HBS Announces New Attorneys to the Firm’s Partnership

Hall Booth Smith, P.C. (HBS) announces the election of six attorneys as partners, effective August 1, 2014. The new partners operate across a wide range of practice areas including agriculture, health care, long-term care, and general liability.

About the Attorneys

Brittany H. Cone

Brittany H. Cone of the Atlanta office focuses her practice on regulatory, administrative, and litigation matters in health care. She has advised providers on compliance with federal, state, and local laws and regulations, including self-reporting requirements, internal investigations, the False Claims Act, Stark and Anti-Kickback, and health information privacy. She has extensive experience counseling clients in Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement issues, certificates of need, transactions and operational issues, and the development of an effective compliance program. Brittany is also certified in Health Care Compliance by the Health Care Compliance Association.

Prior to joining HBS, Brittany graduated with honors from Berry College, where she was a recipient of the Winshape scholarship. She then went on to earn her J.D. from Georgia State University College of Law. At Georgia State, she was a member of the Georgia State University Law Review and served as associate symposium editor and associate editor for student notes. She also served as an extern for the Honorable A. Harris Adams, formerly of the Georgia Court of Appeals.

Nichole Hair

Nichole Hair of the Atlanta office focuses her practice on defending companies and individuals in civil tort litigation, primarily medical malpractice and employment law, as well as specializing as outside counsel for the hospitality industry. She is an experienced litigator and has tried cases to verdict in both federal and state courts. Nichole has been recognized as a “Rising Star” in “Georgia Super Lawyers” and is a former Magistrate Judge for Cobb County.

In the healthcare realm, Nichole has defended her clients against a broad range of claims including professional and simple negligence, fraud, battery, HIPAA and invasion of privacy violations, contractual disputes, and licensing issues. In employment matters, she represents companies and organizations of all sizes, counseling them with regard to employment issues and defending them in EEOC matters and litigation. Nichole counsels clients on a broad range of employment issues, including Title VII, FLSA, FMLA, ADEA, and ADA. Prior to joining HBS, Nichole served as a lead research specialist for the Cardiology Department at Emory University School of Medicine. She received her J.D. with honors from the Georgia State University College of Law, where she was on the Law Review Board as well as Moot Court.

Mark D. Maholick

Mark D. Maholick of the Columbus office concentrates his practice in the areas of transportation law, automobile liability, insurance coverage, general liability, property / SIU, retail liability, long term care and senior housing industry, and medical malpractice/professional negligence. The majority of Mark’s practice is devoted to representing individuals and companies who have been sued for claims of bodily injury through some of the largest insurance carriers in the U.S. This includes property, fire and casualty, tractor trailer and automobile liability claims. Additionally, Mark is often involved in various health care issues including risk management and regulatory compliance. In representing some of the largest health care facilities in the middle Georgia area, Mark has seen numerous cases from the claim stage through trial and other forms of resolution. His growing premises liability practice includes cases ranging from common slip and falls to catastrophic injuries.

Mark attended the Walter F. George School of Law at Mercer University and graduated cum laude. He was awarded with the Drew W. Paulk Honorary Scholarship and the Guerry R. Moore Insurance Law Award.4

Brian Mallow

Brian Mallow of the Albany Office practices in the areas of workers’ compensation, premises liability, and auto liability defense. He is admitted to practice in all Georgia state courts, the United States District Court for the Middle District of Georgia, and the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals. He is also an experienced mediator and is registered with the Georgia Office of Dispute Resolution.

A native of West Virginia, Brian attended West Virginia University and graduated cum laude with a degree in political science. He also earned his law degree from WVU, where he served on law review and was admitted to the Order of the Coif.

Joel McKie

Joel McKie, the leader of Hall Booth Smith’s Agriculture Practice Group, counsels farmers and agribusinesses in a variety of transactional, regulatory, and litigation matters. With an expertise in the unique issues facing food and fiber producers and processors, Joel has served as local and lead transaction counsel for purchasers and sellers of farm and timber properties, farm suppliers, food processors, and transporters of agriculture products. Seed distributors, produce and pecan brokers, poultry processors, agricultural and crop insurers, growers, landowners, and animal handlers have all relied on Joel’s advice in pre-suit and legal proceedings involving matters such as warranty disputes, partition actions, contract suits, food adulteration cases, foreclosures, garnishments, and PACA claims. In his regulatory and government practice, Joel represents energy clients in front of the Georgia Public Commission and agriculture and energy clients at the Georgia General Assembly.

A native of Abbeville, Georgia, Joel graduated from Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College (ABAC), the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, and the University of Georgia School of Law. A former State President and National Vice President for the National FFA Organization (formerly Future Farmers of America), Joel was twice appointed by former Governor Sonny Perdue to the Agricultural Education Advisory Commission. In August 2010, Georgia Trend listed him as one of the Movers and Shakers in the Georgia Agribusiness Industry. In 2011, Commissioner Gary W. Black appointed Joel to serve on the Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness task force for the Georgia Department of Agriculture. A current member board of directors of the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Alumni Association Committee, Joel was recognized in 2011 with that association’s Young Alumni Achievement Award.

Scott H. Moulton

Scott H. Moulton of the Atlanta office focuses his practice on the defense of transportation and general casualty litigation. Scott was raised in a small town in Central Illinois, and joined the United States Army JAG Corps following law school where he acted as a Command Judge Advocate, Special Assistant United States Attorney, and claims attorney for the Army’s South America, Central America and the Caribbean Sector. Following his service in the JAG Corps, Scott joined an AV- rated law firm in St. Louis, Missouri, where he focused on the defense of personal injury, transportation, and general liability litigation. Scott has tried multiple jury trials to successful verdicts.

Prior to joining HBS, he was a catastrophic claims attorney with a national commercial transportation insurer. Scott has a great deal of experience coordinating the investigations of catastrophic and rapid response incidents, investigating driver-fatigue, negligent entrustment, and driver training issues, and has firsthand knowledge of the interests and concerns of the insurers, self-insureds, and carriers within the industry.

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“We are proud to recognize each of these outstanding attorneys as partners,” said HBS Managing Partner Alex Booth. “We look forward to practicing together for many years to come. Their service to our clients has been consistently excellent.”

 

About Hall Booth Smith

Established in 1989, Hall Booth Smith, P.C. is a full-service law firm headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. Experienced across a wide range of legal disciplines, HBS attorneys pride themselves on providing knowledgeable, proactive, client-specific counsel to individuals, domestic and international corporations, state and federal agencies, and nonprofit organizations. The firm’s promise: “Serving to Achieve Excellence.”