David A. Brown

David A. Brown, a Boston attorney, died at age 47 on Saturday, January 19, on the ski slopes at Bretton Woods Resort, NH. He died of a heart attack while skiing with family and friends. David was a long-time resident of Hingham, MA. He was married to Mary B. Griffin, the current Massachusetts Commissioner of the Department of Fish and Game. He was a loving father, husband, brother and friend to all. His family and friends will sorely miss his dry wit and congeniality. Born in Weymouth, MA, David graduated from Weymouth South High School in 1978. He received his J.D., magna cum laude, in 1988 from Cornell Law School, where he was admitted to the Order of the Coif and Phi Kappa Phi, won the Fraser Prize Award and a Schurmann Fellowship, and was an Editor of the Cornell Law Review. David received his B.A., cum laude, from Middlebury College in 1982. He is survived by two sons, Hunter (13 years old) and Wilson Brown (10 years old). In addition to his sons, David leaves his twin brother Steven W. Brown of Washington Grove, MD, a sister Laurel A. Brown of Somerville, and a brother Richard R. Brown of Hull, a niece Michelle Banks, and his aunt and uncle, Dr. Richard and Sally Newcomb of Contoocook, NH. David was the beloved son of the late Daniel A. Brown and the late Beatrice Newcomb Brown of Weymouth. An avid enthusiast of the outdoors, he enjoyed fishing, boating, hiking, and skiing with his family throughout New England. Neighbors reported that he frequently was seen chasing the family dogs through their neighborhood in Hingham. He was a wonderful father to his sons, and attended a plethora of football, basketball, and baseball games and other school events. He coached his sons’ Hingham soccer teams for a number of years. David was a senior partner at Sherin and Lodgen LLP in Boston, a member of the firm’s management committee and past chair of the Litigation Department. He represented clients before state and federal courts and arbitration tribunals. He argued two significant First Amendment cases before the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit involving a reporter’s privilege. Active in pro bono activities, both inside and outside the courtroom, David prepared Boston middle-school teams for mock trials conducted in the United States District Court through a program sponsored by the Federal Court Public Education Program and Citizen Schools. He was on the Board of Directors of the South Shore Day Care Services, Inc., a United Way sponsored child services organization. He also represented an inmate on Alabama’s death row through the American Bar Association’s Death Penalty Representation Project. David served as a Judicial Law Clerk to the Hon. Frank M. Johnson, Jr., of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, a well-known judicial leader of the civil rights movement who helped desegregate the south. He also served as a Special Assistant District Attorney for Middlesex County, Massachusetts. He previously practiced with the Boston firm of Ropes & Gray. Visiting hours will be 4:00-8:00 p.m. at the Pyne Keohane Funeral Home, 21 Emerald Street, Hingham, MA 02043 on Friday, January 25th. A funeral service will be held at 10:00 a.m. Saturday, January 26, at Old South Union Church, 25 Columbian Street, South Weymouth, MA. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to South Shore Day Care Services, Inc., 200 Middle Street East Weymouth, MA 02189, a child services organization on the South Shore.