Rush S. Smith, Jr.
Biography
Rush S. Smith, Jr. has achieved Martindale-Hubbell’s highest rating for legal ability and ethics for more than 20 years. He has been listed for the past 14 years as one of Georgia’s “Super Lawyers” by Atlanta Magazine in a peer-reviewed selection process utilized around the country as well as in its Corporate Counsel edition.
He currently chairs the firm’s Professional Liability practice and served as chair of the USLaw Professional Liability Practice Group from 2005-2007. He is a frequent speaker assisting the Georgia Bar’s Institute for Continuing Legal Education, state and national professional associations’ continuing education programs, and risk management seminars across the state.
Experience
Rush has litigated cases covering the full variety of civil matters from vehicular accidents to boundary line disputes to fraud and abuse cases for over 34 years.
Rush represents hospitals’ and physicians’ practice groups across the state, providing counsel in regulatory matters, loss prevention issues, governmental regulatory compliance, and relationships with contractors. His more than 34 years of experience in handling civil litigation for hospitals, physicians, and practice groups makes him particularly well-suited to provide practical and useful guidance in loss prevention/loss management programs.
He regularly represents physicians and other health care professionals before the various licensing boards in the state as well as before the Administrative Courts in matters involving licensure and Medicare/Medicaid reimbursement. He served as a lobbyist for the Georgia Hospital Association in its successful effort to get a comprehensive Tort Reform package enacted in 2005.
Rush is one of Georgia’s leading medical malpractice defense lawyers, having defended physicians, hospitals, attorneys, and other professionals in jury trials across Georgia and in federal court for more than 34 years.
Rush has represented numerous manufacturers and retailers in product liability claims including heavy equipment, medical products, household appliances, and tools.
His cases include a successful defense of a wrongful death claim against an incubator manufacturer, pre-suit defense of a medical device death case involving a world-wide product recall, workplace injuries involving skid steer loaders, and hand-held power tools, among others.
Rush’s practice includes the representation of attorneys in legal malpractice claims ranging from securities issues to alleged attorney fraud. He has specialized experience in representing attorneys in cases brought by bankruptcy trustees as they attempt to marshal debtors’ assets. Additionally, he represents professionals sued for negligence, fraud and fiduciary breaches in nearly every other area of professional practice.
His practice includes the defense of organizations sued for criminal or civil misconduct of its employees including counseling centers and churches. His special understanding of the difficulties involved in representing directors and officers with varying degrees of interest and dedication to the defense has led to his successful representation of D&O claims in a variety of corporate environments including health care organizations.
Credentials
Admitted
State Courts:
- Georgia
- Court of Appeals, Supreme Court
U.S. District Courts:
- U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia
- U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Georgia
U.S. Courts of Appeals:
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
Education
- J.D., Emory University, 1978
- Undergraduate Universitaet Stuttgart; Stuttgart, Germany; 1969-1970
- B.S., Physics, Georgia Institute of Technology, 1972
Memberships
- American Bar Association
- Atlanta Bar Association
- DRI
- Lawyers Club of Atlanta
- Professional Liability Underwriters’ Society
- USLaw Network
Recognition
- The Best Lawyers in America®, Best Lawyers®, 2013-2025
- Awarded in: Commercial Litigation, Health Care law, Insurance Law
- AV Preeminent® Peer Review Rated™, Martindale-Hubbell, 1989-2024
- Georgia Super Lawyer, Super Lawyers®, 2005-2010; 2012-2024
Presentations
- Mental Health Malpractice and Litigation
State Bar of Georgia Institute for Continuing Legal Education; Psychiatric Malpractice Seminar; September 21, 2000 - Ethics & the Mental Health Professional; Malpractice Avoidance
West Central Georgia Regional Hospital; April 29, 1999 - Southern Council of Optometrists
Medico-Legal Panel; April 26, 1999 - Mental Health Professionals and Malpractice
State Bar of Georgia Institute for Continuing Legal Education; Psychiatric Malpractice Seminar; September 24, 1998
- Grand Rounds Ethics Conference – Termination of Life Support
Northside Hospital Medical Staff Lecture, September 1989
Publications
- An Ethical Primer: Avoid Malpractice by Understanding the Pitfalls
Professional Education Series; Inner Harbour Hospitals; May 25, 2000 - Ethics In A Clinical Practice – A Lawyer’s Perspective
Inner Harbor Hospitals, Ltd; Professional Education Series; May 1991 - Legal Ramifications Of Medical Record Documentation
Ridgeview Institute Medical Staff Conference; June 6, 1990 - Record Keeping Practices Of Psychotherapists: Empirical Findings And Implications For The Practitioner
Georgia Psychological Association Annual Meeting, May 1989
- Advanced Insurance Law Seminar: Professional Liability Cases And Coverage
Alabama State Bar Institute Of Continuing Legal Education, May 1989 - Avoiding Malpractice
Georgia Psychological Association and Georgia Chapter of the American Academy of Psychiatry and Law and Institute of Continuing Legal Education in Georgia; December 16, 1988 - Georgia Trial Advocacy: Trial Techniques/Direct Examination and Cross-Examination
Georgia State University Center for Continuing Legal Education College of Law, November 1988 - Management/Quality Assurance For Operating Room Supervisors
MediVision, Inc.; Boston, Massachusetts; September 1988 - Georgia Trial Advocacy: Pre-Trial Preparation/Foundation Of Litigation
Georgia State University Center for Continuing Legal Education College of Law, September 1988 - Georgia Trial Advocacy: Pre-Trial Preparation/Case Management And Negotiations In Settlement
Georgia State University Center for Continuing Legal Education College of Law, September 1988 - Negotiating Attorneys’ Fees In Civil Rights Cases: Ethical Dilemma/Ethics From The Defendant’s Viewpoint
Atlanta Chapter, National Lawyers Guild; December 1985 - The Civil Jury Trial: Cross-Examination
Institute of Continuing Legal Education in Georgia, April 1984
