Hale Ball Murphy PLC

Our Virginia law firm was first formed in April of 1980 from a division of the firm of Duvall, Tate Bywater, & Blackburn situated in the Town of Vienna. The original name of the firm upon its formation in 1980 was Duvall, Blackburn, Greespun & Hale. Our firm was first located at 4031 University Drive in the City of Fairfax. Peter Greenspun left the firm in 1981 and the name was changed to Duvall, Blackburn & Hale. From that point on a succession of additions and changes were made and it is deemed to be too tedious and voluminous to recount all of the lawyers and employees who have served with this firm over the almost three decades of its existence although each contributed to our success in their own way. There are three partners who retired with their last service being at this firm:

Our partner Joseph L. Duvall was a Virginia native and a well respected criminal defense and trial attorney who did not shy away from intense courtroom litigation. He was a former President of the Fairfax Bar Association and active in local politics. Joe retired from the firm at the end of 1993 and died in 2008.

Our partner George P. Blackburn, Jr. retired from the firm in 1989. George was raised in Texas and developed a Virginia connection by graduating from the Virginia Military Institute. He was a decorated US Marine Officer who fought at Guadalcanal, served with the Corps in the Vietnam War and who had a distinguished career as a JAG, retiring at the rank of General. Thereafter, he served with distinction as an attorney in Fairfax County. George grew up with the law, his father serving over the years as both a Judge and the Attorney General for the State of Texas. George died in 2006.

Thomas J. Harrigan retired from the firm in 1999 and moved to the Southwest United States.

In April of 1989, the firm moved to its present location at 10511 Judicial Drive in the City of Fairfax. The firm became one of the first (if not the first) professional limited liability companies to be formed in the Commonwealth of Virginia under the name of Duvall, Harrigan, Hale & Downey, P.L.C. on January 1, 1993. The firm of Hale Carlson Penn, who continuously practiced together since 1982 merged with the firm of Baumgartner-Pohlman on March 1, 2009 with the firm adopting the name of Hale Carlson Baumgartner. The firm continued to evolve and in March 2023 adopted its current name of Hale Ball Murphy PLC.