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John E. Hall

Partner

New York +1 212 841 1218

San Francisco +1 415 591 7084

  • About
  • Representative Matters
  • Credentials
  • About

    A trial lawyer and former federal prosecutor with more than forty years of courtroom experience, John Hall is the Chair of Covington's global Litigation Practice. 

    John represents some of the world's leading companies in their most challenging disputes. Among the clients that have hired John in multiple matters are Hewlett Packard, the National Football League, TikTok, Northrop Grumman, and General Electric. He has won precedent-setting rulings at trial and on appeal in several leading cases.

    Over the course of his career, John has devoted thousands of hours to pro bono legal work, a key focus of which has been protecting women’s reproductive rights. In 2023, the Feminist Majority Foundation honored John with its Global Women's Rights Courage Award given "to a select few individuals who have contributed greatly to advancing the rights of women and girls around the world, and to increasing awareness of the injustices women face on account of their gender."

    Areas of Expertise

  • Practices and Industries
  • Representative Matters
    • Won a preliminary injunction for TikTok, preventing the Trump Administration from banning the entertainment and communication app used by more than 100 million Americans only hours before the ban was set to take effect. TikTok, Inc., et al. v. Trump et al., 490 F. Supp. 3d 73 (D.D.C. 2020).
    • Prevailed in the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals and the U.S. Supreme Court for Chiquita, defeating thousands of Alien Tort Statute claims brought by Colombian nationals arising out of extortion payments made by Chiquita’s former subsidiary to Colombian armed groups. Carrizosa, et al. v. Chiquita Brands Intl., 760 F.3d 1185 (11th Cir. 2014), cert. denied, 575 U.S. 962 (2015).
    • Successfully challenged the Defense Department’s blacklisting of Xiaomi Corporation, one of the world’s largest makers of cell phones and smart consumer electronic devices, from U.S. financial markets, a ruling that restored $10 billion to the company’s market capitalization. Xiaomi Corporation, et al. v. Department of Defense, et al., 2021 WL 950144 (D.D.C. March 12, 2021).
    • Achieved a precedent-setting ruling for Deutsche Bank, affirming the dismissal of civil Anti-Terrorism Act claims brought on behalf of U.S. service members killed or injured in militia attacks in Iraq, who sought to use regulatory settlements concerning Iranian bank transactions as a basis to impose ATA liability. Kemper v. Deutsche Bank AG, 911 F. 3d 383 (7th Cir. 2018).
    • Successfully resolved for Hewlett Packard wrongful death and personal injury claims arising out of the Washington Navy Yard mass shooting. See, e.g., Jograj, et al. v. HP Enterprise Services, LLC, 270 F.Supp.3d 10 (D.D.C. 2017); “She Was Sure She Was About To Die At Navy Yard, and Five Years Later Has Built A New Life,” Washington Post, Sept. 15, 2018.
    • Achieved victory for the National Football League and its member clubs in a lawsuit brought by the City of Oakland arising out of the relocation of the Raiders to Las Vegas. City of Oakland v. Oakland Raiders, et al., 83 Cal. App. 5th 458 (2022); City of Oakland v. Oakland Raiders, et al., 445 F. Supp. 3d 587 (N.D. Cal. 2020).
    • Lead trial counsel for the State of Minnesota in natural resources damages lawsuit against 3M that recovered $850 million to remediate drinking water contamination in the Twin Cities area. State of Minnesota v. 3M Company, No. 27-CV-10-28862 (District Court of Hennepin County, Minnesota).

    Pro Bono  

    • Jury trial win in Kansas federal court for director of Wichita’s only abortion provider who was accused of malicious prosecution after obtaining an order of protection against a prominent anti-abortion activist, see Holick v. Burkhart, 16-cv-1188-JWB (D. Kan.), featured on The Rachel Maddow Show (aired Dec. 30, 2019).
    • Successful representation of family of unarmed man who was shot and killed by Richmond Police officers, a case that led to sweeping changes to the City’s use-of-force training. Rosa Johnson, et al. v. City of Richmond, Virginia, et al., Civ.A. 3:04CV340 (E.D.Va.).
    • Successful representation of individual wrongfully imprisoned in Louisiana for more than 20 years in civil rights litigation against local prosecutors who intentionally concealed exculpatory evidence prior to his trial. Anthony Johnson v. Bogalusa City, et al., 2:10-cv-03444-SM-KWR (E.D. La.)
    • Spearheaded the firm’s litigation and advocacy work that led to the repeal of Virginia’s mandatory caps on payments to appointed counsel for indigent defendants, which had been criticized for years by national legal organizations and in the media as undermining the constitutional right of all persons to meaningful and effective representation in criminal cases. Featured in National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyer’s Champion magazine (May 2007).

    Areas of Expertise

  • Credentials
    Education
    • Harvard Law School, J.D., 1983
        • magna cum laude
    • Harvard University, A.B., 1979
        • Phi Beta Kappa
    Bar Admissions
    • New York
    • District of Columbia
    • California
    • Virginia
    • Missouri
    Government Experience
    • U.S. Department of Justice – U.S. Attorney’s Office
    • U.S. Senate
    Judicial Clerkship
    • Hon. Eugene F. Lynch, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, 1984 - 1985

    Areas of Expertise

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