Hall Booth Smith Adds Burt and Munoz as Partners, and Heffling as Of Counsel in Growing N. Palm Beach Office

Feb. 27, 2020 — North Palm Beach, FL — Hall Booth Smith, P.C. is delighted to announce that it has hired Michael D. Burt and Lisa M. Munoz as Partners, and John D. Heffling as Of Counsel in its North Palm Beach, Florida office.

All three attorneys come to HBS from the former Sonneborn Rutter Cooney Viergever Burt & Lury, PA, and bring decades of experience to the firm as it expands its medical malpractice expertise to serve clients across the State of Florida and beyond.

Burt is Board Certified as a Specialist in Civil Trial Law by the Florida Bar. Rated “AV” Preeminent by Martindale Hubbell, he has extensive experience in all aspects of civil litigation in the Sunshine State, with an emphasis on medical malpractice defense on behalf of doctors, hospitals, and other health care providers. He also has extensive experience in administrative law, general liability matters, construction defects, and transportation law. He has tried numerous jury trials to verdict as first chair counsel and he has obtained many defense verdicts on behalf of his clients over his 35 years in practice.

He is admitted to practice in the Supreme Court of Florida, the United States District Courts for the Middle and Southern Districts of Florida, the United States Supreme Court, the United States Court of Military Appeals, and the United States Air Force Court of Military Review. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Ohio State University and a Juris Doctor degree from Case Western Reserve University School of Law.

Munoz concentrates her practice on catastrophic injury, medical malpractice, long term care, personal injury, premises liability, and automobile negligence and other transportation-related claims. She has extensive experience representing mental health facilities in wrongful Baker Act matters for temporary detention related to emergency mental health matters, employment discrimination, and medical malpractice actions. She often counsels clients in breach of contract and discrimination/wage cases filed in federal court, and has represented facilities and healthcare providers in Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Agency for Health Care Administration, and Department of Health matters.

Earlier in her career, she represented both plaintiffs and defendants in premise liability, general liability, and personal injury cases, which gives her valuable insight into the strategies and tactics of attorneys on both sides of litigation.

Munoz earned a Juris Doctorate degree from St. Thomas School of Law, where she was involved in Moot Court and served as Secretary of the Student Government Leadership. While in law school, she interned at the Palm Beach County State Attorney’s Office, where she was a certified legal intern and tried numerous criminal cases. She completed a Bachelor of Arts in criminology and philosophy at Florida State University.

Heffling has over 30 years of experience representing clients in a variety of legal counseling and civil litigation matters, including business disputes, property and casualty insurance matters, construction defects, personal injury, Americans with Disabilities Act claims, and child welfare litigation.

He received a Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Florida, and a Master’s Degree from Rollins College. He completed a Juris Doctorate, with Honors, at the Frederic G. Levin College of Law at the University of Florida.

“Mike, Lisa and John are an outstanding group of litigators who we have known and worked with for years,” said Denise L. Dawson, Managing Partner of the N. Palm Beach office. “We are proud and excited to have them join the HBS family.”

About Hall Booth Smith

Established in 1989, Hall Booth Smith, P.C. (HBS) is a full-service law firm with six regional offices strategically located throughout Georgia, as well as offices in Birmingham, Alabama; Charleston, South Carolina; Asheville and Charlotte, North Carolina; Jacksonville, North Palm Beach and Tallahassee, Florida; and Nashville and Memphis, Tennessee; Saddle Brook, New Jersey; and New York City. 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.” To learn more, please visit: www.hallboothsmith.com.

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