Hall, Sir Edward Marshall 1858-1927
English lawyer

Born in Brighton, he was educated at Rugby and Cambridge. He was called to the Bar in 1883, and, although the victim of hostility in the Harmsworth press, built up his reputation through a series of impressive victories in murder cases such as Robert Wood (1907), Edward Lawrence (1909), Ronald Light (1920) and Harold Greenwood (1920), where his powers of classical advocacy offset his legal ignorance. His notable failures included Frederick Henry Seddon and the murderer George Joseph Smith (1872-1915), who drowned his three 'brides in the bath'. His greatest civil triumph was Russell v Russell (1923). Despite his oratorical powers he made little mark as Conservative MP for Southport (1900-06) and East Toxteth (1910-16), while his legendary reputation owed much to his biographer Edward Marjoribanks.