Justin Kerenyi

Since beginning his career at HBS in 2000, Justin has successfully represented a diverse portfolio of clients ranging from large corporations and their insurers to small businesses and individuals. He has practiced extensively in state and federal courts litigating a wide array of general liability, aviation, medical malpractice, business, and commercial claims of all levels of exposure. Justin also has a significant intellectual property and transactional practice advising on business ventures across a variety of industries, including handling hundreds of trademark copyright and trade secret matters and supervising local counsel in foreign countries in international matters. Justin also has experience in the areas of corporate formation, entertainment law, licensing, and appellate work.

Justin earned his Bachelor of Arts from Cornell University and his Juris Doctor from Georgia State University. In 2007, Justin helped to found Songs For Kids Foundation, Inc., a nonprofit that provides music programs to kids battling serious illness and disability. He currently serves as both its President and General Counsel. Justin is also a songwriter and performing musician who released his first solo record in 2019.

Experience

Professional & Service Endeavors

•Litigated and tried numerous liability cases, including medical malpractice and general liability, to verdict and/or other resolution over the past two decades.
•Briefed and argued an appeal before the Georgia Court of Appeals and Supreme Court of Georgia.
•Conducted numerous pre-suit investigations and dispute resolutions in various employment, general liability and commercial matters.
•Litigated and successfully resolved a tri-party commercial dispute pending in both arbitration in one state and federal court in another.
•Developed specialized expertise with general liability - aviation claims through nearly a decade of representing a publicly held Fortune 500 corporation (and/or it’s subsidiary) which is a leading aviation industry support vendor serving over 50 airports, throughout the U.S. and U.K.
•Represented foreign based clients in the UK, the European Union, and Canada, and worked with clients in the London insurance market.
•Supervised intellectual property due diligence in a multi-million dollar commercial merger and acquisition.
•Represented a municipality in assessing and protecting all of its intellectual property.
•Counseled numerous individuals, start-ups and entrepreneurs in intellectual property and transactional matters.
•Have handled hundreds of trademark and copyright matters.
•Negotiations and drafting of entertainment and intellectual property business transactions and agreements:
•Assist start-ups with corporate formation.

Business Transactions

Justin has developed a growing transactional practice advising, facilitating and participating in business ventures on behalf of numerous businesses, partnerships. and individuals across a wide variety of industries.

He has provided professional expertise on a variety of business needs, including forming entities, strategic planning, negotiating, drafting, and assisting with enforcement and/or defense of various business transactions and contractual agreements (e.g., entertainment and intellectual property deals, services agreements, licensing agreements, non-disclosure, and non-compete agreements), assisting with due diligence, counseling on regulatory matters, and assisting with dispute resolution.

Justin is also the President, General Counsel, and one of the founding board members of Songs for Kids Foundation, Inc., an Atlanta based 501(c)(3) non-profit that provides music programs to kids suffering from serious illness and disability in 5 U.S. States.

General Liability

Justin has successfully represented corporations in a wide range of general liability matters on behalf of insurance companies and both public and private entities. He has litigation experience in both state and federal courts, handling cases of all levels of exposure and involving a wide array of allegations and issues ranging from business disputes to the defense of a wide variety of personal injury claims.

In addition to general premises liability, Justin has handled numerous vehicular accident cases as well as represented construction contractors in multi-party, multi-jurisdictional personal injury litigation involving complex contractual indemnification and contribution claims.

Justin has also developed specialized expertise with aviation industry claims through nearly a decade of representing ABM Aviation, Inc. (f.k.a. Air Serv Corp and a subsidiary of Fortune 500 parent co. ABM Industries, Inc.). In representing this leading aviation industry support vendor serving over 50 airports, through the U.S. and U.K., Justin has also developed familiarity with the London insurance market.

Intellectual Property & Entertainment

Justin has extensive expertise assisting individuals, businesses and their insurers with protecting their Intellectual Property (IP) rights in the areas of trademarks, copyrights, and trade secrets. His services cover all facets of transactional and litigation matters including initial assessment, due diligence and clearance, trademark and copyright filings and appeals, contract negotiations and drafting, acquisitions, transfers, licensing and assignments, domain name dispute resolution, and prosecution and defense of IP infringement from the initial cease and desist stage to litigation in federal court.

Justin has handled IP matters for numerous individuals, partnerships, businesses, and their insurers across a wide variety of industries. He has represented media and entertainment companies, retailers, food and beverage businesses, apparel companies, legal and medical practices and associations, insurance companies, health care companies, agribusinesses, e-commerce businesses, entrepreneurs, entertainers, artists, authors, fashion designers, photographers, and nonprofit organizations. Justin has served as IP counsel in multi-million dollar business transactions and in the management of international IP portfolios overseeing local counsel in various foreign countries.

He has also represented individuals, startups, and small businesses in corporate entity formation and strategic planning and entertainment law. His entertainment law practice includes assisting in negotiation and drafting of artist management and production contracts, talent releases, work for hire agreements, film production agreements, and other similar services. Justin is also a songwriter and performing musician who released his first solo record in 2019 and who is currently recording his second album.

Medical Malpractice

Justin has successfully represented hospitals, physicians, dentists, pharmacists, nurses, and other individual medical care providers in professional negligence lawsuits and state composite board hearings. In so doing, Justin has acquired experience defending cases involving allegations of negligent care and treatment, negligent misdiagnosis, negligent referral, negligent misadministration of medication, surgical battery, and lack of consent.

The factual circumstances of this casework has covered a wide array of medical issues including cardiology, endocrinology, gastroenterology, infectious disease, internal medicine, obstetrics, ophthalmology, otolaryngology, pharmacology, plastic surgery, pulmonology, radiology, and wound care. He is the son of a physician.

Premises Liability

Justin has successfully represented defendants in a multitude of premises liability cases. Relying on his many years of litigation and trial experience, he has served as lead counsel in dozens of premises cases covering a wide variety of issues and levels of exposure. He has obtained numerous positive outcomes for clients in such cases, including multiple defense verdicts, successful dispositive motions, voluntary dismissals, and many favorable settlements.

Justin also has specialized expertise handling complex aviation premises liability claims at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and working with the London aviation insurance market through nearly a decade representing ABM Aviation, Inc., a leading global aviation industry support vendor. Additionally, Justin’s years of experience defending claims in other practice areasm, such as medical malpractice, enhance his familiarity with handling medical causation and damages in premises cases.

Recognition

•Top Lawyers , Intellectual Property Law, GaBiz Magazine, 2026

Presentations

•Panel on Intellectual Property
Georgia State University; October 10, 2018
•Panel on Intellectual Property
Georgia State University; March 8, 2017
•Panel on Intellectual Property
Georgia State University; February 17, 2016

Publications

•Copyright Protection and the Internet
For the Record
•Why I...Help Kids Find Their Inner Rock Star
Fulton County Daily Report, April 2014

In the Press

27 HBS Partners Recognized as 2026 Top Lawyers by GaBiz Magazine

January 29, 2026

Hall Booth Smith is pleased to announce that 27 of the firm’s partners have been recognized as 2026 “Top Lawyers” by GaBiz Magazine in its Winter issue.