Martin Hall

Prior to forming Hall & Diana, Martin had a thirty-seven year career at Ropes & Gray LLP and was chair of its Private Client Group from 2006 – 2020 and co-chair with Brenda Diana from 2020 – 2023. Martin played a key role in the establishment of Ropes Wealth Advisors, a registered investment advisory firm first formed in 2014 to assist with the management of trust and other fiduciary accounts.

Over the years, Martin has maintained a broad-based legal practice that covers all aspects of estate and individual tax planning, including wealth transfer strategies and charitable giving techniques. His clients include public company executives, private business owners, and other high net worth individuals and families, both domestic and international. In addition, he has advised the development offices of universities and colleges with respect to planned giving, gift acceptance policies and the structuring of major gifts. Martin is a trustee of numerous private and charitable trusts and has assisted many client families through the estate settlement process.

Martin has co-authored two books on estate planning and charitable giving, has written articles and papers in these areas, and has been quoted on charitable tax matters in The Wall Street Journal. He is a frequent speaker at national conferences and seminars, including the Silicon Valley Foundation and Stanford University Office of Planned Giving, Conference on Charitable Giving. He chaired the New England Estate Planning Conference for Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education, Inc. from 2007-2012.

Martin is active in a number of professional bodies, including the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel and the American Bar Association, and has held various leadership positions within these organizations. Prior to working in private legal practice, Martin was a Teaching Fellow and Lecturer in Law at the University of Chicago Law School.  

In his free time, you can find Martin on his bicycle, walking with his family and dogs, or listening to WBUR.