Rick is a native of Muscle Shoals, Alabama. He attended Muscle Shoals public schools, graduating from Muscle Shoals High School in 1979. Rick attended the University of North Alabama, graduating magna cum laude in 1983. Rick attended Vanderbilt Law School where he finished in the top 10% of his class, and was a member of the Order of the Coif. Rick also served as an Associate Editor of the Vanderbilt Law Review.

Rick started his legal career in 1986 in Huntsville, Alabama, with the law firm of Bradley, Arant, Rose & White. Rick was fortunate early in his legal career to be substantially involved in several major trials. In 1988, Rick and his supervising partner tried three complex cases for a total of six weeks, and then again in 1989 tried two more complicated legal matters for six weeks. These cases involved a defense verdict in a $25 million defamation lawsuit against the New York Times Company, a defense verdict in a commercial construction dispute against a design engineer, obtaining a verdict in favor of investors defrauded in a limited partnership, and the successful defense of breach of fiduciary duty claims against corporate directors and majority shareholders in which over $12 million in damages was sought. These early experiences taught Rick how to successfully prepare and try different types of complex litigation cases, whether for plaintiffs or defendants.  In 1996, Rick left his partnership in Bradley, Arant to return to Colbert County to practice with the firm of Almon, McAlister, Baccus & Hall. In 2004, Rick left that firm and shortly thereafter he and Mike Tanner formed Hall | Tanner | Hargett P.C. Since that time, Rick has successfully handled numerous trials and appeals for a wide range of corporate and individual clients.

Rick has tried cases involving a broad assortment of legal claims and theories, including breach of corporate fiduciary duty, medical malpractice, accountant liability, products liability, bad faith, trucking negligence, consumer fraud, and cases involving construction defects.

Rick is married to his college sweetheart, Cindy Murphy Hall, formerly of Florence, Alabama. They have two daughters, Rebecca and Mary Elizabeth.  Rick’s hobbies include deer hunting, hiking, and working on his cattle ranch, where he has 300 brood cows. Rick is the former President of the Muscle Shoals Board of Education Foundation, and currently serves as a Trustee for The Alabama Youth Ranches, Inc., which maintains a girls’ home on the ranch property that Cindy manages.

Education

• Vanderbilt School of Law, Order of the Coif (Top 10%), J.D. 1986
• University of North Alabama, magna cum laude, B.A. 1983

Bar Admissions

• Alabama Supreme Court, 1986
• U. S. District Court, N.D. of Alabama, 1986
• U.S. District Court, M.D. of Alabama, 1993
• U.S. District Court, S.D. of Alabama, 2008
• U.S. Court of Appeals, 11th Circuit, 1993

Professional Associations

• Alabama Bar Association
• American Bar Association
• Colbert County Bar Association
• American Association of Justice
• Muscle Shoals Education Foundation (Former President)
• SOUTHBank (Director)
• The Alabama Sheriffs’ Youth Ranches, Inc. (Trustee)

Notable Opinions

• Ex parte Maynard, Cooper & Gale, P.C. (Ala. 2018)
• Nat’l Ins. v. Sockwell (Ala. 2002)
• Uniroyal v. Hall (Ala. 1996)
• Massey v. Disc Mfg. (Ala. 1992)
• Eaton v. Horton (Ala. 1990)