en W. Hale, Jr. attended Marshall University and law school at The Ohio State University. After graduating with honors from Ohio State in 1970, he immediately went to work for the law firm of Smith and Tobin (now Smith & Hale LLC) where his law practice has specialized in the area of real estate development. Ben has played a significant role in most of the major real estate development in Central Ohio during this time.

Ben has also been active over the years outside of his law practice. He has served on the Franklin County Board of Mental Retardation and Development Disabilities Board off and on for nearly 30 years and has twice been the Board's chairman. He received the 2004 Ray Ferguson Award from the Ohio Association of County Boards as the outstanding advocate for those with mental retardation in the State of Ohio. He was also a founding member and first chairman of Creative Housing Inc., a non-profit corporation established to provide community housing alternatives for individuals who have mental retardation and developmental disabilities. The Creative Housing model which Ben helped create is now being used around Ohio and other states.

Ben is most proud of his involvement with the Pulman Square Development in his hometown of Huntington, W.Va. which is a retail development located downtown. The city of Huntington in the 1970's cleared several blocks of downtown in an urban renewal project in the hope of attracting a mall to the city. The site sat vacant until 2000 when Ben decided to get involved. The construction of Pulman Square has revitalized downtown Huntington. The Huntington Herald Dispatch newspaper named Ben as one of the outstanding citizens of Huntington for his efforts to help bring Pulman Square to the city.

Ben lives in New Albany with Jan, his wife of forty years. Ben and Jan have two daughters and three grandsons.