James E. Hall
jhall@hallassoc.net

Jim Hall is a leading expert on crisis management and government relations, and transportation safety and security, having served government and private clients for more than five decades.

Mr. Hall began his career in Washington as a member of the staff of Senator Albert Gore, Sr. (D-TN).  He subsequently served as a counsel to the Senate Subcommittee on Intergovernmental Relations under Senator Ed Muskie.  He maintained a private legal practice in Chattanooga, Tennessee, before serving in the cabinet of Tennessee Governor Ned McWherter. Mr. Hall served as director of the state's Planning Office for five years before returning to Washington, D.C. to serve as Chief of Staff for Senator Harlan Mathews (D-TN).  Mr. Hall left his position when President Bill Clinton appointed him to the National Transportation Safety Board.

While he served as director of planning for the State of Tennessee, Mr. Hall was responsible for overseeing the establishment of the Memphis Headquarters for FedEx, the internationally recognized shipping company.  In addition to overseeing this large initiative, Mr. Hall handled policy planning and special projects.

As Chief of Staff to Senator Mathews, Mr. Hall was required to manage the Senator’s legislative agenda and serve as top advisor to the Senator on all issues.  The unique perspective Mr. Hall gained from serving as Senator Mathews’ Chief of Staff has provided him with the ability to serve clients on a wide variety of issues.

After leaving the Senator, Mr. Hall was nominated by President Clinton to be a Member of the National Transportation Safety Board in 1993, and to serve as its Chairman in 1994.  He led the Board through January 2001.

During his chairmanship, Mr. Hall worked tirelessly to improve safety in all modes of transportation in the U.S. and abroad. He visited more than 30 nations as Chairman, and oversaw a period of unprecedented activity as the NTSB investigated numerous major aviation, rail, pipeline and maritime accidents in the U.S. During his tenure on the Board, Mr. Hall also assisted in many international accident investigations. Among the major investigations the NTSB conducted while Mr. Hall was Chairman were the aviation cases of USAir 427, TWA 800, and EgyptAir 990; the Olympic Pipeline accident in Bellingham, Washington; the AMTRAK crash in Bourbonnais, Illinois; and a Carnival Cruise Line accident near Miami.  In 1996, President Clinton named Mr. Hall to the White House Commission on Aviation Safety and Security.

Under Chairman Hall's leadership, the NTSB issued landmark safety studies on commuter airlines, the air tourism industry, the performance and use of child restraint systems, personal watercraft, transit bus operations, passive-grade railway crossings and the dangers posed to children by passenger-side airbags in automobiles.

Mr. Hall is a former member of the Board of Trustees at the University of Tennessee and a former member of the Tennessee River Gorge Trust.  He was also the Chairman of the Enterprise Center in Chattanooga for eight years, a board member of U.S. Xpress Enterprises, and served on the National Academy of Engineering's Committee on Combating Terrorism and the Aviation Institute Advisory Board of George Washington University.  In addition, Mr. Hall served as a member of the External Advisory Board of BP America PLC.  These diverse experiences and responsibilities give him the ability to work with clients on a wide range of issues.  At Hall & Associates, Mr. Hall has surrounded himself with people who share his extensive knowledge on a broad range of issues, and he has created an environment conducive to helping our clients with whatever needs they have.

Currently, Mr. Hall is a member of the UC Foundation at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, a member of the Vestry of St. Timothy's Episcopal Church on Signal Mountain, Tennessee, and the Vice-Chairman of the Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport Authority. In addition, Mr. Hall serves as an adviser to governments and private clients on transportation safety and security, crisis management and government relations. He is a frequent speaker at industry events, an oft-quoted expert source by television and print reporters, and an author of numerous Op-Ed pieces. His columns have appeared in publications such as the New York Times and USA and he has appeared on virtually every major television news program, including 60 Minutes, the Today show, Nightline, Larry King Live, Fox & Friends, BBC News and Today. In 2002, the U.S. Forest Service named Mr. Hall to co-chair a blue-ribbon safety review of the operations of firefighting aircraft after three such aircraft crashed that summer.

Mr. Hall has given congressional testimony before numerous House and Senate committees, including the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure (aviation and railroad subcommittees) and the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation (transportation and surface transportation/merchant marine subcommittees).

Mr. Hall graduated from the University of Tennessee in 1967 with a baccalaureate of legal letters degree and has an honorary doctorate degree in public service from George Washington University for his outstanding leadership and commitment to the public. He served as a commissioned officer in the U.S. Army from 1967 to 1973, receiving the Bronze Star for Meritorious Service in Vietnam in 1969.