Hall Booth Smith Bolsters Statewide Practice with Hiring of Patrick Millsaps

Millsaps Brings Expertise in Civil Litigation, Alternative Energy, Healthcare and Education to HBS

ALBANY, Ga., Sept. 1, 2011 – Hall Booth Smith, P.C. has strengthened its statewide reach and experience in several key areas with the addition of Patrick Millsaps to the firm’s litigation and transactional practice areas. With more than a decade of work as a successful litigator and business transaction attorney, Mr. Millsaps most recently was the proprietor of the Millsaps Law Firm in Camilla, Georgia (Mitchell County), which will merge with Hall Booth Smith effective today.

Mr. Millsaps joins HBS as a partner. For now, he will maintain his Camilla office and will primarily work with the firm’s Albany office. He will bring two additional employees of The Millsaps firm to HBS as well. Highlighted as a “Rising Star” by Super Lawyers Publications, he has extensive experience in civil litigation, alternative energy, healthcare and education law.

In the past ten years, Mr. Millsaps has obtained the largest jury verdict obtained in a South Georgian County; counseled the state’s largest ethanol plant from feasibility to finance to production; was appointed by a Governor to represent the Georgia Department of Community Health; and has represented the Mitchell County School Board for seven years.

“Patrick epitomizes the type of attorney we seek at Hall Booth – he is committed to excellence in his field and to serving his community and state,” said Managing Partner John Hall.

Former Senator, Minority Leader, and Partner in Charge of the Albany Office, Michael Meyer von Bremen agrees, “We are thrilled that he and his team from The Millsaps Law Firm are joining our team here in Southwest Georgia.”

Throughout his career, Mr. Millsaps has served a diverse client base, including private citizens, businesses, government authorities, local governments and educational systems. He has been rated “AV Preeminent” by Martindale-Hubbell, the highest rating available for lawyers through this service, and received the designation as a Rising Star by Super Lawyers Publications in 2010. He was named as one of Georgia’s most influential leaders by James Magazine from 2007-2011; he has held leadership positions in local and state bar associations; and he has been appointed or elected to statewide positions on boards such as the University of Georgia School of Law Board of Visitors, the State School Board of Georgia and the Georgia Production Partnership, a state-wide coalition of leaders, companies and individuals who are active in Georgia’s film, music and digital industries.

Mr. Millsaps currently serves as the Chairman of the Georgia Government Transparency and Campaign Finance Commission (formerly the State Ethics Commission). He has served on the Commission since 2009. He has also served as the 2nd congressional district representative on the Georgia Student Finance Commission and as a member of the Georgia Superior Court Clerks Cooperative Authority.

He cut his political teeth as a state political director for Sen. Johnny Isakson in 1996 and as a policy advisor for the Georgia State School Board in 1999.

“Patrick and I have been good friends since law school, and I have the utmost respect and appreciation for his legal skills and passion for client service,” said Partner Brad Carver, Senior Managing Director of HBS Government Affairs. “He is an entrepreneur and a problem solver and I look forward to working with him to find common sense solutions to complex problems for our clients all around Georgia.”

Adds Jack Slover, who practiced for many years in Camilla: “Patrick grew up in suburban Marietta but now lives and works in rural Southwest Georgia. He brings with him a unique statewide perspective that is a key strategic addition to our firm.”

Mr. Millsaps is also deeply committed to community service. In 2009 he co-founded The Georgia Group, a group of informed, young professionals focusing on market-based solutions, limited federal government and lower taxes. He is a member of the University of Georgia Law School’s Joseph Henry Lumpkin Society. He also has a long history of service with local and statewide Boys and Girls Clubs.

Mr. Millsaps received his undergraduate degree from Samford University in 1995 and his J.D. from the University of Georgia School of Law in 2000. He and his wife, Elizabeth Morgan Millsaps, are the proud parents of Morgan, Alison and Kendall and reside in Camilla, where Elizabeth owns MAK Medical, a specialty pharmacy.

The Atlanta office of Hall Booth Smith is the largest of its regional offices and serves as a base for servicing residents throughout the state, region and nation. The firm’s practice groups include Environmental, Health Care, Energy, Regulatory & Utilities, Professional Malpractice, Transportation, Long-term Care and Elder Housing Regulation, and Government Affairs.  The firm has offices in six Georgia cities as well as Nashville, Tenn., Charleston, S.C., and in Tblisi, the capital city of the Republic of Georgia.