HBS Welcomes Attorneys Payton D. Bramlett and J. Felicia LeRay

Hall Booth Smith, P.C. is pleased to welcome new associates to our Atlanta office team: Payton D. Bramlett and J. Felicia LeRay.

Payton D. Bramlett joins as an associate in the Atlanta office.  Payton joins the firm’s transportation litigation group where he defends transportation and logistics companies, their drivers, and insurers.  Before joining HBS, Payton served as national counsel and local counsel for a Fortune 200 company, assisting in managing a series of complex toxic tort cases nationally involving significant multijurisdictional research.  Prior to that, Payton practiced at another well-respected insurance defense firm in Atlanta where he secured favorable results for clients in both bench and jury trials in some of the most plaintiff-friendly jurisdictions in Georgia. During law school, Payton served as a legal intern for the Regional Counsel of the Federal Aviation Administration in Chicago,  Illinois.  In that role, he assisted with the O’Hare Modernization Program; pilot disciplinary actions including license revocations; hazardous materials violations; and civilian actions for alleged violations of federal aviation regulations with an emphasis on laser pointer infractions.  Payton also spearheaded a major research initiative on federal preemption of a Chicago Municipal Ordinance regarding aircraft banner advertisements in airspace over the City of Chicago. After law school, Payton clerked for Judge Amanda H. Mercier. Payton received a Bachelor of Business Administration in Risk Management and Insurance from the University of Georgia and received his Juris Doctor from the University of Mississippi School of Law.

J. Felicia LeRay joins as an associate in the Atlanta office. She will join the HBS healthcare practice group.  She focuses her practice on the defense of long term care and residential care facilities, post-acute care facilities, skilled nursing facilities, assisted living facilities, community care retirement facilities, physicians, physician groups, hospitals, and integrated delivery systems. Before joining HBS Felicia served as an Assistant Attorney General in the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit for the State of Georgia.  In that role, she investigated allegations of healthcare provider fraud in multimillion-dollar qui tam cases.  As such, she is well versed in government investigative techniques.

A former prosecutor, Felicia is able to effectively represent and advise healthcare clients in the areas of business strategy and transactions, fraud and abuse protection, regulatory compliance, and privacy and confidentiality matters.  She can assist healthcare providers and systems with the investigation of potential fraud, waste, or abuse issues, including all facets of the investigation, court proceedings, discovery, appeals, and settlement with whistleblowers, the United States Department of Justice, and the State Attorney General’s Office.  Felicia received her Bachelor of Science at a School of Nursing, Hampton University, and her Juris Doctorate at the  Walter F. George School of Law, Mercer University.

“We warmly welcome these new associates to our HBS family and are excited to have them representing our clients,” said Alex Booth, managing partner of HBS.

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; Charlotte, North Carolina; N. Palm Beach, Florida and Nashville & Memphis, Tennessee. 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.

At HBS, we possess the legal knowledge, skill, and experience to meet our clients’ needs wherever they do business. HBS maintains the highest commitment to serve our clients ethically and professionally by providing the highest quality legal representation. Our promise: “Serving to Achieve Excellence.”