Judge Hall was nominated by George W. Bush to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit on December 9, 2003, to a seat vacated by Hon. Fred I. Parker (deceased); confirmed by the Senate on June 24, 2004, and received commission on July 7, 2004.

Judge Hall received his B.A. with honors in English, from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1971; his M.A. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1975; and J.D., cum laude, from Cornell Law School in 1977.

Judge Hall was Law clerk, Honorable Albert W. Coffrin, U.S. District Court for the District of Vermont, 1977-1978. He was Assistant U.S. Attorney, District of Vermont, 1978-1982 and First Assistant U.S. Attorney, District of Vermont, 1982-1986. He engaged in the Private Practice of law in Vermont, 1986-2001. He served as President, Vermont Bar Association, 1995-1996. Judge Hall was elected as a Fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers in 1997. Just prior to his appointment to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, he was the U.S. Attorney for the District of Vermont, 2001-2004.