Peter E. Ball, Attorney

"Trust is the essential element in an attorney's work. Clients have to trust not only that you understand their case backwards and forwards, but also that you are willing and able to defend them no matter how rough the going gets."

Peter Ball joined Sally & Fitch LLP in 2002 after spending the previous 12 years at Hill & Barlow, the last eight as a Member of the firm. A former Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Criminal Division of the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Eastern District of New York, Peter concentrates his practice in the representation of clients in white-collar criminal matters, government investigations and complex civil litigation.

In 2009, Peter was honored as one of the Top 100 Massachusetts Super Lawyers in the ranking published by Law & Politics in Boston Magazine.  In prior years, Peter has been recognized by Law & Politics as a Massachusetts Super Lawyer, a designation awarded to only 5% of the lawyers in Massachusetts. 

Peter has tried approximately 30 cases, principally jury trials, in Massachusetts, New York and New Hampshire federal courts and Massachusetts state courts. He has represented corporations and individuals in government investigations of alleged bank fraud, mail and wire fraud, health care fraud, bankruptcy fraud, government procurement fraud and public corruption. Peter has also represented clients in cases involving allegations of criminal violations of the tax, environmental, securities, labor, debt-collection, campaign-finance and antitrust laws. Peter's civil litigation practice has included a focus on business disputes, often those involving allegations of fraud, unfair business practices or civil RICO; non-competition cases; and probate litigation. His appellate work has included arguing criminal and civil appeals and receiving reported decisions from the U.S. Courts of Appeals for three different federal circuits. Included among Peter's reported cases are: North Bridge Assocs., Inc. v. Boldt, 274 F.3d 38 (1st Cir. 2001); Dukakis v. Fed. Election Comm'n, 53 F.3d 361 (D.C. Cir. 1995); and U.S. v. Butt, 955 F.2d 77 (1st Cir. 1992).

Peter has frequently appeared on bar association and other panels, presenting on criminal and civil litigation topics. He has been a guest commentator on New England Cable News and has published articles in publications as diverse as Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly, The Boston Bar Journal, Commonweal, and International Company and Commercial Law Review.

Peter graduated magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Brown University in 1981. He received his J.D. from Columbia University Law School in 1985, where he was Executive Editor of the Columbia Journal of Law and Social Problems. Following law school, Peter served as a law clerk to the Hon. Leonard B. Sand, United States District Judge for the Southern District of New York. He was formerly a member of the Steering Committee of the Boston Bar Association's Criminal Section, and he has served as member of the Criminal Justice Act panel, receiving appointments to represent indigent defendants in federal criminal cases. For the past several years, Peter has served as President of the Columbia Law School Alumni Association of Boston.

• U.S. v. Butt 1992

• North Bridge Assocs., Inc. v. Boldt 2001

• Dukakis v. Fed. Election Comm'n 1995