Rufus Montgomery

Rufus Montgomery, Managing Director of government affairs for the law firm Hall, Booth, Smith & Slover, P.C. (HBSS) in Atlanta, has a long history of placing service to his country ahead of his personal ambitions. Rufus Montgomery served in the U.S. Army as a combat engineer and was deployed to Southwest Asia. He also served in Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm and earned the Kuwait Liberation Medal.

In the 20 years since Rufus Montgomery’s honorable discharge from the Army, he has forged a career full of distinguished service and achievement. At age 16, he enrolled at Florida A&M;, attending for one year before going into the Army. He later returned to school to earn a Bachelor of Science in Psychology and a Master’s degree in Applied Social Science. After completing his studies, Rufus Montgomery worked as a legislative assistant for the U.S. House of Representatives, where his skills were quickly recognized and enabled him to become executive director of the Coalition on Urban Renewal and Education. In 1997, Rufus Montgomery joined Jeb Bush’s campaign for Governor of Florida, as field director for African American Outreach.

After gaining valuable experience and proving his mettle in the world of public policy and electoral politics, Rufus Montgomery joined the private sector, managing business development for automobile dealers in Georgia. He returned to public policy and advocacy in 2006 when, as Vice President of the Cornerstone Communications Group, an Atlanta firm dedicated to public relations and public affairs, he joined the leadership of a firm ranked by James Magazine among the top three small lobbying firms in Georgia. Rufus Montgomery was himself recognized by the magazine as a rising star in 2010.

Rufus Montgomery joined HBSS in 2011 and represents a variety of clients in their dealings with the various executive and legislative bodies that make up the municipal, county, and state governments of Georgia. A life member of the Florida A&M; University National Alumni Association, Montgomery was recently honored by Florida’s Governor Rick Scott with an appointment to the university’s board of trustees. Moreover, he was recognized as among the "2011 40 Under 40" by Georgia Trend Magazine in its October 2011 issue.