Michael W. Smith

Michael W. Smith is a partner and serves as chairman of the firm and its Executive Committee, and is head of the Litigation section.  He joined the firm following a judicial clerkship with the Hon. Robert R. Merhige Jr., Judge, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.  The substantial majority of his practice has consisted of trials in both state and federal courts in which he has represented individuals and companies in corporate and commercial litigation.  Mr. Smith’s practice has also consisted of products liability and health care litigation.

Mr. Smith is a Fellow and former president of the American College of Trial Lawyers, and a former president of the Bar Association of the City of Richmond and the Virginia State Bar.  He has authored law-related articles, lectured at numerous conferences, continuing legal education programs and the Virginia Professionalism Course, and spoken at various bar association meetings. 

PRACTICE AREAS
Trials / Appeals / Alternative Dispute Resolution
Complex Business and Commercial Disputes
Health Care
Products Liability and Torts

ADMISSIONS
• Virginia
• South Carolina
• U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia
• U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia
• U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
• U.S. Supreme Court

CLERKSHIP
• Hon. Robert R. Merhige Jr., U.S. District Court Judge, Eastern District of Virginia

Representative Litigation
• Representation of companies in antitrust litigation.
• Representation of companies in intellectual property theft litigation.
• Representation of railway company in various commercial contract disputes.
• Representation of natural gas company in contract dispute with utility. 
• Representation of natural gas company in a transmission dispute. 
• Representation of an airport authority in matters involving state transportation initiatives.
• Representation of aircraft manufacturers in commercial airline and general aviation products liability disputes.
• Representation of health care companies in connection with health care related claims.
• Representation of companies and individuals in connection with various other commercial disputes.
• Representation of health care company in failed merger dispute.
• Representation of pharmaceutical industry in product liability disputes.

University of South Carolina Law School, J.D.
Editorial Board, South Carolina Law Review
Society of Wig and Robe

Presbyterian College, B.A.

The Best Lawyers in America^©  
• Bet-the-Company Litigation, Commercial Litigation, Litigation-Banking & Finance, Litigation-Construction, Litigation-Intellectual Property, 1989-2023

Chambers USA
• Litigation: General Commercial, 2004-2022

Virginia Super Lawyers
• Business Litigation, 2006-2022

Legal Elite (Virginia Business)
• Civil Litigation, 2000-2022

Hunter W. Martin Professionalism Award, The Bar Association of the City of Richmond, 2016

Guide to the Leading U.S. Litigation Lawyers

SELECT PUBLICATIONS
• Co-authored Business Torts Desk Reference, Virginia chapter, (Morton F. Daller ed., Aspen Law & Business 2007)
• Co-authored Product Liability Desk Reference, Virginia chapter, (Morton F. Daller ed., Aspen Law & Business 2007)

SELECT PRESENTATIONS
• Mr. Smith has authored law-related articles, lectured at numerous conferences, continuing legal education programs and the Virginia mandatory Professionalism Course, and has spoken at various bar association meetings.