Law School in 1975, graduating magna cum laude and being elected to the Order of the Coif. The law school was founded in 1859 in Ann Arbor and is among the oldest law schools in the United States. The Order of the Coif is an honor society for law students, and membership recognized high academic standing in a law school.
Career
Hoort was admitted to the Michigan bar in 1977 and to the Massachusetts bar in 1978. In 1978 he joined Ropes & Gray as an associate, and he remained with the firm until 1984, when he became a partner. His profile also records a partnership with a firm identified as S. E. Giorno.
Ropes & Gray was founded in Boston in 1865 by John Codman Ropes and John Chipman Gray, and its name changed several times in the following decades, including to Ropes, Gray, Boyden & Perkins in 1914. The firm grew during the twentieth century and developed a bankruptcy practice, a field that became a significant part of its work. Boston law firms of the 1970s and 1980s expanded in size and influence, and Ropes & Gray was among the firms that grew during that period.
As a partner, Hoort was part of a firm that served mostly corporate clients, including Boston companies and multinational businesses. His professional affiliations, described in the membership records, reflect his involvement with bankruptcy and insolvency law, a field closely associated with the firm's practice.
Achievements
Graduated from Grand Valley State College with High Honors in philosophy in 1972.
Graduated magna cum laude from the University of Michigan Law School in 1975 and was elected to the Order of the Coif, an honor society for law students.
Membership
Hoort was a member of the American Bar Association, the national voluntary professional association of lawyers in the United States. He was also affiliated with the American Bankruptcy Institute, an organization that focuses on bankruptcy and insolvency law, and with the Association of Insolvency and Restructuring Advisors, which serves professionals in insolvency and restructuring work.
His participation in the Boston Bar Association connected him with the bar association serving lawyers in the Boston area. Through the Bankruptcy Section of that association, he took part in the work of a specialized practice group within the local legal profession.
American Bar Association
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United States
American Bankruptcy Institute
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United States
Association of Insolvency and Restructuring Advisors
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United States
Member of the Steering Committee of the Bankruptcy Section
Boston Bar Association
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United States
References
American College of Bankruptcy Directory
Directory entry for Steven T. Hoort that records his undergraduate and law degrees, his partnership at Ropes & Gray LLP in Boston, and his professional affiliations.
