Impact at CLIPI
After graduating from Harvard Law School, Hall taught constitutional law in Sudan and assisted in establishing the first law school in Uganda, before returning to the United States to join O'Melveny & Myers as an associate. In 1971, Hall and three other young O'Melveny associates co-founded CLIPI as one of the nation's first public interest law firms.
At CLIPI, Hall led landmark litigation that established California's environmental law framework, that preserved critical ecosystems like the Santa Monica Mountains and the Ballona Wetlands, and that reformed LA’s land use planning and zoning practices. His civil rights cases challenged exclusionary zoning practices in the City of Irvine and Orange County, and reformed LAPD’s skid row public inebriate arrest and incarceration practices. His work also introduced innovative consumer protection class action procedures that have produced many millions of dollars for consumer advocacy programs. His cases were also at the forefront of corporate and public governance reform. Hall argued numerous cases before the California and the United States Supreme Courts.
Together, with John Phillips, Hall also helped shape the statutory and case law underpinning the "private attorney general doctrine" as the basis for court-awarded attorney's fees in public interest litigation. This legal doctrine has authorized the awarding of hundreds of millions of dollars in fees to further public interest litigation throughout the state.
In 1988 Hall and John Phillips cofounded Hall & Phillips, continuing to focus on public policy issues. Among his notable legal activities were serving as chief outside counsel for the modernization of LAX, one of the world’s busiest airports, representing the State of Alaska on the re-permitting of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline, and preserving precious Southern California open space resources. In 2002, he joined the Akin Gump law firm as a partner where he continued to practice environmental and land use law. He retired in 2015.
Hall also served as Commissioner for the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, guarding Lake Tahoe’s unique resources, and for the Los Angeles Community Redevelopment Agency, overseeing its affordable housing programs. He founded several nonprofits, including People for Parks, which championed public recreation and open space preservation and played a key role in securing almost $1 billion in voter-approved monies for public parks and recreation in Los Angeles.
