Before taking the bench in 2007, Judge Smith spent over 26 years as a civil trial lawyer.  He is “Board Certified’ by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization in both Civil Trial Law and Personal Injury Law.  He is President of the Texas Association of District Judges.  He has served on various State Bar Committees and currently serves on the State Bar Court Administration Task Force Committee and the Bench Book Committee.

    He is an “Advocate” member of the American Board of Trial Advocates.  He served on the ABOTA National Board of Directors (2002 - 2006).  He is a Life Fellow at the Texas Bar Foundation.  He was named as “Texas Super Lawyer” in 2003 - 2006, by Texas Monthly.  He was awarded the ABOTA “Judge of the Year” for 2008 and the Dallas Bar Association “Pro Bono Services Judge of the Year” for 2008.

    As a practicing attorney, he was a frequent lecturer at continuing legal education events on various trial topics including Direct Examination, Cross Examination, Evidence and Discovery.  As a Judge, he is a frequent lecturer on a variety of subjects including the “Vanishing Jury” and “Voir Dire”.

     He has authored multiple articles on issues important to our civil justice system and is a visiting lecturer to college and law school classes.

    Most importantly, he has been married to his wonderful wife for twenty four years and they have raised three wonderful children.

EDUCATION:

• J.D. Texas Tech University, 1976
• B.B.A., with honors, University of Texas Austin, 1973

 LEGAL EXPERIENCE AND CREDENTIALS:

• Over 26 years of civil trial practice
• Board Certified in Civil Trial (1988) and Personal Injury (1983) Texas Board of Legal Specialization
• “Advocate” member American Board of Trial Advocates
• “Texas Super Lawyer” Civil/Consumer Law,
  Texas Monthly 2003 - 2007
• Licensed to Practice Law

  Texas,    1977

Florida, 2001

• Mac Taylor Inn of Courts Member

 ADDITIONAL RECENT COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT

• AIDS Services of Dallas, Board of Directors, 2005 - Present
• Supporters Housing, Inc., Board of Trustees, 2005 - Present
• El Centro College, Legal Services Board of Directors, 2007 - Present
• ABOTA - National Board of Directors, 2002 - 2006

 RECENT JUDICIAL HONORS

• President of Texas Association of District Judges, 2010 - 2011
• ABOTA (Dallas) Judge of the Year, 2008
• Pro Bono Judge for 2008, (Hartman Award), Dallas Bar Association

PUBLICATIONS and ARTICLES

• “The Legacy of Merrill Hartman”  - Dallas Morning News - October 26, 2010
• “Campaign Contributions: Financing Order in the Court”- Fort Worth Star-Telegram - March 20, 2010                                       
• “Trashing Supreme Court Not Appropriate” - Houston Chronicle - March 2, 2010
• “Web Savvy Jurors Create New Problems for Courts” - Houston Chronicle  June 21, 2009
• “Time to Reinvest in the Jury Trial” - Dallas Morning News - March 19, 2009
• “Melsheimer & Smith: One Crime but not the other?”- Dallas Morning News - December 5, 2008
• “The Ring Around White Collar Crimes” - Fort Worth Star-Telegram October 16, 2005
• “Prescription for Error” - Trial Magazine - October, 1999
• “Fundamentals of Direct Examination” - Texas Trial Lawyer Forum - December, 1986 

TEACHING

• SMU Law School and El Centro Community College

Guest Lecturer on various subjects, ADR - Professional Ethics and Community Service

• State Bar of Texas

Lectured at many Continuing Education Programs on subjects: Discovery, Pretrial and Trial Motion Practices; Legal Ethics, Voir Dire and the “Vanishing Jury"

• Dallas Bar Association, Garland Bar Association, Irving Bar Association

Lectured at many Continuing Education Programs on subjects: Pro Bono Services, Legal Malpractice, Trial, Electronic Discovery, Legal Ethics

• Texas Association of Defense Counsel

Participated in Education Programs for Trial Lawyers

• Texas Trial Lawyers Association

  Participated in Education Programs for Trial Lawyers

• American Board of Trial Advocates

  Participated in Masters in Trial Programs