David Hall doesn't always like
his clients, but he says that never stops him from
giving them a zealous defense. His most memorable case
involved a client whom Hall, a former prosecutor, views
as "the most dangerous
guy I've ever seen, very cold-blooded." The 18-year-old
defendant had been charged with two others in the armed
robbery and attempted murder of a restaurant owner.
By any standard, the case appeared
unwinnable. Hall's client had confessed, the getaway
driver had identified him as being one of the robbers
and there was damning physical evidence. But during
the trial Hall was able to show that the father of
one co-defendant had bribed his client to confess and
that the getaway driver had failed a polygraph test.
His client was acquitted on all charges. "It was a wild, whacky case," Hall
says.
Yet, in a later trial for another
co-defendant, Hall's client laughingly confessed on
the stand to having knifed and blinded the restaurant
owner. He was convicted of perjury and sentenced to
10 years in prison. "Every
once in a while you have a client that gets your attention,
that reminds you why you've got an unlisted phone number
and keep your home address under wraps," says Hall.
For Hall, 47, the courtroom drama
and his own competitive spirit has always outweighed
any potential danger. Growing up in Northern Virginia,
he always wanted to be a trial lawyer. After graduating
from law school at George Mason University, he joined
the Fairfax County commonwealth's attorney office. "I never wanted to be sitting in
an office, looking out the window all day," says
Hall, who played football for U.Va. as an undergrad and
then worked as a football coach at James Madison High
School in Vienna and at Washington and Lee High School
in Arlington while attending law school.
After three years as a prosecutor,
Hall decided in 1990 to go into criminal defense work.
He started a firm with Greg Beckwith, a colleague in
the commonwealth's attorney office, and Jerry Phillips,
another former prosecutor who had become a criminal
defense lawyer. "We all
liked going to court, and we all liked trying cases," he
says. "It was a good match."
Hall has handled his share of
felony robbery, sexual assault and malicious wounding
cases over the years, but lately many of his clients
are looking for help with drug and traffic charges,
including drunken driving. "In
this area, law enforcement has really been cracking down
on DWIs [driving while intoxicated], and it's a really
tough statute now," he says. "There's a lot
more for people to lose if they get convicted, so that's
been a growing part of our practice over the last two
years."
In fact, his field of law is
booming. "I think
it's a great time to be a defense lawyer, both financially
and in the kind of cases you get," he says. "The
legislature is making a lot more things illegal, and
for the stuff that was already illegal, they're making
the enforcement even tougher. A lot of people need defense
lawyers right now."
During his off hours, Hall can
be found on the football field. He has been coaching
youth football ever since he left law school and served
for nine years as commissioner of the Vienna Youth
Football League. Sports also play a big role in his
family life. Hall's two oldest sons (he also has a
daughter, 8, and a 10-month-old son) play on his youth
football team. Carrie, his wife of 13 years, works
as a high school volleyball coach. "We eat
our family dinners at 7-Eleven," says Hall with
a laugh.
However demanding it can be,
this sideline activity can be a real stress-buster
for Hall, who notes that life as a criminal defense
attorney can sometimes be pretty intense and emotional
- especially when he has a client that he likes. "There are those clients
that you're kind of rooting for, who have done something
stupid and are remorseful but are facing a price that
you think is too high to pay," he says. "I
think that's when the pressure really starts to mount
for a defense attorney."
