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Rush S. Smith, Jr.

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Rush S. Smith, Jr.

Partner
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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

General Liability

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.

Health Care

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.

Medical Malpractice

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.

Products Liability

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.

Professional Malpractice & Ethics

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
  • Defense Research Institute (DRI)
  • Lawyers Club of Atlanta
  • Professional Liability Underwriters’ Society
  • State Bar of Georgia
  • USLaw Network

Recognition

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
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  • 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
    eorgia 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

In the Press

4 Georgia HBS Attorneys Honored in the 2023 Super Lawyers Magazine

GEORGIA – February 9, 2023 – We are excited to congratulate John E. Hall, Jr., Rush S. Smith, Jr., C. Michael Johnson, and James B. Durham as they have been recognized for their outstanding legal service and selected to the 2023 Georgia Super Lawyers list once again. John E. Hall, Jr. John Hall was honored
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Hall Booth Smith Attorneys Honored by The Best Lawyers In America 2023

Hall Booth Smith, P.C. (HBS) is pleased to announce 47 lawyers from the firm were honored in the 2023 edition of The Best Lawyers in America. This award is based on an evaluation process that includes a collection of client and lawyer evaluations and peer reviews from attorneys in the same field. These HBS attorneys
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Hall Booth Attorneys Selected as Super Lawyers in the 2022 Georgia Super Lawyers Magazine

In the 2022 edition of the Georgia Super Lawyers magazine, the law firm of Hall Booth Smith (HBS) will once again be recognized for its outstanding legal work as six of its attorneys are on the list of Super Lawyers: John E. Hall, Jr., C. Michael Johnson, Thomas Mazziotti, Rush S. Smith, Jr. of the
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Hall Booth Smith Attorneys Honored By The Best Lawyers In America© 2022

Hall Booth Smith, P.C. (HBS) is pleased to announce 25 lawyers from the firm were honored in the 2022 edition of The Best Lawyers in America© . This award is based on an evaluation process that includes a collection of client and lawyer evaluations and peer reviews from attorneys in the same field. These HBS
Read More