On November 2, 2006 Co-Managing Partner William Lee revived the Paul P. Brountas Award for Extraordinary Contributions to the Firm, naming his Co-Managing Partner William Perlstein as WilmerHale’s first recipient. The Paul P. Brountas award, named after an honored partner who contributed greatly to Hale and Dorr, recognizes the special contributions of an individual to the firm.

As Mr. Lee explained in his remarks, “The Paul P. Brountas Award is intended to recognize those who have given more to the firm than anyone could have expected and certainly more then the firm ever had a right to ask for. The award was named for Paul P. Brountas because he gave more as a lawyer, a business developer, a trainer, a partner and to the whole community than the firm could ever have envisioned.”

Mr. Lee continued, “Judged by these standards, WilmerHale’s first recipient was an easy choice. For more then three years I have been working side-by-side with William Perlstein, so I know first-hand that he thinks about the firm day and night. He has given more of himself to the firm than he was ever asked for, considering and agonizing over every issue faced. William Perlstein constantly thinks about the firm, the partnership and each of us by putting the firm first, his partners second and himself last.”

The Paul P. Brountas Award is a Hale and Dorr tradition carried over to WilmerHale, illustrating that the essence of predecessor firms remain alive and well in today’s practice.