Hall Booth Smith opens new office in Raleigh

Hall Booth Smith, P.C. has opened a new office in Raleigh.

The HBS Raleigh office will be led by new HBS Partner, Maria P. Wood, according to an HBS news release. Wood will be joined by associate attorneys Elliott Andrews and Brian Manikowski. 

With the addition of this location, HBS now has three North Carolina offices: Raleigh, Asheville and Charlotte.

“We are excited to deepen our presence in North Carolina and look forward to the relationships we continue to build and develop with our clients in the area,” HBS Managing Partner Alex Booth said in the release.

Wood joins HBS with more than 20 years of legal experience. Her practice specializes in medical malpractice, aging services, correctional health care, professional malpractice and ethics, appellate and general liability matters. Prior to joining HBS, Wood was a Partner at a long-established civil defense litigation firm, where she practiced primarily medical malpractice defense.

She earned her J.D. from Wake Forest University, and a B.A. with honors, in Political Science from the University of North Carolina.

Andrews represents long-term care facilities, physicians, insurance carriers and businesses through all stages of litigation in aging services, business litigation, general liability, and medical malpractice matters. Prior to joining HBS, he worked at two regional firms where he gained experience in insurance coverage, professional malpractice, commercial liability, and worker’s compensation.

Andrews earned his J.D. from Campbell University School of Law, where he was an Honor Court Justice Representative, and his B.A. in Psychology from Wake Forest University.

Manikowski, formerly a part of HBS’s Charlotte office, continues to cover all central and eastern parts of North Carolina and focuses on the defense of high exposure transportation, construction defect, and premises liability matters. He has experience in all stages of litigation and has defended cases in both state and federal courts. Prior to joining Hall Booth Smith, Manikowski practiced for five years in Boston.

He obtained his J. D. from Boston College Law School and earned a B.A.  with distinction, in Public Policy from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.