Hugh Hallman began his legal career as an associate at the law firm of Brown and Bain, where he worked in the fields of domestic and international finance and taxation, intellectual property and anti-trust. Later he became a partner in the firm Colombo & Bonacci where he served until he established his own firm, Hallman and Affiliates, in 1999. As an economist, Hallman worked with colleagues at Stanford, Harvard, MIT and the University of Chicago in analyzing markets and competition in various industries.
Hallman worked for Ronald Reagan’s campaign as a deputy assistant to the national campaign director. After law school, he returned to the political arena when his experience helping local activists preserve Tempe Beach Park led to his successful run for a seat on the Tempe City Council. Hallman successfully ran for mayor of Tempe in 2004. His primary goals were to strengthen essential city services for the community, and to enhance funding for such services by establishing sound fiscal policy and attracting new business and development to the city. With a demonstrated ability to protect neighborhoods while expanding business and development opportunity, he frequently crossed political aisles to achieve goals for the City and its residents. In short, as the Arizona Republic said, Hallman is “one of those rare public officials who meticulously connects the dots.” Hallman won re-election in 2008. During his second term he also served as Chairman of the Maricopa Association of Governments.
Hallman has won the Sandra Day O’Connor Award for Civic Service (2011), the School Leader of the Year, from the Arizona Charter Schools Association (2011), and a Life Time Achievement Award, East Valley Partnership (2010). Additionally, he was awarded the Alzheimer’s Association Leadership Award (2007), the League of United Latin American Citizens Citizenship Award (2008), and the JAG National “Above & Beyond the Call” Service Award (2008). More recently, the American Legion granted Hallman its 2017 Americanism Award, and he was listed in The Best Lawyers In America© for Real Estate Law, 2019-2021.
Hallman remains committed to education. He served as the Headmaster for Tempe Preparatory and Tempe Preparatory Junior Academies (2009-2013), a Presidential Advisor and a Professor of Business Law & Economics, Kazakh-American Free University (2000 – present), and as a Lecturer for the School of Agribusiness, Center for Agribusiness Policy Studies, ASU (1995).
Hallman continues his service to the community by representing many pro bono clients. In such efforts, he has helped to found many community organizations, including Friends of the Rio Salado, Tempe Historic Preservation Foundation, Friends of the Tempe Center for the Arts, The Tempe Veterans Foundation, Tempe Police Foundation, Friends of the O’Connor House, Hands Across the Ocean (supporting Tongan refugees), Tempe Sports Authority Foundation, and Tempe Neighbors Helping Neighbors. Hallman remains an avid fundraiser for a variety of causes.
Hallman was a member of the Honors College, now known as the Barrett Honors College, at Arizona State University, but he transferred to Claremont Men’s College in California where he graduated with a B.A. summa cum laude in Economics and Political Science, with a minor in Accounting. He eventually became President of the Student Government. He earned his J.D. from the University of Chicago Law School where he was an Olin Fellow in Law and Economics, and he graduated with Honors and Order of the Coif.
Awards and Recognition
