Missy K. Atwood is a principal in the Austin office at Germer, PLLC. She has over 25 years of experience in civil litigation, healthcare law and administrative law. She has tried more than 60 cases to verdict as first-chair trial counsel in State District Courts and Federal Courts. She represents clients in a wide variety of complex civil litigation, as both lead counsel and local counsel, including high exposure medical malpractice, products liability, pharmaceutical products liability, construction, anti-trust, insurance coverage, and commercial litigation. She is a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, a Member of the American Board of Trial Advocates, and is Board Certified in Personal Injury Trial Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.
In her healthcare practice, Missy represents large health systems, hospitals, academic medical institutions, surgery centers, health plans, physicians, nurses, and other health care providers. Her practice includes:
•Medical Malpractice Defense, including catastrophic injury and birth injury cases
•Representing Providers in Professional Licensing/Disciplinary Actions before Texas Licensing Boards
•Risk/claims Management
•Crisis Management
•Medical Staff Bylaws
•Credentialing
•Physician and Nursing Peer Review, including Fair Hearing Proceedings
•Operational and Regulatory Compliance Counseling, including TX DSHS, Joint Commission Accreditation and Compliance, HIPAA/HITECH, EMTALA
•Counseling and Legislative Advocacy on End-of-Life/Bioethics Issues
Missy is admitted to practice in the Supreme Court of the United States, the Supreme Court of Texas, and the United States District Courts - Western, Eastern and Northern Districts of Texas as well as the District Court of Colorado. She is a Life fellow of the Texas Bar Foundation and a member of the Litigation, Health Law and Insurance Sections of the State Bar of Texas, Texas Association of Defense Counsel, Austin Health Law Association, and South Texas Society for Healthcare Risk Management. She has been designated a “Texas Super Lawyer,” a Thompson Reuters publication, from 2007 - 2022, 2024 - 2025 in the area of Medical Malpractice Defense.
Missy graduated from Baylor University (BA - 1988, with honors) and Baylor School of Law (JD - 1991, with honors), where she was an Associate Editor on the Baylor Law Review.
Professional Background
•Joined Germer Beaman & Brown in 2004
Professional Certifications
•Board Certified, Texas Board of Legal Specialization
•Personal Injury Trial Law
Recognitions and Honors
•American Board of Trial Advocates
•Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review Rating: AV Preeminent 5.0 out of 5
•Texas Bar Foundation, fellow
Civic Involvement
•City of Dripping Springs - Tax increment Reinvestment Zone
•Board of Directors - 2016 to present
•Dripping Springs Library District (governmental taxing district)
•President - 1997 to Present
•St. David’s North Austin Medical Center
•Bioethics Committee - 2004 to present
•St. David’s South Austin Medical Center
•Advisory Board of Trustees - 2011 to present
•Sunset Canyon Baptist Church
•Member
•Texas Hospital Association
•Advance Directives Work Group - 2004 to present
Texas Bar Foundation.
