Hall Booth Smith has opened an office in Jacksonville—the second in Florida for the Atlanta-based firm—with five-lawyers handling medical malpractice and other defense litigation.

Hall Booth has been expanding steadily beyond its Atlanta base. The Jacksonville office, which follows a South Florida office in Palm Beach, gives the firm about 180 lawyers. In addition to six Georgia locations, it also has offices in the Carolinas, Tennessee and Alabama.

The firm's managing partner, Alex Booth, said the Jacksonville office will primarily handle medical malpractice work, adding that his partner, John Hall, had tried some cases in North Florida.