After practising from 1874 to 1886 as a solicitor, Hall gave up the law in favour of journalism, starting a newspaper called "Pan", which "went to popularity and thence through an inexperienced direction to death", after which he "owned and edited in turn "The Bat" "The Cuckoo" and "The Phoenix" [after 1899, whilst writing industriously caustically for "The Sporting Times" many paragraphs on ... racing, and dramatic criticisms, under the signature 'Stalled Ox'." He also wrote for "Truth, The World, The Illustrated London News" and the "Ladies' Pictorial". He was assistant editor of Galignani's "Messenger" from 1888 to 1890. Hall and his sisters had been friendly with Oscar Wilde and his brother William, but Hall later became a harsh critic of Wilde. Hall was, for a time, interested in politics and ran (unsuccessfully) against the Liberal statesman Charles Russell for the Parliamentary seat of Dundalk in the 1880 election.