Hall Booth Smith, P.C.

Our attorneys at Hall Booth Smith have broad experience in the area of education. We provide training, counseling, policy development, as well as investigative and a full range of litigation/trial services to public schools and other educational entities.

About Our Practice

Our attorneys handle claims involving student issues such as discipline, school violence, special education, testing/promotion, and student records. We also handle employment issues involving teacher evaluation, remediation and discipline, teacher dismissals, at-will employees, sexual harassment, and Title VII. Our firm also represents professional educators in internal disciplinary proceedings and other matters relative to their employment.

In addition to handling litigation needs, our Education Practice Group focuses on the prevention of legal problems through comprehensive board policy development and review. We also provide staff development on a variety of topics.

In addition to providing legal advice and handling litigation needs, our firm believes in the need to focus on litigation prevention through regular consultations with decision makers, resulting in early identification of concerns and issues. Our firm provides a wide range of resources in this regard. We emphasize risk management in the prevention of legal disputes through ongoing consultation and training. We provide legal seminars for administrators and staff members in personnel law, student discipline, and other issues affecting schools. Our Education Practice Group also provides legal workshops for school board members, school system officials, and professional educators. In addition, we assist school lawyers in Georgia in representing their respective school clients.

Within the area of education law, the attorneys at HBS handle a variety of issues including:

• Employment Law - Policy Development

• Employment Benefits - Student Discipline and Student Rights

• Civil Rights and Constitutional Law - Board Issues

• Election Law - Special Education Law

• Condemnation Law - Free Speech Issues

• Real Estate Law - Religion in the schools

• Nepotism - The Georgia Open Meetings Act

• Bidding and Contracts - School Bonds and Public Finance

• Privacy Law - Desegregation

• Environmental Law - Special Counsel to Other Attorneys

Since the firm’s inception, HBS has embraced the value of diversity, and we continue to cultivate an environment of inclusion and success for all individuals.  We are committed to a cohesive and productive work environment where our varied cultures, backgrounds, ethnicities, and perspectives are communicated, understood, and embraced to enrich our employees and best serve our clients.

Our Commitment
Our efforts to enhance our diverse environment are not restricted to minority employees.  Instead, we believe that everyone, regardless of his or her race, age, or gender, must be included in our diversity mission in order to ensure its success.   The firm’s Diversity Committee is comprised of partners and senior staff members who ensure our diversity mission is not just a sentiment but is also a part of the fabric of HBS.     

HBS actively participates in a variety of events and sponsorships geared towards highlighting the importance of diversity, and the firm continuously seeks opportunities to enhance our diversity program.  This includes involvement with organizations such as the Corporate Counsel for Women of Color and the Minority Corporate Counsel of America as well as our internal mentor/protégé program, in which our senior, female and minority attorneys reach out and mentor other women and minority attorneys and clients.