William T. Hangley, 85, of Philadelphia, celebrated cofounder and chair emeritus of the Hangley Aronchick Segal Pudlin & Schiller law firm, longtime litigator, judge-appointed legal adviser, substitute Common Pleas Court judge, former student organizer, mentor, and onetime music teacher, died Tuesday, June 23, of esophageal cancer at his home in Center City.
A lifelong advocate of music, education, and the law, Mr. Hangley earned a bachelor’s degree in music education, taught elementary school students in Long Island for a year, and got his law degree with high honors at the University of Pennsylvania in 1966.
He was a senior student leader at the State University of New York at Fredonia in 1963, and a dean recognized his organization and leadership skills. So he suggested that Mr. Hangley forgo the music classroom for the courtroom.
Mr. Hangley did, and, over the next 60 years, until recently, he tried all kinds of court cases and counseled business owners, executives, employees, students, government officials, journalists, and, in one of his career highlights, a client who was incorrectly sentenced to death.
He was an expert in business litigation and professional liability defense, and he tackled cases about intellectual property, business contracts, antitrust, real estate, malpractice, capital punishment, and other issues.
“He set a standard for integrity, rigor, and creative problem solving,” his family said in a tribute. “He could take virtually any kind of case to trial and win.”
Colleague David Pudlin said: “Bill was a giant at everything he did.”
Mr. Hangley won especially notable cases for The Inquirer, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, the Albert Einstein Healthcare Network, heirs to the Tylenol fortune, the Temple University student government, and women athletes at Temple. “The ones I enjoy the most,” he told Super Lawyers magazine in 2012, “are when I get to represent the little guy.”
In 1996, Mr. Hangley won a complex libel case for The Inquirer, and a now-former editor, in a personal letter to Mr. Hangley, said his closing argument “lit up the First Amendment like bolts of lightning in a night sky.”
He was known for his people skills, wide range of expertise, concise legal writing, and crafty courtroom communication techniques. “Some lawyers are confrontational,” he told Super Lawyers. “They want to make a witness feel like dirt, and then he’s putty in their hands. That’s not my approach. I think a lot of witness examination should be freestyle, where the witness is invested in the conversation.”
He cofounded what is now Hangley Aronchick Segal Pudlin & Schiller in 1994, served as chair until 2014, and helped the firm grow to include experts in estate planning and real estate, tax, corporate, and family law. He continued to advise and counsel as chair emeritus until a few months ago.
Earlier, he worked at Schnader Harrison Segal & Lewis, Goodman & Ewing, and Hangley Connolly Epstein Chico Foxman & Ewing.
Mr. Hangley was funny, daring, and dapper, friends and colleagues said. He wore Gucci ties in the courtroom and joked with judges and other lawyers. He told The Inquirer after a case in 1978: “We got a good settlement, and I managed to get off a good one-liner. What man could ask for more?”
He was onetime chair of the Good Judges for Philadelphia political action committee and a special master in district court cases. He served on committees for the American Bar Association and was active with the American College of Trial Lawyers and the Institute for the Advancement of the Legal System.
He earned appointments to advisory roles from Supreme Court Justice John G. Roberts Jr., former Pennsylvania Chief Justice Ronald Castille, and Judge Anthony Scirica of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. In 1970, he ran unsuccessfully for the state Senate as a Democrat.
“I can’t think of anything else I could have done with my life that I would have enjoyed as much as what I’m doing now,” he told Super Lawyers. “I really hit the big one.”
The youngest of 11 children, William Thomas Hangley was born March 11, 1941. He worked as a beach club cabana boy and an ice cream vendor in Long Beach, N.J., when he was young.
He met fellow teacher Mary Dupree after college and asked her to go bowling on their first date, and they married in 1965. They had daughters Michele and Katie and a son, Bill Jr., and lived in Center City and West Mount Airy.
Mr. Hangley and his family enjoyed memorable vacations at their summer home in Martha’s Vineyard, Mass. He followed the Eagles, loved dogs and classical music, and supported the Philadelphia Orchestra and other cultural groups.
He and his wife hosted rollicking holiday parties, and he sang and danced. He doted on his children and grandchildren, and was onetime president of the C.W. Henry Elementary School and home association.
“My dad described himself as an optimist, a gambler at heart, and a person who was grateful for all the joy he had experienced,” said his daughter Katie, “and eager for more.”
His son, Bill, said: “He stood for integrity.” His daughter Michele said: “He told us, ‘I’ve had a good run,’ and he was right.”
In addition to his wife and children, Mr. Hangley is survived by two grandchildren and other relatives. Five sisters and five brothers died earlier.
A private service was held earlier. A celebration of his life is to be held later.
Donations in his name may be made to the Academy of Vocal Arts, 1920 Spruce St., Philadelphia, Pa. 19103; Community Legal Services of Philadelphia, 1424 Chestnut St., Philadelphia, Pa. 19102; and the Crossing, 8855 Germantown Ave., Philadelphia, Pa. 19118.
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