Roderick Maltman Hills (March 9, 1931 – October 29, 2014) served as chairman of the
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government, created in the aftermath of the Wall Street crash of 1929. Its primary purpose is to enforce laws against market m ...
between 1975 and 1977. Later he worked at the investment bank of
Drexel Burnham Lambert
Drexel Burnham Lambert Inc. was an American multinational investment bank that was forced into bankruptcy in 1990 due to its involvement in illegal activities in the junk bond market, driven by senior executive Michael Milken. At its height, i ...
and then at the law firm of
Donovan, Leisure, Newton & Irvine.
Biography
Hills was born in
Seattle, Washington
Seattle ( ) is the List of municipalities in Washington, most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the List of Unit ...
and grew up in
Whittier, California
Whittier () is a city in Los Angeles County, California, and is part of the Gateway Cities. The city had 87,306 residents as of the 2020 United States census, an increase of 1,975 from the 2010 United States census, 2010 census figure. Whittier ...
, where he played high school football under the same coach as former President
Richard M. Nixon. A janitor's son, Hills was the first in his family to go to college.
Hills received his bachelor's degree from
Stanford University
Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...
and then his
Bachelor of Laws
A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...
at
Stanford Law School
Stanford Law School (SLS) is the Law school in the United States, law school of Stanford University, a Private university, private research university near Palo Alto, California. Established in 1893, Stanford Law had an acceptance rate of 6.28% i ...
in 1955, following which he served as law clerk to Justice
Stanley F. Reed
Stanley Forman Reed (December 31, 1884 – April 2, 1980) was an American lawyer and jurist who served as an Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court from 1938 to 1957. He also served as U.S. Solicitor General from 1935 to 1938.
Born in Ma ...
,
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all Federal tribunals in the United States, U.S. federal court cases, and over Stat ...
, during 1955 to 1957.
In 1962, he founded the law firm of Munger, Tolles & Hills (now
Munger, Tolles & Olson) along with six other lawyers. He was also Founder and Chairman Emeritus of the
US-ASEAN Business Council
The US-ASEAN Business Council (also known as "US-ABC" or "USABC") is an advocacy group that aims to foster economic growth and trade ties between the United States and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)'s ten member countries. ...
.
During his career he also served as a founding name partner with his wife at Latham, Watkins & Hills, the DC branch of
Latham & Watkins
Latham & Watkins LLP is an American multinational law firm. Founded in 1934 in Los Angeles, California, Latham is the second-largest law firm in the world by revenue. As of 2022, Latham is also one of the most profitable law firms in the world ...
, as the chief executive officer of
Peabody Coal and—in the early 1980s—as the Washington-based head of a merchant banking arm of Sears that was known as Sears World Trade. He had been, since 1996, a partner at the law firm of Hills & Stern. From 1984 until his death in 2014, he served as chairman of Hills Enterprises, Ltd. (formerly The Manchester Group, Ltd.).
Personal life
He was married to former
United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
The United States secretary of housing and urban development is the head of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, a member of the Cabinet of the United States, and thirteenth in the presidential line of succession. T ...
Carla Anderson Hills
Carla Anderson Hills (born January 3, 1934) is an American lawyer and former government official. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, she previously served as the 5th United States secretary of housing and urban dev ...
from 1958 until his death. His son, Roderick M. Hills Jr., is a law professor at the
New York University School of Law
The New York University School of Law (NYU Law) is the law school of New York University, a private research university in New York City.
Established in 1835, it was the first law school established in New York City and is the oldest survivin ...
, and his daughter, Laura Hills, attended Stanford Law School.
Hills died on October 29, 2014, at
Johns Hopkins Hospital
Johns Hopkins Hospital (JHH) is the teaching hospital and biomedical research facility of Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1889, Johns Hopkins Hospital and its school of medicine are considered to be the foundin ...
in
Baltimore
Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...
at age 83 of heart failure.
Notice of death of Roderick Hills
bloomberg.com; accessed November 1, 2014.
See also
* List of law clerks of the Supreme Court of the United States (Seat 6)
References
External links
Interview with Roderick M. Hills
October 11, 1982, University of Kentucky Libraries
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hills, Roderick M.
1931 births
2014 deaths
Law clerks of the Supreme Court of the United States
Members of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
People from Whittier, California
Stanford University alumni
Stanford Law School alumni
Drexel Burnham Lambert
People associated with Latham & Watkins
People associated with Munger, Tolles & Olson
Ford administration personnel
Carter administration personnel
Whittier High School alumni