Profile

Mr. Smith is an international trial lawyer who has successfully litigated thousands of complex civil and criminal legal matters around the globe.

He has supervised and/or personally defended civil and criminal cases and claims in more than 70 countries, he has appeared pro hac vice in lawsuits venued in 22 of the United States, and he has taken or defended depositions in 35 states plus the District of Columbia.

Mr. Smith's cases have involved a wide range of products and issues internationally, including motor vehicles, aircraft, firearms, power tools, professional negligence, real estate and construction projects, vicarious liability, pharmaceuticals, food products, Alien Tort Claims Act matters, class actions, and large commercial disputes.

His cases have involved a wide range of products and issues internationally, including motor vehicles, aircraft, firearms, power tools, professional negligence, real estate and construction projects, vicarious liability, pharmaceuticals and food products.

Presentations and Publications

Featured speaker, “Automotive Product Liability - Recent Court Decisions from Around the Globe,” The 6th International Forum of Automotive Traffic Safety and Seminar for Impact Biomechanics and Injury Prevention (INFATS), Xiamen, China (December 2, 2008).

Featured panelist, Crisis Management and Communication, Product Liability Advisory Council Conference, Orlando, Florida (April 12, 2008).

Featured speaker, “U.S Exports and European Regulations,” Product Liability Advisory Council Spring Conference, Orlando, Florida (April 12, 2008).

Featured speaker and author, Structuring a Foreign Corporation to Limit Exposure to U.S. General Personal Jurisdiction, American Bar Association Conference, New York, New York (April 13, 2008).

Co-author, Building Electronic Document Management Systems: The Practical Application of Litigation Hold, E-Discovery and Document Management Strategies Conference, London, UK (January 15, 2008).

Co-author, International Electronic Discovery, The International Comparative Legal Guide to Product Liability 2007, Global Legal Group (UK), pp 44-55 (August 2007).

Featured speaker and author, International Product Liability Law – an Update: the Criminalization of Product Liability and Electronic Discovery, 8th International Symposium and Exhibition on Sophisticated Car Occupant Safety Systems (“Airbag 2006 Conference”), Fraunhofer Institut Chemische Technologie, Karlsruhe, Germany (December 5, 2006).

Co-author, International Electronic Discovery, The International Comparative Legal Guide to Product Liability 2006, Global Legal Group (UK), pp. 45-53 (June 2006).

Featured speaker and author, A Comparison of Forum Issues in U.S., European and Asian Jurisdictions, The British Institute of International & Comparative Law’s Product Liability Forum, London, United Kingdom (January 26, 2006).

Featured speaker and author, Product Liability Litigation in Europe and Coordination of Global Defenses and Discovery, Product Liability Advisory Council Conference, San Francisco, California (October 27, 2005).

Co-author, Event Data Recorders in Real World Litigation: Courtroom Use of a State-of-the-Art Technology, Submission to the European Union VERONICA Project (August 2005).

Featured speaker and author, Burdens of Proof and other Myths in International Product Liability Law, Defense Research Institute’s Product Liability Conference, Los Angeles, California (February 17, 2005).

Featured speaker and author, International Product Liability – the Virus Keeps Spreading!, 7th International Symposium and Exhibition on Sophisticated Car Occupant Safety Systems (“Airbag 2004 Conference”), Fraunhofer Institut Chemische Technologie, Karlsruhe, Germany (November 30, 2004).

Featured speaker and author, International Product Liability Law - An Update, 6th International Symposium and Exhibition on Sophisticated Car Occupant Safety Systems (“Airbag 2002 Conference”), Fraunhofer Institut Chemische Technologie, Karlsruhe, Germany (December 3, 2002).

Featured speaker, “Keeping Your CEO (and Yourself!) Out of Prison,” Corporate Legal Times’ Super Conference, Chicago, Illinois (June 20, 2001).

Faculty instructor and author, Getting Your High Tech Evidence Into Evidence – Evidentiary Issues re Accident Reconstruction, CEB Advanced Course of Study: Product Liability Litigation, San Francisco/Sacramento, California (October 21 and 28, 2000).

Featured speaker, “Latest Innovations in Smart Car Sensing & Safety Systems,” Institute for International Research, London, United Kingdom (June 13, 2000).

Instructor, “The European Automotive Engineer and U.S. Personal Injury Litigation,” Traffic Safety Research & Engineering AB’s Vehicle Rollover Reconstruction Seminar, Munich, Germany (June 5-6, 2000).

Co-author, Major Evidentiary Issues re: Computer Animations, presented at California Judges Association Midyear Conference, Palm Springs, California (2000).

Featured speaker, “Recent Technological Developments in the Presentation of Courtroom Evidence,” California Judges Association Midyear Conference, Palm Springs, California (April 24, 1999).

Co-author, What is Expert Medical Opinion Testimony, Anyway? (And When Do You Have To Pay For It?), 43:3 Medical Trial Techniques Quarterly 133 (CBC Spring 1997).

Co-author, Healthy Disclosure: Violating Discovery Rules When Offering Medical Opinion Testimony Can Be Fatal – Don’t Sign Your Case’s Death Warrant, The Recorder (June 19, 1996).

Featured speaker, “Jury Research & Trial Consulting,” International Society of Technology, Law and Insurance’s 5th International Conference on Structural Failure, Product Liability and Technical Insurance, Vienna, Austria (July 12, 1995).

Co-author, “Limiting Junk Science In The Courtroom,” American Bar Association Product Liability Conference, Los Angeles, California (June 16, 1995).

Co-author, Protecting the Right of Financial Privacy in Civil Cases, Res Ipsa (February 8, 1995) (selected as one of the “15 best practitioner columns appearing in the 1994-1995 California Daily Journal legal newspaper”).

Co-author, Protecting Taxpayers’ Right of Financial Privacy in Civil Cases, California Daily Journal (September 21, 1994).

Co-author, A Statute for Taxpayer Privacy, The Recorder (September 20, 1994).

Co-author, Recovering Attorneys’ Fees in Real Estate Transaction Disputes, California Daily Journal (November 2-3, 1993).

Co-author, Recovering Attorneys’ Fees in Tort Actions Arising Out Of Real Estate Purchase Contracts, 8 California Real Estate Reporter 283 (September 1993).

Author, Toward a Consistent Test for Substantial Similarity Regarding Infringement of Copyrighted Aspects of Computer Programs, 22 Golden Gate University Law Review 431 (Spring 1992).