OUR TEAM
- EXPERIENCE
- INTEGRITY
- TRUST
Robert Irving Miller
Co-founder and Equity Partner
Since 1994, Robert Irving Miller has successfully represented businesses, health care professionals and individuals in litigation, at trials and in appeals. His primary focus is medical malpractice defense, health law and all matters related to the administration of health care facilities. Mr. Miller’s experience in both the fields of law and healthcare has made him an ideal advocate for hospitals, nursing homes, physicians and other health professionals. Mr. Miller is licensed to practice law in both New York and Connecticut as well as in federal courts in the Northern and Southern Districts of New York.
Mr. Miller is named in Thomson Reuters’ list of 2024 and 2023 New York State Super Lawyers, Hudson Valley. Hudson Valley Magazine included Robert Miller on their list of Top Lawyers in 2024, 2023 and 2022 for Civil Law Litigation. He was awarded the 2022 Gartland Award for Community Service from the Dutchess County Bar Association for his dedication to making our community a better place through his volunteerism. Mr. Miller also received the 2021 NY Trustee of the Year Award from Leading Age NY for his service to Brookmeade Community.
Mr. Miller graduated from Pace University School of Law, where he was editor in chief of the Pace Law Review. He had previously earned undergraduate degrees in nursing and health services administration, as well as a Master of Science degree in Management Science. His early health care career included substantial experience as a registered nurse in emergency rooms and critical care. He later worked as the assistant administrator at Little Falls Hospital in Little Falls, New York, and as the Chief Operating Officer of the Julia L. Butterfield Memorial Hospital in Cold Spring, New York. He is also a former licensed nursing home administrator. Mr. Miller frequently lectures and provides consultations on legal and health-related subjects and has taught as an adjunct faculty member at the New School for Social Research, Marist College, and Dutchess Community College. Mr. Miller taught subjects such as community health and legal aspects of health services administration, civil litigation and human resources and administration.
Mr. Miller is a member of the New York State Bar Association, the Dutchess County Bar Association, the New York State Medical Defense Bar Association, the Defense Association of New York, dri: Lawyers Representing Business, the American Association of Nurse Attorneys, and the Association for Healthcare Risk Management of New York. He serves as a trustee of the East Fishkill Public Library District. Mr. Miller is a former treasurer and board member of Brookmeade Community and the Baptist Home, a former member of the Dutchess County Board of Health and has been the president and board chair of Abilities First, Inc., a not-for-profit organization serving people with developmental disabilities. He also served on the Institutional Review Board at Vassar College. Mr. Miller previously served on hospital and nursing home ethics committees and on the boards of other community organizations, including the former Greater Southern Dutchess Chamber of Commerce, Rebuilding Together – Dutchess County and the Catskill-Hudson Area Health Education Center. He served as a member of the East Fishkill Rotary Club and the Walden Volunteer Ambulance Corps.
Kimberly L. Brown
Equity Partner
Kimberly L. Brown focuses her practice on litigation, including medical malpractice defense, personal injury, premises liability, product liability, automobile accidents and labor law. Prior to joining the firm in 2018, Mrs. Brown practiced as a litigation associate for over thirteen years at a New York City personal injury/medical malpractice law firm.
Mrs. Brown was a judicial intern for New York City Civil Court Justice Shlomo S. Hagler (who is now a State Supreme Court Justice). Mrs. Brown graduated from Benjamin N. Cardozo, School of Law within the top 20% of her class. She was an Article Editor for the law school’s journal, Cardozo Journal of Conflict Resolution.
Mrs. Brown earned a B.A. from Binghamton University, graduating summa cum laude. She majored in Philosophy, Politics and Law, and minored in Business. Mrs. Brown was a member of Phi Beta Kappa and Golden Key Honor Societies. Mrs. Brown is admitted to practice law in New York, Massachusetts and the Northern District of New York Federal Court.
She is a member of the Dutchess County Bar Association and The Association for Healthcare Risk Management of New York. She resides in Dutchess county with her husband and three children. Mrs. Brown was included on Hudson Valley Magazine’s list of Top Lawyers in 2024, 2023 and 2022.
Leilani J. Rodriguez
Equity Partner
Leilani Rodriguez has a diverse legal background having practiced in both the private and public sectors in state and federal court. Her practice focuses primarily on medical malpractice, personal injury, civil rights and professional liability. She is well versed in both trial and appellate litigation.
Prior to transitioning to the private sector, Ms. Rodriguez worked for the New York State Attorney General’s Office defending the State in various lawsuits, including general negligence, medical malpractice, municipal law and automobile accidents. She also worked in the Federal Habeas Corpus Unit and has briefed and argued numerous cases in all four New York Federal District Courts and the Second Circuit, Courts of Appeals.
Immediately following law school, Ms. Rodriguez joined the Bronx County District Attorney’s Office where she worked in the Appeals and Economic Crimes Bureaus. In the Appeals Bureau, Ms. Rodriguez briefed and argued several cases in the First Department and the New York State Court of Appeals. In the Economic Crimes Bureau, she handled an extensive misdemeanor and felony caseload.
Ms. Rodriguez is admitted to practice in New York and New Jersey, as well as all four New York Federal District Courts and the Second and Third Circuit, Courts of Appeals. She graduated, with honors, from Pace Law School in 2004 and received her undergraduate degree from the State University of New York at Albany in 2001.
Professional Associations
Puerto Rican Bar Association, Corresponding Secretary and Chair of the Community Affairs Committee
New York State Bar Association, Member
Mid-Hudson Women’s Bar Association, Member
Hudson Valley Hispanic Bar Association, Member
Mary Pat Burke
Partner
Mary Pat Burke’s focus is in the area of medical malpractice defense representing hospitals and medical professionals including physicians, physician’s assistants and nurse practitioners, as well as nurses, respiratory therapists and physical therapists. Ms. Burke also has extensive experience in general liability defense, including premises liability; motor vehicle accidents; school district and municipal liability defense, construction accidents and product liability. Mary Pat Burke has been practicing law since 1989. Prior to joining Sholes Miller Rodriguez & Brown, Ms. Burke worked for many years as in house counsel for a national insurance carrier and other well respected defense firms.
Ms. Burke has been named to the 2025 Best Lawyer’s list, and was included on Hudson Valley Magazine’s list of Top Lawyers in 2024, 2023 and 2022 for the practice of Medical Malpractice Defense. Ms. Burke received her BA from the State University of New York at Binghamton in 1986 before obtaining her Juris Doctor from Albany Law School of Union University in 1989. Ms. Burke is admitted to practice in New York state courts. She is a proud member of the Dutchess County Bar Association.