| Marvin Grossberg |
| Hammond was a skilled defense attorney. But... he defended clients not for their sake, but for his own. [...] He never trusted his clients, that one. The only thing he trusted was his own ability. [...] He won that innocent verdict for no one but himself. |
Robert Hammond was a defense attorney who used to work for Marvin Grossberg. He was the victim in Miles Edgeworth's trial.
An amoral attorney
Robert Hammond was a gifted criminal defense attorney working at Grossberg Law Offices and a colleague of Mia Fey (clearly for a long while, considering Maya Fey recognized his photograph many years later), but the only thing he trusted was his own skill; he never trusted his clients. This put him at odds with some of his colleagues such as Mia Fey, but his dedication and skill were never in any doubt.
The DL-6 Incident
- Main article: DL-6 Incident
In 2001, Robert Hammond represented Yanni Yogi in the DL-6 Incident when Gregory Edgeworth was murdered. Due to the strong evidence and testimony against his client, Hammond told Yogi to plead temporary insanity to escape a guilty verdict. The plan worked; Yogi was a free man, but his life took a turn for the worse as well: his fiancee killed herself, he was fired, and his friends abandoned him. Hammond himself left Grossberg's company and kept a very low profile for the next decade and a half.
Death
- Main article: Turnabout Goodbyes
Hammond's final moments.
Fifteen years later, Hammond went to Gourd Lake because of a letter from Yogi. They met, and Yogi shot and killed Hammond inside his shack. Yogi took Hammond's coat and disguised himself as his former lawyer to carry out a plan to frame Miles Edgeworth for the murder. His plan almost succeeded, if it were not for Edgeworth's own defense attorney Phoenix Wright, who eventually exposed Yogi as Hammond's true killer.
Name
- "Yukio" is a Japanese given name meaning "happy man". This may be a reference to his winning of cases for his own gratification.
- "Robert" is a Germanic given name that comes from "hrod" (meaning "fame") and "beraht" (meaning "bright"). This was likely chosen to match the meaning of his Japanese given name.
- The surname "Hammond" can be derived from the Old Norse "Hámundr", which is composed of "Há" ( meaning "high") and "Mund" (meaning "protection"). This may be an ironic play on his tactics in court.
- "Jean Durand" is in French what "John Smith" is in English; a generic, common name. It may also be a play on "endurant", which means "endured".