With sincere gratitude and profound esteem, our colleague, partner, leader and friend
A Tribute to our past President & CEO
From Shawn C. Ferrin, Parsons Behle & Latimer Chairman & CEO
Hal J. Pos passed away peacefully on Sat., Dec. 3, 2022. For decades, Hal has been a keystone at Parsons Behle & Latimer and has contributed to, and been recognized by, the local, national and international legal communities at the highest level.
In his legal practice, Hal was a national expert on environmental issues, with a particular focus on CERCLA liability. Hal was the go-to legal professional for many multinational companies in evaluating and resolving responsible party, indemnity and insurance claims related to environmental contamination, site cleanup and redevelopment.
At Parsons, Hal served on the Board of Directors for many years, and, until recently, served as the firm’s president and CEO. Hal’s commitment to leading Parsons and his detailed focus on analyzing and understanding every metric and every relationship was extraordinary and nonstop. Ray Etcheverry who served with Hal on the Board and in leading the firm said of his colleague and friend, “Hal and I served together on the Board of Directors for 25 years. Over that time, he became my dear friend. No one loved Parsons more than Hal. And no Parsons lawyer ever worked harder or contributed more to the benefit of the firm. Beyond that, Hal was an outstanding lawyer. Most importantly, he was our friend, and we will miss him tremendously.”
Hal served on the Board of Trustees and as an emeritus director of TerraLex for more than a decade and was instrumental in directing the path of the global law firm network. He also served in many other community leadership positions, including as a chairperson of The McGillis School Board of Trustees and a long-time member of that Board.
A Chicagoan through and through, Hal routed for the Cubs, the Bears, the Blackhawks and loved Gino’s pizza.
Hal was instrumental in shaping the Parsons organization through his commitment to providing unparalleled legal services and client representation and leading the firm with respect, honor and integrity. Hal never used the elevator on his multiple daily trips between his office on the 19th floor and meetings as far away as the 15th floor. He cherished his time walking the stairs and connecting and interacting with everyone at Parsons.
