John E. Hall, Jr., Hall Booth Smith, on Healthcare Litigation, AI in Medicine, and Writing Legal Thrillers (North Fulton Business Radio, Episode 923)
On this episode of North Fulton Business Radio, host John Ray welcomes John E. Hall, Jr., Founding Partner at Hall Booth Smith, a full-service law firm with a national footprint and deep expertise in healthcare litigation. John shares insights from over 40 years representing hospitals and doctors across the country, including his perspective on how AI is revolutionizing healthcare by improving predictions, medication checking, and diagnostic alternatives while restoring the doctor-patient connection that electronic medical records disrupted.
The conversation explores John’s dual life as a trial attorney who spends 140 nights a year on the road trying cases nationwide and as a novelist writing under the pen name Everett Hall. His third murder mystery, AI, Lies and Murder, follows Georgia lawyer Jack Sutton into modern-day challenges involving artificial intelligence and healthcare. John discusses the inspiration behind his books, drawing from real stories of South Georgia legal life, and reveals he is simultaneously working on multiple novels, including one set in the country of Georgia involving a virus conspiracy and another exploring the ghost stories and history of Lake Lanier.
John Ray is the host of North Fulton Business Radio. The show is produced by John Ray and North Fulton Business Radio, LLC, an affiliate of Business RadioX®, and is recorded inside Renasant Bank in Alpharetta.
Key Takeaways from This Episode
- John describes AI in healthcare as “an arrogant genius in the room that is sometimes wrong”: powerful for providing information and helping humans think better, but requiring careful human oversight
- AI technology is revolutionizing healthcare by improving outcome predictions, medication verification, and diagnostic suggestions while helping restore doctor-patient connections that electronic medical records have disrupted.
- John writes legal thrillers under the pen name Everett Hall during his extensive travel schedule, drawing from real stories about South Georgia legal practice and weaving in themes from his healthcare litigation experience.
- John’s three currently published legal thrillers are Gnats, Murder and Humidity; Murder at the Yacht Club; and AI, Lies and Murder
- His current work includes multiple novels in progress, including one exploring a virus conspiracy in the country of Georgia and another based on Lake Lanier’s ghost stories and flooded village history
Topics Discussed in this Episode
00:20 John Ray introduces the show and guest John E. Hall, Jr.
02:34 John introduces Hall Booth Smith and their healthcare litigation practice
03:13 How healthcare experience influenced AI, Lies and Murder
04:00 The impact of electronic medical records on doctor-patient relationships
04:15 AI as “an arrogant genius in the room that is sometimes wrong”
04:30 How AI is revolutionizing healthcare through predictions and diagnostics
05:12 Managing a 450-lawyer firm while trying cases 140 nights a year
05:39 Hall Booth Smith’s growth from 14 to 450 lawyers since 1998
06:35 Writing novels during hotel stays while on the road for trials
07:10 The inspiration from Atlanta lawyer Jack Slover’s South Georgia legal stories
08:13 Creating the character Jack Sutton and setting books in South Georgia
10:35 The authenticity and humor in Southern small-town legal practice
12:52 Why John writes under the pen name Everett Hall
14:46 The plot of AI, Lies and Murder involving healthcare technology
17:37 How John’s healthcare litigation experience shapes his fiction
19:29 Writing process and balancing trial practice with novel writing
21:30 The three published books: Gnats, Murder and Humidity; Murder at the Yacht Club; and AI, Lies and Murder
24:40 Reading the books in order versus standalone
28:10 Character development across the series
29:01 Future books in progress, including one set in the country of Georgia
30:25 A virus conspiracy novel inspired by Hong Kong protests and COVID-19
31:37 Ghost, Murder and Lanier exploring Lake Lanier’s history and ghost stories
32:06 How to find Hall Booth Smith and the Everett Hall novels
John E. Hall, Jr., Founding Partner
John E. Hall, Jr., is one of the founding partners of Hall Booth Smith, and he is dedicated to making it the finest litigation firm in the Southeast. John specializes in the defense of high-exposure cases, including medical malpractice, batch claims, construction, commercial litigation, mass torts, transportation, and products liability. During his legal career, he has tried more than 125 cases to resolution.
His expertise in high-exposure birth trauma and catastrophic cases resulted in his being named National Counsel for several major insurance carriers. This National Counsel program establishes a litigation approach, which enables a team of specialized attorneys to become involved and assist local counsel on high-exposure cases at all phases of the legal process. John also serves on the HBS National Trial Counsel team and provides his experience in security, transportation, products liability, and general liability.
John also maintains a robust corporate practice in international law, international trade and finance, arbitration/mediation, business structures, health care, and commercial litigation.
John is a former member of the Board of Directors of the USLAW Network, a premier organization of independent law firms with offices throughout the United States that provides high-quality legal services without unnecessary expense to clients. He is actively involved in a number of professional organizations and is often invited to speak at industry gatherings and continuing legal education programs. In addition, he is closely involved in developing and providing educational materials to clients.
John serves as an Honorary Consul to the Country of Georgia and is Chairman of the Atlanta-Tbilisi Sister City Committee, where he actively engages in developing international relationships between the state of Georgia and the country of Georgia.
Hall Booth Smith, P.C.
Established in 1989, Hall Booth Smith, P.C. (HBS) is a full-service law firm headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, with regional offices strategically located throughout Georgia and the United States. Experienced across a wide range of legal disciplines, HBS prides itself on providing knowledgeable, proactive, client-specific counsel to individuals, domestic and international corporations, state and federal agencies, and nonprofit organizations.
Hall Booth Smith possesses the legal knowledge, skill, and experience to meet clients’ needs wherever they do business. The firm maintains the highest commitment to ethically and professionally serving clients by providing the highest quality legal representation.
The firm delivers quality legal services in a variety of service areas. Experience across legal disciplines combined with a focus on the unique business or personal requirements of the client is the hallmark of the firm. Clients receive the attention, expertise, and cost-effectiveness of a smaller law firm with a full-service and strong regional presence typical of a larger one.
Renasant Bank supports North Fulton Business Radio
Renasant Bank has humble roots, having started in 1904 as a $100,000 bank located in a Lee County, Mississippi, bakery. Since then, Renasant has grown into one of the Southeast’s strongest financial institutions, boasting over $26 billion in assets and more than 280 offices offering banking, lending, wealth management, and financial services throughout the region. All of Renasant’s success stems from the commitment of each banker to invest in the communities they serve, which in turn helps them better understand the people they serve. At Renasant Bank, their banking professionals understand you because they work and live alongside you every day.
Website | LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram | X (Twitter) | YouTube
Beyond Computer Solutions supports North Fulton Business Radio
Whether you’re a law firm, medical practice, or manufacturer, there’s one headline you don’t want to make: “Local Business Pays Thousands in Ransom After Cyberattack.” That’s where Beyond Computer Solutions comes in. They help organizations like yours stay out of the news and in business with managed IT and cybersecurity services designed for industries where compliance and reputation matter most.
Whether they serve as your complete IT department or simply support your internal team, they are well-versed in HIPAA, secure document access, written security policies, and other essential aspects that ensure your safety and well-being. Best of all, it starts with a complimentary security assessment.
Website | LinkedIn | Facebook | YouTube
About North Fulton Business Radio and host John Ray
With over 900 episodes and having featured over 1,400 guests, North Fulton Business Radio is the longest-running podcast in the North Fulton area, covering business in our community like no one else. We are the undisputed “Voice of Business” in North Fulton!
The show invites a diverse range of business, non-profit, and community leaders to share their significant contributions to their respective markets, communities, and professions. There is no discrimination based on company size, and there is never any “pay to play.” North Fulton Business Radio supports and celebrates businesses by sharing positive stories that traditional media ignore. Some media lean left. Some media lean right. We lean business.
John Ray is the host of North Fulton Business Radio. John and the team at North Fulton Business Radio, LLC, an affiliate of Business RadioX®, produce the show, which is recorded inside Renasant Bank in Alpharetta.
The studio is located at 275 South Main Street, Alpharetta, GA 30009.
You can find the entire archive of shows by following this link. The show is accessible on all major podcast apps, such as Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google, Amazon, iHeart Radio, and many others.
John Ray also operates his own business advisory practice. John’s services include advising solopreneurs and small professional services firms on their value, their positioning and business development, and their pricing. His clients are professionals who are selling their expertise, such as consultants, coaches, attorneys, CPAs, accountants, bookkeepers, marketing professionals, and other professional services practitioners.
John is the author of the five-star rated book, The Generosity Mindset: A Journey to Business Success by Raising Your Confidence, Value, and Prices, praised by readers for its practical insights on raising confidence, value, and prices.
