Our Culture

Erik R. Matheney

Formerly with the U.S. Attorneys’ Office

Hired as Lateral Shareholder

“Before I came to Hill Ward Henderson, I was enjoying what many attorneys would deem ‘a dream job’ with the U.S. Attorneys’ Office. I enjoyed my work immensely and felt as though the government sector was a nice fit for me. Over time, however, the idea of returning to the private sector, which I had enjoyed earlier in my career, began to be appealing.

One day I was playing basketball with a group of friends at my health club and one of the gentlemen was an attorney at Hill Ward Henderson. He asked me if I would ever be interested in going back to the law firm setting because they had a need in their litigation group. I almost surprised myself when I responded ‘yes’ to him. The very next day I received a call from the Recruiting Director and she scheduled a time for me to come meet with several of the firm’s attorneys. Being an assistant federal prosecutor, I conducted my own due diligence about the firm. I began calling federal magistrates and asking their opinions of Hill Ward Henderson. I was amazed at the many glowing reports I received. Not one bad comment. In fact, they continued to rave to the point where I could not wait to meet Ben Hill, III. He had a stellar reputation within the court system.

Once I interviewed and met Ben, I was taken by his kindness, warmth and genuine concern about the personal lives of the attorneys at the firm he helped build. When I expressed that my wife might want to move back to Washington, D.C., he asked if he could meet her and chat about Tampa and the many attributes of our fine community. I knew then he was’the real deal,’ and that the culture of this firm was one that fostered the feeling of a family because everyone’s personal happiness and fulfillment really did matter.”