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2023 Mid South Super Lawyers
Firm News

HBS Attorneys Recognized in 2023 Mid-South Super Lawyers Awards

2023 Mid South Super Lawyers

HBS has been recognized for its outstanding legal work as 10 of its attorneys are selected to the 2023 Mid-South Super Lawyers and Rising Stars lists. Each year, no more than 5 percent of the lawyers in the state are selected by the research team at Super Lawyers to receive the Super Lawyers honor and no more than 2.5 percent receive the Rising Stars honor.

2023 Mid-South Super Lawyers

2023 Mid-South Rising Stars

HBS would like to congratulate the recipients of this year’s Super Lawyers and Rising Stars awards. These honors recognize the outstanding legal work performed by HBS attorneys and bolster the firm’s reputation as a leading law firm.

The Recipients

David Proctor

Birmingham Partner David Proctor was recognized for the 11th consecutive year on the Super Lawyers list for his outstanding work in medical malpractice defense.  David has over 30 years of trial experience, including defending physicians in medical malpractice actions, breach of warranty and fraud defense on behalf of automobile manufacturers, complex products liability cases, defending management in employment discrimination cases and EEOC matters, and consumer finance arbitration work in the financial services industry. He has tried dozens of jury trials to verdict in various state and federal courts in Alabama.

Todd Wooten

Little Rock Partner Todd Wooten was honored for his work in general liability defense. Todd has tried more than 165 cases over a legal career spanning a quarter of a century. He focuses his practice on aging services, construction, medical malpractice, and professional malpractice and ethics matters as well as a wide range of other business disputes and liability matters and has first-chaired numerous complex cases in federal and state courts.

Misty Wilson Borkowski

Partner Misty Wilson Borkowski of the Little Rock office was honored for her work in business immigration. Her practice focuses on immigration matters, assisting both employers and individuals. Misty, who is fluent in Spanish, previously served as the designated attorney to aid in PALE (Program of Legal Assistance to Mexican Nationals through External Legal Advice in the United States of America) alongside the Mexican Consulate in Little Rock. She also functioned as the Liaison to Changchun, Little Rock’s Sister City in China. She is also an Adjunct Professor at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, Bowen School of Law, where she teaches a course on Immigration Law.

Jason B. Hendren

Jason B. Hendren, a Partner in the Rogers office, was listed as a Super Lawyer for his defense work in medical malpractice. Jason represents hospitals, physician groups, clinics, doctors, nurses, insurers, and other health care professionals in a wide range of complex medical malpractice litigation. He also defends clients in Emergency Medical Treatment & Labor Act (EMTALA) claims, HIPAA matters, and other complicated health care related litigation. In addition, he has a specialty practice in representing dentists, hygienists, oral and maxillofacial surgeons, orthodontists, and other dental providers in the wide variety of claims they may face.

Carl C. Williams

Carl Williams is a Partner in the Birmingham office recognized to the 2023 Rising Stars list for his defense work in medical malpractice. He focuses his practice on health care, professional negligence, medical malpractice, business litigation, and general liability matters. Prior to joining HBS, Carl worked as a commercial litigation attorney for 4 years.

Baxter D. Drennon

Little Rock Partner Baxter Drennon was recognized for his work in civil litigation defense. With more than a decade of legal experience, Baxter is a seasoned trial attorney who protects the rights of clients in complex litigation involving products liability, professional liability, and automobile accidents. Baxter has also successfully defended doctors, nurses, and other medical providers in medical malpractice cases. Known for his work in high-exposure cases such as catastrophic personal injury and complex business disputes, Baxter has served as lead counsel in hundreds of cases and as trial counsel in over a dozen cases — most of which resulted in complete defense verdicts.

Abtin Mehdizadegan

Partner Abtin Mehdizadegan of the Little Rock office was listed as a Rising Star for his work in Labor & Employment. He has extensive, high-stakes experience defending businesses in class and collective action lawsuits, employment and wage and hour lawsuits, labor grievance and arbitration proceedings, individual and systemic proceedings before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), unfair labor practice charges before the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), federal wage and hour audits involving the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (DOL/WHD), unemployment appeals, business disputes, products liability defense, and constitutional law litigation.

Julia Kavanagh

Julia Kavanagh is a Partner in the Memphis office recognized to the 2023 Rising Stars list for her work in medical malpractice defense. She has over a decade of experience representing hospital systems, nursing homes and long-term care facilities, physicians, and other health care providers in both state and federal courts. Additionally, Julia handles products liability, premises liability, insurance defense, contract disputes, transportation litigation, and general civil litigation matters. Julia has also worked as in house counsel for a health care company.

Rodrequez C. Watson

Rodrequez C. Watson is an Associate in the Memphis office and was honored for his defense work in general personal injury. Rod has overseen numerous cases from the initial complaint through dispositive motion, settlement and trial. He also has experience representing clients in pre-suit investigations. He currently represents clients in matters involving medical malpractice, premises liability, legal malpractice, labor and employment disputes, workers’ compensation claims, breach of contract, criminal defense, and appeals.

Kyler S. Garmen

Associate Kyler Garmen of our Memphis office was named as a Rising Star for his defense work in general personal injury. Kyler focuses his practice on aging services, dental, general liability, health care, medical malpractice, and professional negligence. He also serves as a Judge Advocate with the United States Army Reserve and provides a wide range of legal services to support combat-ready units and soldiers.

About Super Lawyers

Super Lawyers, part of Thomson Reuters, is a rating service of outstanding lawyers from more than 70 practice areas who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. The annual selections are made using a patented multiphase process that includes a statewide survey of lawyers, an independent research evaluation of candidates and peer reviews by practice area. The result is a credible, comprehensive, and diverse listing of exceptional attorneys. The Super Lawyers lists are published nationwide in Super Lawyers magazines and in leading city and regional magazines and newspapers across the country. Super Lawyers magazines also feature editorial profiles of attorneys who embody excellence in the practice of law.

The full list of this year’s recipients can be found on the Super Lawyers website.

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.”

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