Norris McLaughlin, P.A. Mourns Loss of Long-Time Counsel Peter D. Hutcheon (1943-2025)

In his 50 years at the firm, Peter served as General Counsel and was a leader and mentor for the Business Law Group, focusing on business governance, commercial transactions, securities, and the SEC, banking, and finance.

A long-time member of the American Bar Association’s Section on Business Law, Partnerships and the incorporated Business Organizations Committee, Peter also edited its newsletter, the PUBOGRAM. He was named a Founding Fellow of the American College of LLC and Partnership Attorneys. Peter was the 2005 recipient of the Martin I. Lubaroff Award for his lifelong service to this Committee. He was a director for 22 years, including 2 years as chair of the New Jersey State Bar Corporate & Business Law Section, and chaired the State Bar’s Banking Law Section. Peter was also chair of the New Jersey Corporate & Business Law Study Commission from its inception in 1989 to 2002, providing reports and recommendations on business law developments to the New Jersey Legislature and the governor.

Peter also chaired the New Jersey Securities Advisory Committee, appointed by the attorney general, from 1995 to 2001, and served as the American Bar Association’s Liaison to the New Jersey Bureau of Securities for over 32 years. He also chaired the ABA’s Section of Science and Technology and served on the Editorial Board of their quarterly journal, Jurimetrics, of which he previously served as Associate Editor and Editor-in-Chief.

Peter received the AV® Preeminent™ Peer Review Rated by Martindale-Hubbell® as recently as 2024 and is listed in the Corporate Law, Mergers & Acquisitions Law, Securities Law, and Securities Regulation sections of the current edition of The Best Lawyers in America®. He has also been included on the list of New Jersey Super Lawyers in the Business/Corporate section every year since its inception in 2005 to 2020. Additionally, Peter has authored numerous articles and blog posts for the firm’s “Biz Law” category on business-related law topics, including limited liability companies, SEC lawsuits, and directors’ and officers’ liability.

David C. Roberts, Chair of Norris McLaughlin, P.A., stated the following: “It is with great sadness and a heavy heart that our former partner, Peter Hutcheon, passed away. He will be missed by his family, the firm, his partners, and the legal community at large. His involvement with national and state-level bar associations, collegiate affiliations, and his editorial zeal will not be forgotten. He was an exceptional public servant, and his experience in providing recommendations concerning business law developments to the New Jersey legislature and to the governor was second to none."

Peter graduated from Williams College, studied at Ludwig-Maximilian Universität, Munich, Germany, and received his Juris Doctor degree with distinction from Harvard Law School.

He will be sorely missed.