The POWER 30: Michael Hall III

Hall Law, P.A.

Born and raised in St. Cloud, Michael Hall III has offices there and in Minneapolis and Edina. His father, Mike Hall Sr., is the firm’s founder.

His web site is replete with six and seven-figure judgments and settlements. Lately he’s been handling cases of sexual relationships between therapists (men and women) and their clients, the plaintiffs. Some of the cases involve sexual misconduct during the therapy process, Hall said.

Hall has also represented inured people who require radio frequency neuropathy (RFN) treatment, where a doctor cauterizes injured nerves. It is used to treat injuries that occur to the spine but often do not show up on x-rays. It is expensive and must be used every few years.

A recent case resulted in a RFN-related verdict of $620,000 where the plaintiff had been in pain from an accident for five years. “The defense thinks it will magically go away,” Hall said. “Our claim to fame is showing that the facet joint injuries are just as bad as others,” he said. Juries don’t do that very often with this type of injury, Hall said. During voir dire in Chisago County, “We got the impression that the jury didn’t have a favorable view of plaintiff injuries.” But this jury believed the injuries were real and connected to the accident.

It is the third largest RFN verdict in the state. The other two were Hall Law verdicts of $798,000 and $865,000. “Someone has to stand up for people who have whiplash and that’s what I’m doing. I’m recognizing an injury that used to be denigrated,” Hall said.

Other good news this year for Hall Law was the Court of Appeals’ opinion in Kelley v. The Bernick’s Company, et al. which affirmed a $6,735,519.77 verdict for Anthony Kelley, appellee, in an accident in a work zone in Minneapolis where a man’s foot was partially severed. The defense charged misconduct in Hall’s closing argument, but the Court of Appeals said the argument was “colorful.”