[3] Hoffman is widely viewed as one of the three primary founders of Georgetown's law school alongside Hubley Ashton and Charles James in 1870.

[1] A lawyer by trade, Hoffman served as the school's first secretary and treasurer in its early years of operation,[1] and oversaw rapid growth of its initial classes.

[4] In 1877, Georgetown University President Patrick Healy established the Office of the Dean and asked Hoffman to serve in the role.

[2] Hoffman's tenure was marked by the growth and professionalization of the Law Library, which was a small space still located inside the U.S. Capitol Building at the end of the nineteenth century.

[2] According to his obituary, he collected antique furniture and was known to host parties attended by prominent legal figures including Supreme Court Justice Stephen Field.