Attorneys
Hall & Sethi, PLC
Reston, Virginia, 20190
Reston and Northern Virginia Personal Injury Attorney
Robert T. Hall received his J.D. from Georgetown University in 1964. He spent two years working as associate counsel to the U.S. Senate District of Columbia Committee and then went on to start his private practice. Mr. Hall has worked as a personal injury lawyer in Reston and Northern Virginia for over 50 years, garnering respect in the community and a wealth of experience in Virginia law.
Dedicated Member of the Community
Mr. Hall is an active and involved member of the community. Many of his cases have changed the landscape of law to the benefit of local residents. His name has become a staple in the Virginia legal community—and as a result, he is frequently asked to give lectures and seminars on various topics throughout the state. Some of his venues include the American Association for Justice, the Virginia Trial Lawyers Association, and numerous universities. In 2009, Mr. Hall was awarded the VTLA’s Lifetime Achievement Award for his well-known and widely recognized work.
As a trial lawyer, Mr. Hall has been given the opportunity to stand beside fellow humans who have suffered some of life’s worse indignities – some injured by products designed more for profit than for safety, others by drivers whose attention was not on the task at hand, and others who were wrongfully accused of crimes they did not commit.
Compassionate & Skilled Legal Representation
Through numerous cases and against overwhelming odds, Mr. Hall has become a nationally recognized lawyer. Hundreds of his cases have been taken to trial with successful results. Believing his skills are best used when applied to noble causes rather than profit, Mr. Hall has done a large amount of pro bono work on behalf of people who were wrongly incarcerated.
Over 50 years of experience is not an asset many other attorneys can put on their resume. Mr. Hall has been involved in some of Virginia’s most complicated and difficult cases. Some of his cases have even been the subject of books. His keen insight into the law has him frequently called on as an expert witness on legal matters in court.
Notable Cases
Mr. Hall handled the high-profile case of Earl Washington, Jr. and was able to obtain exoneration in 2000. Earl Washington, Jr. was wrongfully convicted and sentenced to death in Virginia’s electric chair in 1984. A civil verdict of $2,250,000 was awarded to Mr. Washington in 2004 for his wrongful conviction and incarceration.
Mr. Hall also achieved a civil settlement against Dr. Cecil Jacobson, a purported infertility expert, aggregating $2.4 million, for defrauding his vulnerable clients in his treatment of them.
Additionally, Mr. Hall achieved civil verdicts totaling $8 million on behalf of two families who lost daughters in the 2007 Virginia Tech mass shootings (verdicts which the Virginia Supreme Court later reversed).
Personal Philosophy: Go Above & Beyond the Call of Duty
As a personal philosophy, Mr. Hall has always believed in being something more than ordinary. His mother taught him honor, his grandmother taught him charity, and his extended family taught him, by example, to be caring.
“For those to whom much has been given, much is expected in return.”
He views it as his responsibility to clients to go beyond the four corners of the legal process and to preserve or return to them their sense of self-worth and dignity after life has treated them unfairly. In short, we are all passengers on this earth, hurtling through space, with but one opportunity to make a difference in the lives of our fellow passengers – a chance we cannot waste on pettiness, selfish interests or a mistaken view of our own superiority.
Publications
Along with Grief Therapist Mila Ruiza Tecala, Mr. Hall co-authored Grief and Loss: Identifying and Proving Damages in Wrongful Death Cases. In the book, Mr. Hall breaks down the stages of grief, identifying the lifelong effects of loss, particularly as they pertain to wrongful death cases brought before a judge and jury. Together, Mr. Hall and Ms. Tecala help readers identify the traits associated with sorrow and provide commentary on how other legal counselors can best connect with grieving clients who are mourning the loss of a loved one. The book also includes helpful information about how these sorrows create life-altering experiences that can be presented in court as intangible damages. Highly recommended as one of the “best method[s] for presenting damages in wrongful death cases,” Grief and Loss perfectly exemplifies the level of skill and compassion Mr. Hall offers to every client he represents in Virginia.
Background & Experience
Mr. Hall grew up in the small town of East Liverpool, Ohio. It was a town of working class people; all bonded by hard work, love of family, adoration of children, and faith. He moved to Virginia at the age of 14 so that his mother, then single, could find an opportunity for employment. His mother worked hard and raised him to understand the benefit of a good education. Mr. Hall attributes his own personal and professional success to her gentle pushes to become a self-made man.
After graduation from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service, he was granted the most remarkable of worldly gifts, a beautiful and loving wife with whom he now has celebrated 56 years of marriage, three wonderful sons, and three exceptional granddaughters.
