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J. Brent Allen

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J. Brent Allen

Partner
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Biography

Brent Allen is the Managing Partner of Hall Booth Smith’s Jacksonville, Florida office and Chair of the firm’s Opioid Defense Task Force. He has also served on the firm’s Executive Committee since 2020.

He is a seasoned civil trial lawyer and specializes in the litigation of batch claims, high exposure cases including malpractice, commercial litigation, long term care, negligent security and premises liability on a national, regional and local level. He has represented prominent corporations, non-profits, and individuals in their most challenging civil cases, including at jury and bench trials, before arbitration panels and governmental investigations. He regularly advises senior executives and boards of directors in internal governance issues. Brent has been retained by national clients and appointed by State and Federal Courts to serve as lead counsel in various matters. Most recently, Brent served as lead counsel in one of the Nation’s largest batch malpractice claims of all time.

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Brent has been Peer Review Rated as AV® Preeminent™, the highest performance rating in Martindale-Hubbell’s peer review rating system. He has been named a “Person on the Move,” a “Legal Listmaker” and an “Ultimate Attorney” by the Jacksonville Business Journal numerous times. He has also been identified as a “Bet the Company” litigator by Florida Trend Magazine.

A native of Jacksonville, Brent is active in the local community. He was appointed by the Mayor to serve on the Downtown Development Review Board and most recently held the position of Vice Chair. He is also a past Mayoral appointee and sat on the Board of Directors for the Jacksonville Housing Authority. He is an Eagle Scout and serves in various leadership roles with The Boy Scouts of America.

Brent is also actively involved in many professional and civic organizations including The Rotary Club of Jacksonville – Downtown, The Chester Bedell Inn of Court, The Florida Bar and The Jacksonville Bar Association. He lives in Jacksonville with his wife, daughter and son. In his spare time, he enjoys being outdoors and coaching youth athletics.

Experience

Brent’s practice is focused on opioid defense, medical malpractice, commercial litigation and premises liability matters in Florida, the Southeast and across the nation. He has extensive experience in litigation of high exposure cases.

Credentials

ADMITTED
  • Florida
  • United States Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit
  • United States District Court, Middle District of Florida
  • United States District Court, Southern District of Florida
EDUCATION
  • JD, with honors, Florida Coastal School of Law
  • JD, with honors, Florida Coastal School of Law

Memberships

  • City of Jacksonville Housing Authority, past Commissioner
  • City of Jacksonville Downtown Development Review Board, Secretary
  • Chester Bedell Inn of Court

Recognition

  • 2022 Jacksonville Business Journal – Forty under Forty
  • AV Preeminent rated by Martindale-Hubbell
  • Jacksonville Business Journal – List Maker Legal Elite
  • Jacksonville Business Journal – People on the Move
  • Jacksonville Business Journal – Ultimate Attorney
  • Eagle Scout

Presentations

  • Opioid Defense Task Force – Litigating Opioid Overdose Claims
    Baptist Health South Florida, June 2019
  • Handling Opioid Exposure in the Emergency Room
    University of Miami Health System, May 2019
  • Mastering Deposition Preparation
    Federal Bar Association, April 2019
  • Amendment 7 and The Impact on Litigating the Big Picture
    Ascension, Inc., March 2019
  • Preventing Against Opioid Exposure
    Florida Defense Lawyers Association, February 2019
  • Navigating High Stakes Nursing Home Litigation
    DRI, January 2019
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  • Drafting Better Incident Reports and Performing Thorough Investigations
    St. Vincent’s Medical Center, Inc., October 2018
  • Defending High Stakes Massive Exposure Cases
    Western Litigation, August 2018
  • Curtailing The Opioid Crisis
    DRI, May 2018
  • How the Outcome of Claims Can Be Influenced by Social Media, Wearable Devices and the Internet
    Florida Society for Risk Management and Patient Safety, March 2018
  • Reptile Tactics: A Defense Counsel’s Guide
    Markel Corp. Underwriting and Claims Summit, March 2018
  • Defending High Exposure Dental Malpractice Claims
    Markel Corp. Underwriting and Claims Summit, March 2018
  • Opioid Defense Task Force – Litigating Opioid Overdose Claims
    MedMal Direct, Inc., November 2017
  • Opioid Defense Task Force – Litigating Opioid Overdose Claims
    Ascension, Inc., August 2017
  • Conflicts of Interest in the Practice of Law
    Chester Bedell Inn of Court, October 2016
  • Social Media Discovery
    Ascension, Inc., May 2015

Publications

  • Landmark Decision in Ohio Finds CVS, Walgreens & Walmart Liable in Opioid Epidemic
    HBS Opioid Task Force Blog, December 2021 (Read full article)
  • A Comprehensive Guide for Defending Opioid Claims
    Jill Bechtold, JacquelynS. Clarke, John E. Hall, Jr., Stephanie R. McDonald, Jacob Raehn, Annalese Reese, Hall Booth Smith, P.C., March 2018 (Editor)
  • What to do if a Health Care Provider Receives a Notice of Intent to Initiate Medical Malpractice
    MedMal Direct, Inc., June 14, 2014
  • American Corporate Law: So You Want to Sit on The Board, Huh? 
    Hanks Livingston, Inc., August 1, 2010

In the Press

Hall Booth Smith Adds Four Attorneys to its Jacksonville Office

Hall Booth Smith, P.C. (HBS) is pleased to announce the addition of four attorneys to its Jacksonville office as the firm expands to better serve clients in the state of Florida. Shylie Bannon is a Partner in our Jacksonville office where she focuses her practice on representing physicians, mid-level providers, and health care providers in
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“Landmark Decision” in Ohio Finds CVS, Walgreens & Walmart Liable in Opioid Epidemic

Written by: J. Brent Allen, Esq. A federal jury in Cleveland recently found that the actions by pharmacy operators helped fuel the opioid epidemic in Ohio, which a county attorney called a “landmark decision” in the first trial the companies have faced over the drug crisis in America. After deliberating for six days, the jury
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COVID-19 Pandemic Threatens Opioid Sobriety

For many people who are battling opioid addiction or achieved sobriety, there is a new threat of relapse: the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Mandatory quarantines, shelter-in-place orders and new daily stressors such as the loss of childcare and the demands of running remote school are creating new challenges for people who are or have been addicted.
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Debate Swirls Around How to Use Opioid Settlement Funds

Tens of billions of dollars in forthcoming opioid litigation settlement funds have public health policy leaders and elected officials debating over how to use the funds in the most effective and impactful way to address the root causes of opioid addiction and improve access to treatment programs. One thing is clear: there is a consensus
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